Students and lecturers of the Department of Civil Engineering recently exchanged ideas on Road Safety with their peers from three European universities during an international student workshop in Stellenbosch. Seventeen students from Germany, Switzerland and Russia along with their lecturers collaborated on a project designed to explore the many dimensions of pedestrian safety. The visitors represented three universities in Europe: the Bergishe University of Wuppertal (Germany), Bern University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland) and the State University of Rostov (Russia). Stellenbosch University is the fourth member of the group which arranges an international workshop in one of the home countries each year. This was the first time that the event was held in Stellenbosch.
The international students worked with the Department's own postgraduate students in Transportation Engineering to identify problems and propose solutions to them in the local context. Dr Marion Sinclair and Mr Louis Roodt from the Department led the students through a series of lectures and site visits so that they could understand the problems for themselves. For many of the European students the dangers facing pedestrians in the South African context were eye-opening. In the Western Cape, almost 60% of traffic fatalities occur to pedestrians. Many deaths occur because the road layout fails to provide safe crossing opportunities for pedestrians and because vehicular traffic is almost always given priority over non-motorised transport. International road safety practice increasingly recognizes that safe streets need to be founded on an understanding of the vulnerabilities of road users that are not protected within vehicles.
Dr Marion Sinclair, who coordinates Road Safety Research within the Department noted: "It was really interesting to see how European students responded to local problems – in some cases the solutions were quite idealistic, but in others there were really good ideas raised that would be worth considering in Stellenbosch. As a municipality, Stellenbosch is increasingly providing better pedestrian facilities, however there are still areas where conflicts occur. We feel that both the foreign students and our own students learnt a great deal from each other over the course of the week."
Prof Christo Bester, head of the Transportation Division within Civil Engineering said of the exchange: "International engagement is important for our students and for us as a Department. It is important that we keep abreast of transportation developments internationally but also that Western experts understand the very specific challenges that can be found in developing countries. In this collaborative relationship we find exciting opportunities for the exchange of ideas".
One of the Stellenbosch students, Pascal Nteziyaremye commented "I am from Rwanda and the problems we face there are also different. I found it really exciting sharing experiences with European students and thinking about how some of their solutions and ideas could be applied in Africa."
The next event will be held in Wuppertal, Germany, in 2014.
