The Government of Belize is partnering with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) towards the approach to address Road Safety in Belize. The Ministry of Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Commerce, Road Safety Project underscores training as a crucial tool in development. Therefore, all key persons in the Road Safety System will undertake continuous development to create relevant opportunities.
On November 25 and 26, 2015, the Road Safety 101 Training Course was delivered by Ms. Mavis Johnson, Canadian, who has over 40 years of road safety experience. She was assisted by:
* Dr Ward Vanlaar, Vice President Research at the Traffic Injury Research Foundation in Ottawa, Canada, who is recognized internationally for his work related to the evaluation of road safety programs and
* Mr Barry Johns, an International expert in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and its role in a comprehensive road safety strategy from the UK, who currently sits on numerous committees in Europe related to standards and best practice in EMS.
The course was very important in that all the stakeholders understand their own role, in addition to the roles of others and also understands their limitations.?The training included:
* Raise the awareness of the importance of road safety initiatives
* Present the components of effective road safety management
* Demonstrate that effective initiatives can make a difference
* Assist the students to understand the basic complexities and interrelationships of crash types and causes
* Assist the student to understand the dynamics and operating environment of the road safety industry
* Identify the roles and responsibilities of partners and stakeholders
* Present the components of an effective monitoring and evaluation process
* Identify specific road safety countermeasures, including the essential components of an effective Emergency Medical ?System.
The course was held at Belize Princess Hotel, Belize City for approximately 100 participants from throughout the country. Participants included personnel from the Municipalities, Police Department, Tourism Police, Transport Department, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Works, Transport and NEMO, Press Office, and the Private/Business Sectors.
The course stresses the importance that anyone working in the field of road safety understands the dynamics and operating environment of road safety that are quite complex. There are many government departments and sectors involved in managing and implementing a variety of road safety interventions. The success of these interventions will indeed rely on the integration and cooperation of the partnerships and interrelationships that are required.
This is another capacity building and knowledge transfer workshop/training undertaken within the Belize Road Safety Demonstration Corridor Project of many training programs that will be delivered over the next 2 years which will be directed at specific road safety partners, focusing on their individual priority topics.