In line with our missions to promote both free health care and awareness and road safety awareness and in our continuous efforts to bring forth a fundamental change to the Lebanese children and youth, we at GNK Foundation decided to take road safety awareness one step further. We are materializing this awareness into a state of the art Academy which will deliver to a vast slice of the young Lebanese all they need to know about rules and ethics of road safety and instill in them early and solid road safety education.
The idea of GNK TRAFFIC ACADEMY came after the loss of 16 year old Georges Nassim Khoriaty in a car accident and was further consolidated after witnessing the increasing number of senseless youth losses on the unsafe Lebanese roads. Our vision was incorporated by experienced educators and a specialized IT team into an accredited advanced e-learning based curriculum via a software exclusively designed for the Academy and its educational needs.
In Lebanon, road traffic accidents represent the leading cause of death. The rate of these accidents is constantly rising and they are most frequently hitting the under 30 year old age groups leading to their premature death and permanent disability. Sadly, Lebanon has the worst record in road traffic accidents in the Arab world. Even though accurate statistics are lacking in the country, it is estimated that around 1000 people die yearly and a much higher number suffer serious incapacitating injuries secondary to road traffic accidents. The costs and consequences of these senseless human losses are significant.
With this alarming background and with GNK’s mission to enhance children’s lives and rights, initiating road safety awareness at an early age to potential road users was conceived by us to be a high priority. The phrase “road users” refers to both drivers and pedestrians. As road user error is believed to be a major contributing factor, educating Lebanese road users about road safety rules and ethics at a young age has become an urgent necessity and is fundamental for developing a sense of responsibility about various aspects of road safety.