The 20-day campaign, which commenced on April 1st, was called Safe Driving Campaign (SDC).
All over the world, the causes of accident for people aged 19-29 include the use of mobile phone, feeling sleepy, being in a hurry, lack of concentration, and driving while under the influence of alcohol. Based on that data, the UPH?s Student Executive Board took an initiative to hold a campaign to promote safe driving to UPH students and the society at Lippo Karawaci area. The 20-day campaign, which commenced on April 1st, was called Safe Driving Campaign (SDC).
In three out of those 20 days, the Board held large-scale activities. April 2, 2008 was the opening day of the campaign. UPH rector, Jonathan Parapak, attended and officially opened the campaign. In the afternoon, there was a seminar on the topic of safe driving.
In order to send their messages to the society, especially to those aged 19-29, the committee is running a creative campaign by giving flyers, posters, bracelets, postcards etc.
The committee brought the campaign to Supermal Karawaci on April 12, 2008. That day, they held a talk show with Moreno Soeprapto as the speaker, followed by the performance of Jamaican Caf?. The campaign was held at the mall because the target of the campaign is not only UPH students, but also the society around them at Lippo Karawaci area.
During the talk show, Soeprapto gave several tips for safe driving. The first thing a driver should do, in his opinion, is to take a comfortable seat and make sure that his legs can reach the pedals. Next, a driver should put his right hand on the 3 o?clock position and his left hand on the 9 o?clock position on the steering wheel.
After sitting and holding the wheel in the right position, Soeprapto suggested that we should not use our palm in turning the wheel even when we are driving a car with the best power steering. Should the wheel hit stones or other objects, we might lose control over the steering wheel and also the car. To prevent a flat tire, Soeprapto suggested that the audience should not to drive on the road?s shoulder as its surface is not clear of sharp objects.
Soeprapto also stressed the importance of this activity to socialize safe driving to the society. In his opinion, there a lot of information about safe driving we cannot get just by doing the driver?s license exam.
At the final event on April 16, the committee organized ROAD ACT, which involved more than 500 students going to the street around Supermal Karawaci to show that they care about safe driving. The participants were entertained by RAN, an Indonesian music band.
To help the understanding of safe driving, the Board was giving free flyers that contained facts and myths about driving. Apparently, there are many wrong assumptions in society about driving. Pulling over to take a five-minute sleep or a cup of coffee, for example, will not do any good to help us overcome sleepiness. What we have to do is to really sleep.
The committee was not alone in shouting the safe driving campaign. Running the campaign together with them was the Traffic Police of Tangerang with their ?Police Goes to Campus? program.
By Marcel Glen Longdong, CA
