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Keeping Children Safe

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AA Singapore launches ‘Safe Speed, Save Lives’ road safety campaign to promote low-speed streets in Singapore.

On 30 May 2022, school bus drivers of Yeap Transport gathered at the bus bay at the United World College West (Dover campus) for the launch of the ‘Safe Speed, Save Lives’ decal by the Automobile Association of Singapore (AA Singapore). This was in support of UN Global Safety Week.

‘Safe Speed, Save Lives’ is part of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Road Safety Grant Programme — Streets for Life #Love30 global campaign. This year’s campaign was launched in partnership with local school bus management company, Yeap Transport Pte Ltd, and officiated by the President of AA Singapore, Mr Bernard Tay, and the CEO of Yeap Transport, Mr Adrian Yeap. The campaign aims to instil and inculcate a sense of ownership in school bus drivers to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities through advocating safe-driving behaviours among them.

“Through this road safety campaign, AA Singapore hopes to raise awareness among drivers of the importance of driving at low speeds in key zone areas where traffic and pedestrians are known to interact, so as to make Singapore streets a safer place for the young and the elderly to safely walk, live and play in,” said Mr Tay.

AA Singapore aims to instil and inculcate a sense of ownership in bus drivers and reduce the number of injuries and fatalities, by advocating safe driving behaviours amongst bus drivers to ensure the safety and well-being of their passengers and potentially save more lives.

Mr Tay urged all bus drivers to always remember to keep at a safe speed limit of 30km/h in areas such as our residential, elderly and school zones as we continue to work together to make our streets safer for all.

‘Safe Speed, Save Lives’ bus decals were displayed on Yeap Transport’s fleet of more than 400 school buses. “We are a leading bus transport company, providing safe, trusted and reliable service to premier schools since 1979,” shared Mr Yeap. “We are glad to partner AA-FIA on this campaign to advocate road safety to all our drivers by reminding them to keep to a safe speed limit of 30km/h in key zones. This will ensure the safety and well-being of our young passengers, and reduce speed-related accidents to save more lives.”

Mr Yeap added that school bus drivers bear a heavy responsibility, as each bus can carry up to two classrooms of students. “The school bus drivers may not command respect, but I tell my drivers, ‘Our future is in your bus,’” he said. As such, the campaign hopes to inculcate in the drivers a sense of pride in their work, and reinforce in them the weight of responsibility that their job carries.

To enable them to perform their duties well, the drivers receive continuous training, shared Mr Yeap. They are required to go through the International Road Transport Union (IRU) course, an internationally accredited qualification. There is also the Crash Prevention Course, run by AAS Academy, a wholly owned subsidiary of AA Singapore. Held on a quarterly basis, the training encourages road safety best practices among commercial drivers, and instils confidence in them.

Yeap Transport also implements other measures to ensure its drivers practice safety while on the roads. For example, telematics is used to monitor their driving habits. An app is also available for parents to provide feedback on their children’s drivers. This keeps the drivers on high alert and ensures adherence to safe driving.

As part of the Safe Speed, Save Lives #LOVE30 campaign, AA Singapore have also organised a road safety webinar with school bus drivers and operators, where the drivers are educated on the consequences of speeding and how the speed limit of 30km/h can potentially prevent fatal accidents from happening. On top of that, AA Singapore will also be running online campaigns to leverage and maximise the exposure of the ‘Safe Speed, Save Lives’ message through sharing of informative road safety messages and posters, as well as conducting quiz giveaways on AA Singapore’s social media platforms — such as Facebook and Instagram — to further engage and interact with the public.