Zebra crossings gain visibility with help of East Timor Red Cross

‘Zebra crossing’ is a catchy name.  It clearly illustrates its purpose – black and white lines on the road to mark a pedestrian crossing. More importantly, these flashy clearly-visible markers can save lives, providing a safe measure of protection for vulnerable road users.

This is one of the key reasons the East Timor Red Cross made zebra crossings the focus of a road safety campaign launched at the end of January. It is the first of many road safety activities that the Youth Department is planning to run in 2011.

The campaign is being run together with the Dili Traffic Police, and aims to raise awareness among drivers and pedestrians about zebra crossings. To mark the beginning of the campaign, 20 youth volunteers stationed themselves at four new zebra crossings around the capital city, Dili, providing road safety information to both drivers and pedestrians.

It is yet another initiative led by the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world, as they work to tackle the humanitarian man-made crisis of road death and injury. The Global Road Safety Partnership, a hosted project of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, applauds these efforts and works with numerous National Societies around the world on road-safety initiatives.

 For more information on the campaign and youth activities please contact the East Timor Red Cross Dili branch or Youth Coordinator.