U.S. Secretary of Transportation Meets Lebanese Minster of Interior;$50,000 to Lebanese NGO Kunhadi to Support Traffic Safety Campaign

On July 2, 2010, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood met with Lebanese Minister of Interior Ziad Baroud to discuss American and Lebanese government initiatives to encourage safe driving. Secretary LaHood and Minister Baroud spoke at length about the different approaches and public awareness campaigns employed in Lebanon and the United States to educate drivers about the dangers of reckless and drunk driving, as well as driving while texting or other forms of distracted driving.
Speaking from the Ministry, Secretary LaHood called driving while texting “an epidemic in America and throughout the world."
"As we enter the United Nations' Decade of Global Road Safety, people need to remember that they can't safely talk on a cell phone or text while driving," said Secretary LaHood. "The risks are enormous." To counteract this disturbing trend, government agencies and private companies in the United States and Lebanon are using public service announcements and safety events to raise awareness.
Also present at the Ministry were met representatives from the Lebanese NGO Kunhadi, dedicated to promoting road safety, and announced that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded a new $50,000 grant to the organization which will help them produce 20 new TV clips on important traffic safety issues and Lebanese traffic laws. These spots will be aired as public service announcements on major Lebanese television stations. Last year Kunhadi received two grants from the United States government to support a public awareness campaign on road safety to focus citizen attention -- especially that of young drivers – on the need to obey Lebanese driving laws.