We created posters and flyers with information about traffic rules to teach children road safety on their way to school. We presented these materials to all children, after which they were exposed on the walls of the school.
The ideas
According to the European Commission, more than one third of the victims of accidents on the roads in Romania are pedestrians. A worrying figure, says Brussels. The European average is 22%.
"568 pedestrians lost their lives last year in road accidents," police data showed. Only 17% of them are caused by drivers who did not give priority to the passage. Others occur because crossed at unauthorized places or when the traffic light is red "
There are many examples. Young people venture to cross illegally without taking their eyes off the phone.
Statistics show that, after pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are the most vulnerable. Lack of tracks makes many of the cycling enthusiasts move along crowded streets. Almost half of the accidents are due to non-compliance. And drivers who do not care about cyclists presence in traffic are responsible for a large number of accidents.
Together with Bulgaria, Romania is the second in Europe in terms of the number of deaths in road accidents - a rate of 95 deaths per 1 million inhabitants.
We started the project with a set of questions, to which I received the following responses:
- Where are safe places? 40% responded that they feel safe at home and at school; 60% - feel safe at home, at school and in parks.
- What do I use or what means of transport I use on the way to school? 40% - go by bus, 50% walking and 10% by bike.
- How could it help to reduce the number of road accidents involving pedestrians? 40% responded that there is a need to promote early education for road safety; 40% of them said that we need more passages of audible and visual pedestrians and 20% of them said that the number of cars involved in traffic should be lower.
The initiatives
We found that we feel insecure on our way to school because of excessive road traffic. Applying the brainstorming method, we established a plan of measures to increase safety on public pedestrian roads in particular.
We wanted to create various materials (posters, posters, flyers) with information about traffic rules so they can feel safer on their way to school. We taught the children about safety on the streets, at school, at home and while playing!
So, with the permission of the teachers, we entered an hour in every class of the school and we talked to children about road safety on the way to school especially. We presented them with the posters we created, the materials, explaining traffic rules as a pedestrian. For the future we want to use more bicycles, and that poor infrastructure is no longer an obstacle for cyclists.
We must mention that it is much harder for children to make a decision when they participate in traffic as pedestrians. For children it can be a complicated action: they do not know how to behave on the streets and often react too emotionally and abruptly, which can lead to accidents. The primary level student is not always able to anticipate dangers on the streets, having problems with the perception of the distance that separates him from a vehicle or the speed at which it moves. Children also stand alone in danger, playing and having fun on the road to school. That is why it is so important, from the youngest ages, to be taught how to behave safely on the street. This knowledge can save their lives and health.
The contemporary world, besides countless possibilities for development, also brings many dangers, the level of which until recently was completely different. It is important for them to be safe on the road to school, in the school, at home or while playing. Parents, teachers and various institutions, such as the Police, strive to protect students in every situation. An important element of these actions is to educate children so that they are aware of the potential dangers, learn how to avoid them and how to proceed with their occurrence.
