Part of its program would be the installation of high-grade road materials and technologies such as Diamond Grade Reflective Sheeting for school zone signage and Pavement Marking Tape to help improve reflectivity and visibility for motorists and pedestrians.

In addition, 3M will collaborate and work with communities, civic and government leaders, policymakers, NGOs and other organizations to help lead change and create safer roadway systems globally.

“3M’s commitment to improve school zone safety centers on the belief that every child deserves a chance at an education and getting to school safely shouldn’t be a barrier,” says Dr. Dan Chen, president, 3M Transportation Safety Division. “Over the next two years, we will work with NGOs and government agencies to improve safety in school zones and develop a scalable model for high-risk and under-resourced communities to create safer roads for all children.”

“In addition to continuing our advocacy work for improving road safety standards, we at 3M Philippines are committed to helping schools across the country become more secure for their students by keeping the roads around them safe,” said Reggie Pulumbarit, 3M Philippines Country Leader. “We are currently partnering with several local schools and institutions to support our mission to advance safety in school zones and road systems in order to keep our children safe, and their education secure.”

Underdeveloped roadways, a lack of crosswalks and poor visibility in school zones put the youngest pedestrians at particular risk when walking and biking to and from school. The rate at which these incidents happen drastically increases within low-income countries and communities indicating a clear need for change, according to the World Health Organization.

A 3M commissioned third-party independent research found that in Asia Pacific (APAC), as many as 46 percent of those surveyed reported having a family member or close friend who has died or been seriously injured in a traffic accident, significantly higher than the 33 percent globally. Ranking high among community transportation safety concerns, 84 percent of parents (vs 75 percent globally) are concerned about getting their children to and from school safely.

In fact, according to the International Road Assessment Program’s (iRAP) Vaccines for Roads Big Data Tool, traffic accidents kill nearly 2,000 people and injure 54,000 every day across the Asia Pacific region. In the Philippines, over 65,000 road accidents were recorded in Metro Manila last 2020, averaging 178 road-crash incidents per day.