To change road-user behaviour the work must start with pre-school children

26 June 2013

The topics for the second day (21 June) of the International Conference on Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety in Kyiv included the issues faced by the most vulnerable road users, shaping attitudes and behaviour on the roads, establishing conditions for safe and agreeable travel by pedestrians and cyclists and the role of insurance companies in improving safety on the roads.

The Conference also looked at training for professional drivers. In his presentation, Professor Oleh Panchenko (Ukrainian Award of Merit) pointed out that the current system for training drivers inUkrainefails to take into account many psychological and physical disorders which should mean drivers cannot be authorised to convey members of the public. According to the results of a study of 1,392 people, 44% of minibus taxi drivers had some form of psychological or physical disorder and 8% were not fit to work as professional drivers. 

During a discussion on the principles of safe driving, Unnus Hendrichs, Director of Safe Driving Switzerland, asked colleagues to keep reiterating in their daily work with road users that a significant reduction in the numbers of casualties can only be achieved by paying careful attention to their own safety and the safety of others, as well as by being fully aware of what is happening on the road. As they approach a pedestrian crossing, drivers should always slow down so that they can stop if pedestrians appear unexpectedly.

At the same time, pedestrians should be reminded that when they cross a road they should always check that there are no cars coming or, if there are, that the drivers have seen them and are slowing down, and only then begin to cross. Unnus explained that it is possible to ascertain whether or not a car is braking by looking at the front of the vehicle. When a car is braking, the front bumper visibly sinks down towards the ground. 

During the session on ‘Shaping the attitudes and behaviour of road users and raising awareness of the dangers on the road’, Alexander Revskiy, Senior Expert at the Strategic Department of Road Safety Russia, talked about the organisation’s experience, over the course of a number of campaigns, of shaping attitudes to the use of child restraints.

In particular, he drew attention to the fact that existing attitudes to road safety can only be changed for the better by constantly and consistently talking about and explaining to children the basic rules of road safety from the youngest possible age, right up to the end of school and continuing at driving schools. In this way a new culture of road safety can be established for the next generation.

Alexander also noted that there has been a fundamental shift in road safety campaigns in terms of how information is presented: “A distinctive feature of all campaigns is their positivity. We realised that the only way to get the issue of road safety across was to take a different approach and seek to encourage people, rather than trying to scare them with the potentially tragic consequences. This is particularly important when working with children”.

In conclusion, Alexander Revskiy emphasised that the work undertaken by Road Safety Russia is just the first step on a tough journey towards reducing deaths onRussia’s roads. “There is still a lot to be done. We are convinced that, through cooperation with the Russian State Automobile Inspectorate and focused attention on the issue by the President and the Government of theRussian Federation, the numbers of casualties will fall year by year.” 

The Conference ended with the publication of the text of the Kiev Declaration. This document focuses in particular on ensuring that road safety is an essential element in achieving and maintaining a high level of road safety and improving the attitudes and behaviour of road users in the implementation of national policy and the approval of long-term goals and development strategies. It also seeks to facilitate the establishment of national goals at the legislative level to reduce the numbers of road accident victims among the most vulnerable road users. The aim is for these goals to be achieved by the end of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety.

The full text of the Declaration can be found here.

Conference delegates’ photos can be found on our Facebook page 

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  • I totally agree with the education starting from the very young age visit our website we organise the unique worldwide road/rail safety awareness campaign on level crossing safety. We participate in PRI Kiev conference in a special session on level crossing safety: www.ilcad.org Isabelle FONVERNE 26.06.2013 18:10

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