By Nazario Rodriguez Jr.
Horizon news staf

After attending the just-concluded Global Youth Assembly for road safety at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on April 23-24, Bureau of Public Safety (BPS) Police Officer Virginia Umayam urged for a need to legislate stricter regulations on the roads to prevent more injuries especially to the young people.
She said that Palau should implement a law requiring seat belts and car seats for children.
"We need to make some changes right away. We need new laws for road safety," she said.
Speaking before participants in yesterday’s Injury/Violence Prevention and Control (Stakeholders’ Meeting and Situational Analysis) at the Palasia Hotel, she was lucky to represent not only Palau but also the whole Pacific Region.
Umayam said it was a life changing experience for her.
The highlight of my trip was not only the pride I felt in representing Palau, but also adopting the Declaration for Road Safety. You should read it. Reading it can change your life," said Umayam, whose trip is part of the Global Road Safety Week.
Road safety, she said, is a serious issue because a lot of young lives are lost due to traffic accidents.
"I learned from this assembly that road traffic injuries and deaths can be predicted and therefore prevented and the world – which includes Palau – has an obligation to prevent these injuries. Road Safety is No Accident," she said.
She said that survivors of car crashes were present to share testimonies.
"It didn’t just make me sad but it reminded me of a best friend who died in a car crash when his life was just getting started," she said.
Umayam talked on how she actively participated in all the discussions as they shared ideas and knowledge from each own experience.
She said that the assembly gave her opportunity to gain more knowledge that she could share to her co-workers and solicited help from media so that their voices are heard.
"We must promote and take into action how to save and prevent young lives and the lives of all people who die needlessly in road crashes every year," she said.
"We want to make the roads of the world safer and more secured, not only for ourselves but also for everyone and for the generations to come," Umayam noted as she quoted the last sentence on the Life of the Youth Safety Declaration.