Inaugural Road Heroes Award

Rolling Inspiration
By Rolling Inspiration
2 Min Read

The Road Ethics Project (REP), in partnership with the Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa, announced that former QASA CEO Ari Seirlis is its inaugural Road Heroes Award winner. This award celebrates an individual dedicated to improving road safety.

“While we had many worthy nominees, Seirlis was head and shoulders above the others because of the sheer scale of his impact over many, many years,” says founder of REP Lee Randall. In addition to receiving a certificate from REP, Seirlis will also receive a cash prize of R5 000 sponsored by MasterDrive.

“I am honoured and humbled to receive the 2019 Road Heroes Award,” Seirlis says about his win. “In my tenure as CEO of QASA, I ensured that the organisation invested in the prevention of spinal cord injuries and disability – as should all NGOs in the disability sector.

“We came up with some innovative prevention programmes, of which the most significant was our ‘Buckle up, we don’t want new members’ campaign. It created awareness among South African road users of the importance of using a seatbelt, but also formed a strong partnership for QASA with the Department of Transport and the Road Accident Fund.”

The award is only one of the ways in which REP plans to address road safety in South Africa. Essentially, the organisation aims to get society talking about responsible and ethical road use. “This will be done in a variety of ways, including public speaking, hosting think-tanks and workshops as well as producing fact sheets, articles and reports,” Randall explains. The initiative will also assist in determining the road safety measures that will be the most beneficial for saving lives and preventing injuries.

“Road safety is a shared responsibility that involves not only blame responsibility (like the finger-pointing to which minibus taxi drivers are often subjected) but also causal responsibility and forward-looking responsibility,” Randall concludes.

Visit the ROLLING INSPIRATION website to learn more about the award and REP.

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