“Buckle up; we don’t want new members” – QASA

The QuadPara Association of South Africa (QASA) will be sending a strong message during the upcoming school holidays … it will deploy quadriplegics and paraplegics at seven garages on South Africa’s national roads, from June 28. The aim is to encourage motorists to “buckle up” in order to reduce the number of spinal cord injuries as a result of road crashes.

“So often, charities are seen looking for handouts. In this project, we extend a hand out to the South African public – giving something back in the form of an awareness campaign,” says Ari Seirlis, CEO of QASA. “This will save millions in rehabilitation costs and reduce the number of persons becoming disabled.”

The QASA team will ask motorists to sign a pledge to “buckle up”. “Distracted driving is also on our agenda where we encourage road users not to use their mobile phones while driving,” adds Seirlis. This will be addressed through giving out a fragranced “goody” with the message “do not text and drive”.

“QASA is also very proud to have received some investment from the Road Accident Fund towards this campaign, as part of a new partnership which aims to reduce catastrophic injury from road crashes,” concludes Seirlis.