Mandela joins UN road safety campaign for youth

(July 23, 2012) Former South African president Nelson Mandela is pledging support for a global initiative to increase road safety for youth two years after losing his great-granddaughter in a car accident. Campaign official Avi Silverman said on Monday the Mandela family seeks to use its popularity to urge improved road safety ``because they don't want to see other families suffer.'' The campaign is named after Mandela's great-granddaughter Zenani who was killed in a car accident at age 13 on her way home from a concert kicking off the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup in South Africa. The 94-year-old Mandela endorsed the initiative headed by his daughter Zindzi in a statement on Friday. The campaign is part of a global U.N. initiative which says road crashes are the number one cause of death worldwide for those younger than 18.