Buckling up is the way to go
Traffic came to a standstill as members of Ama Wheelies cycled around town urging motorists to wear their safety belts at all times and to adhere to the rules of the road.
MBOMBELA – Traffic came to a standstill as members of Ama Wheelies cycled around town urging motorists to wear their safety belts at all times and to adhere to the rules of the road. Ama Wheelies is both a home and rehabilitation centre for disabled persons, especially those with spinal injuries due to traumatic accidents in the province.
The marchers sang, “Everywhere we go people want to know us, we tell them we are Ama Wheelies and we say buckle up, because we don’t want no new members”.
According to organisers of the event, the campaign was called Ama Wheelies Annual Road Safety Awareness Walk. They also took the opportunity to raise funds for the organisation.
“Our slogan for the day was ‘Buckle up, Ama Wheelies don’t want new members on wheelchairs!’ We embarked on this campaign to encourage people to always wear their safety belts and respect the road rules, even for small trips to the stores.
We believe that, had they worn their safety belts, many of the spinal injuries could have been avoided,” explained Ama Wheelies chairperson, Mr Bonginkosi Mlombo.
The organisation spokesperson Ms Bongiwe Malope also handed a petition to the mayor of Mbombela Cllr Sibusiso Mathonsi who also cycled in a wheelchair to get a first-hand experience of what it feels like. “Our plea is for the mayor to instruct law enforces to raise the standard and urge everyone to wear their safety belts.
We also plea with bus and taxi drivers to treat people with disabilities fairly and to accommodate wheelchairs users,” she said. “It’s a unique experience, one will never think how it feels until he or she is involved in an accident.
It sometimes needs a lot of energy and a muscle to pull through and we are glad that our roads in Mbombela are up to standard and able to accommodate people using wheelchairs,” said Mathonsi.
He added that the municipality was working hand in hand with the department of public works to widen pedestrian paths in order to create space for wheelchair users.
“We also noted that much of the space is being occupied by hawkers and we are working on a project to remove them,” he said. Mr John Mavundla, the chairperson of Top Star Taxi Associations, said the taxi industry also supported the campaign.
He also urged passengers to report drivers’ bad treatment at their offices at the Mbombela Plaza, and they must remember to note the taxi’s number plates when doing so. Top Star Taxis also provide free transport for members to and from the event.
Other sponsors included in the campaign were Buscor, the Road Accident Fund, Mbombela’s mayor, SAPS and Mbombela Traffic Control Unit.
