PHUKET, Thailand – May 6, 2022 – updated June 6, 2022 (SR4S rating)

AIP Foundation with support from Thai Bridgestone Co., Ltd., and in collaboration with local partners, handed over the school safety zone under the ‘The 1st Bridgestone Global Road Safety Project’to Kathu Wittaya School in Phuket province. The school safety zone has been improved with the aim to reach the highest 5-star rating using the iRAP Star Ratings for Schools tool.

Kathu Wittaya School reached the SR4S 5-star rating

At the event, Mirjam Sidik, Chief Executive Officer at AIP Foundation shared, “The handover of the school safety zone at Kathu Wittaya School is a positive sign that all parties are working to bring us closer to our vision of a world where all neighborhood streets are livable, safe, and sustainable. The initial road assessment for this school zone found no school zone warning and no speed limit sign where 50 km/h was deemed the maximum allowable.

The quality of school zone road safety modifications was assessed through the Star Ratings for Schools (SR4S) system and, in June 2022,the safety zone reached the highest SR4S 5-star rating. The SR$S system is an evidence-based tool for measuring, managing, and communicating the risks children are exposed to on a journey to school. The SR4S was awarded a prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award in December 2018, recognizing the application’s huge potential to reduce risk and save the lives of pedestrians worldwide.

To address these issues and prevent death and injuries of students, teachers, parents the neighbors, we have worked with local partners to improve traffic safety. This includes the installation of 30 km/h speed limit signs, renewed lane markings, and a student drop-off zone for improved safety. These infrastructure modifications contribute to our work towards achieving the target of reducing at least 50% of road injuries and fatalities by 2030. It also means ensuring that all of them have safe and equal access to education and cultivating safety in the community by creating a five-star road safety rating around this pilot school.”

Bridgestone’s Youth Champions for Road Safety

Since the previous year, Bridgestone has collaborated with 4 schools across the country to conduct the program, including Kathu Wittaya School in Phuket province. Altogether, 261 students and 40 teachers from these schools participated in, with 8 students from the 4 schools being selected as Bridgestone’s Youth Champions. These 8 Bridgestone’s Youth Champions attended road safety training in Bangkok, enabling them to cultivate leadership and road safety awareness among students.

Bridgestone for Road Safety

Road Safety campaigning is one of Bridgestone’s corporate social responsibility initiatives implemented globally. As a sustainable solutions company, Bridgestone contributes to making everyone’s journey safe and this starts with safety programs’ implementation at schools to promote road safety awareness and encourage safe behaviors among young generations.