Transit is one of the most important areas of social functioning for all citizens involved and responsible for road use (drivers, pedestrians, cyclists...). Our goal was to highlight the importance of responsible road behavior and respect for others.
The ideas
After several brainstorming sessions and discussions with our project team, which included five students, we started our research: press clippings, various sources, institutional material, reports etc. Once we acquired insight into the topics, how and to what extent they affected the public, we decided which topics were most interesting. In selecting the topics, we all contributed our experience with transit in the city where we live, Belgrade (personal and family perspectives, through the media, etcetera) regarding local road culture.
Following the basic principle, ‘Be responsible – Be safe’, we attempted to promote responsible behavior through our ideas and initiatives. We chose the following topics: road safety, responsible behaviors and risky behaviors. We targeted specific and frequent situations which threaten the safety of road users and attempted to point out the consequences of irresponsible behavior in everyday situations.
For each topic, we chose one or more specific and frequent situations:
Regardless of all the traffic regulations, the safest way of crossing the street is by being a responsible pedestrian. This is especially important for children.
Driving through large boulevards often involves changing into the right lane, but many drivers do not take into account the existence of blind spots. In these cases, mirrors are simply not sufficient for safe driving, and ignoring the need to look over your right shoulder often causes collisions, especially for young drivers.
During the research, we found many reports and analysis of the consequences of using mobile phones while driving. Unfortunately, many drivers in Serbia do not respect the norm prohibiting the use of mobile phones.
The parking problems of a big city interfere with the normal functioning of all citizens (drivers, pedestrians, utilities companies, etcetera).
Respecting knowledge and responsibility are mandatory elements; we stressed the importance safe driving.
The initiatives
Aim: raising awareness about responsible behavior in traffic, personal responsibility, and respect for others.
The target groups of the project were high school students and primary school pupils from the International Educational Centre Rudjer Boskovic. Road safety ideas were promoted through visual content: posters and one short video. Students designed a poster for each of the topics.
Road Safety: ‘Always look on the bright side of life’ poster to promote personal responsibility when crossing the street. Inspired by the famous Monty Python song, the message focused on ‘always look’ for ‘life’.
Responsible Behaviors: ‘Blind Spot’ poster demonstrated the importance of taking into account the physical characteristics of a limited field of vision while driving. A ‘Blind Spot’ video represented a kind of video experiment evidencing the same subject. ‘Parking’ poster pointed out irresponsible parking behavior.
Risky Behaviors: ‘No cell phones while driving’ poster represented the most frequent consequences of cell phone use while driving.
With the topic road safety, our project team, in cooperation with the school administration, organized a visit and training of students to the National Driving Academy. Acquiring a unique and important experience of traffic signals, with lectures and training, represented an outstanding contribution to the security of future drivers. Final year high school students had the opportunity to experience different driving conditions and hear expert advice.
