To date, 215 schools form part of the scholar patrol improvement project
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 22 August 2013 – IMPERIAL South Africa today announced the addition of the 215th school to join its I-Pledge Scholar Patrol Improvement Project – Ditau Primary School in Soweto. Aimed at educating teachers and scholars around the basics of road safety, the project looks to reinstate scholar patrol in schools and to train learners and teachers around best practice when it comes to road usage, which is of particular relevance if we consider that around three children’s lives are cut short every day on our roads as a result of lack of visibility by motorists (570) and not being strapped in (250).
“Road accidents are the biggest global killer of the youth, aged between 10 and 24 and with around 14,000 road deaths in South Africa every year; it is one of the highest per capita road death rates in the world,” says Niki Cronje, Group Marketing at IMPERIAL. “It is fatalities like this that formed the basis for the initiation of our Scholar Patrol Improvement Project – ensuring that we are able to make a difference by providing consistent education around road safety – and today we are very proud that we have managed to reach 215 schools in such a short space of time.”
This project, through IMPERIAL I-Pledge, started in October 2012 and set a goal of reaching 20 schools a month. “Marking our 215th Scholar Patrol Improvement Project at Ditau Primary is as exciting as it is rewarding,” says Niki Cronje, Group Marketing at IMPERIAL. “We have taught 142 000 learners, 1 720 scholars, trained 465 teachers and reached more than 164 different communities with our message around the importance of road safety, as well as painted a total of 8.6 kilometers of zebra crossings.”
In a recent report by The World Bank, it was highlighted that campaigns like this are needed across the region in order to decrease fatalities and educate the youth, pedestrians and drivers.
“This project, and certainly the milestone for us as a brand, continues to demonstrate our commitment to educating the communities in which we operate, to increase awareness and empower people to become change agents. In addition, as we celebrate the 215th school we also realise that we need to continue to bring more schools on board and will certainly ensure we remain focused on increasing our footprint and bringing real opportunity to South African communities – creating safer roads and less fatalities” concludes Cronje.
About IMPERIAL Holdings
IMPERIAL is a diversified industrial services and retail group with activities spanning logistics, car rental and tourism, distributorships, automotive retail and related financial services. IMPERIAL operates in South Africa, Africa, Europe and Australia.
IMPERIAL is a major road user in Southern Africa with its sheer size and geographic footprint putting the group in a great position to make a difference:
- 460 million kilometres were travelled by its Southern African transport fleet last year.
- 150 000 new and used cars sold in South Africa through IMPERIAL.
- One in every three car rental transactions in South Africa is made through IMPERIAL.
- IMPERIAL operates 600 vessels on the waterways of Europe with over 1 million tonnes combined load capacity, and transports in excess of 53 million tonnes per annum in Europe
ABOUT EUROPCAR SOUTH AFRICA
Europcar has established itself as one of South Africa’s leading global car rental companies; one which prides itself on delivering locally relevant, world-class service excellence with a dynamic and fresh attitude. Its payoff line of ‘Moving Your Way’ encompasses the company’s global strategy to be a key player in shaping the future of mobility, together with its commitment to exceptional customer service.
The company, owned and managed by the Imperial Group*, has operated exclusively as Europcar since 2009 having a rich 33-year history with its roots as Imperial Car Rental.
Voted Africa’s Leading Car Hire Company at the 2012 World Travel Awards – for the seventh consecutive year – the company serves around a third of the South African car rental market and has segmented the business to tailor solutions to the business and leisure markets, both inbound and locally.
The organisation is just as conscientious when it comes to social responsibility, and supports a number of programmes focusing on children, education, HIV/ Aids and poverty alleviation. Sustainability is also a business imperative and the company focuses heavily on the promotion of environmental responsibility, awareness and behavior throughout its operations, with the primary goal of reducing its outputs.
Europcar offers a fleet peaking at 18,500 vehicles at over 120 locations throughout Southern Africa – and through the global Europcar network, offers car rental access to around 220,000 across 150 countries.
Holding ISO9001 (2008) accreditation, Europcar holds a Two BBBEE rating. It is a member of the South African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (SAVRALA), and has partnerships with several important service providers in the travel industry.
Then again, that’s typical of a Proudly South African company which believes that supporting everything local – from people to businesses – is critical to the future of this country.
*IMPERIAL is a diversified industrial services and retail group with activities spanning logistics; car rental; tourism; financial services; vehicle distribution and retail. It operates in South Africa, Africa, Europe and Australia, is listed on the Johannesburg stock exchange and employs over 40,000 people
