SONGKHLA, Thailand – September 1, 2023

Secondary school students at Woranari Chaloem School are claiming their space. They are not only demanding safe streets and safe mobility, but they are going to be the ones to deliver it. As part of the model road safety school in Songkhla province, the student council is leading the way to ensure that all students at the school have access to safe and sustainable road safety education.

During the Road Safety Week 2023, supported by theChevron Street Wiseprogram, students will participate in a creative project aimed at building a safer school zone culture and appoint new road safety ambassadors to serve as provincial representatives. 150 Student Ambassadors were trained throughout August so that they can spread safe mobility skills and knowledge to their fellow students at school during Road Safety Week.

Students’ unsafe journeys to school at Woranari Chaloem Secondary School\nEvery day, students at Woranari Chaloem School face the dangers of the two main roads that they must travel on to arrive at school. Observations at the school show that less than 50% of students wear helmets when traveling and that economic circumstances mean that many students travel with three people or more on one family motorcycle.

The Secondary Education Service Area Office, Songkhla, will promote their provincial campaign “Ride safe,” “Wear a helmet,” and “Don’t let three people sit together on the same motorbike.” Under this campaign, the local government hosted a competition for students to out their voices at the center of advocating for safer mobility. Students will present on their projects during the Road Safety Week 2023.

Safer mobility with theChevron Street Wiseprogram in Thailand\nChevron Thailand has partnered with AIP Foundation since 2014 to implement theChevron Street Wiseprogram to create a safer environment for road users – especially young children – through education, awareness-raising, as well as stakeholders and community engagement. During the project’s implementation, more than 8,000 students demonstrated improved road safety knowledge and skills, and approximately 1,500,000 parents, teachers, and community members benefited from road safety education and communication activities.

TheChevron Street Wiseprogram is inherently aligned with the Global Plan as part of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021 – 2030 and Thailand’s National Road Safety plan. On a global level, the program is also championing action towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The program encompasses SDG 3 on Good health and well-being as part of its effort to reduce youth fatalities on the roads and pushes for youth voices on SDG 11 focusing on building Sustainable Cities and Communities that are resilient. At the core of this program, all activities engage our youth to be a part of the solution to empower their community to be safer road users, thus giving them access to safe mobility.