Update from Russia: The Brake in Advance Campaign launches

Update from Russia: The Brake in Advance Campaign launches

by | Dec 10, 2023 | News & Blog

Our Regional Coordinator for the Russian Region Mr Alexander Revskiy has been involved in promoting a new Russia wide road safety campaign called ‘Brake in Advance’. The campaign has been coordinated by Road Safety Russia the leading road safety NGO in Russia.

The “Brake in advance!” campaign is a large-scale public awareness campaign initiated by the General Department of Road Traffic Safety of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian Association of Motor Insurers, with information support provided by NGO Road Safety Russia.

Every year pedestrians account for one third of all road accident deaths. These road users are unprotected: they do not have an iron shell around their body. If a pedestrian is hit by a car, especially a car travelling at high speed, they cannot escape injury. 

In 2012, to promote the use of pedestrian crossings, the Russian Association of Motor Insurers and the General Department of Road Traffic Safety of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs ran a campaign entitled “The Walk of Life”. Its results are best demonstrated by the statistics: the number of accidents involving pedestrians in places other than pedestrian crossings has fallen! In 2013 the number of people killed in such accidents fell by 6.5%.

However, despite an overall reduction in the number of pedestrians killed, in 2013 the number of accidents at pedestrian crossings increased by 10.3%, and the number of deaths by 7.5%. In most cases, it was drivers who were to blame. Drivers break the speed limit, fail to observe the rules for pedestrian crossings, and jump red lights. This is why it was decided to run the “Brake in advance” campaign.

Road Safety Russia have been at the forefront of creating innovative camaigns in the region.

The objective of this new campaign is to reduce the number of accidents caused by drivers failing to observe the rules for uncontrolled pedestrian crossings. Our task is to inform drivers that it is very important they reduce their speed in good time before a zebra crossing.
As part of the campaign, events aimed at increasing pedestrian safety will be held for the general public in a number of Russian regions. The main events will take place in ten regions:  Perm Krai, the Chuvash Republic, St. Petersburg, and the Vladimir, Kaluga, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Omsk and Yaroslavl regions.

From mid-March, events will be held at pedestrian crossings: pedestrians will be told about the rules for crossing the road, and sixty meters before the crossing a special sign at the side of the road will warn drivers that they must reduce their speed in good time before a zebra crossing.

During the course of a week, special classes will be held in universities, nurseries, schools and driving schools in each region. There will also be special events at petrol stations. The main event will be training in “The Art of Braking”, during which drivers will be taught the principles and basics of effective and safe braking, and, supervised by instructors, they will have the chance to master braking techniques.

Click to watch the Pictograms Advert by Road Safety Russia.

Other regions will also be involved in the campaign. The “Pictograms” advert, audio clips, and outdoor advertising will remind drivers to slow down in good time and pedestrians to take care when crossing the road. The advert is already being shown on federal television channels and online. At the end of the campaign, all the materials (training film, studies, teaching aids) will be made available to download.

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This update was provided by Alexander Revskiy – Coordinator of the Russian Region

Western Pacific Update – Get Your Hand Off It Campaign launches

Western Pacific Update – Get Your Hand Off It Campaign launches

by | Dec 10, 2023 | News & Blog

Our Regional Coordinator for the Western Pacific Region, Mr Joel Tucker updated us of recent campaign launched in New South Wales, Australia called, ‘Get Your Hand Off It’. It offers a comical approach to a music video to raise awareness of distracted driving, created in three genres of music.

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Minister for Roads and Ports Duncan Gay today launched the next stage of the NSW Government’s ‘Get Your Hand Off It’ road safety campaign on mobile phone distraction.

During a visit to Tamworth, Minister Gay released new ‘Get Your Hand Off It’ videos including a country music version. 

“This is one of the biggest road safety issues in NSW. Taking your hand off the wheel and taking your eyes off the road to text or use social media threatens the safety of all road users,” Minister Gay said.
 

“Our cheeky slogan ‘Get Your Hand Off It’ is about making the practice of using your phone while driving unacceptable. “It’s been hugely successful in sparking awareness of the risks. Our first You Tube video featuring Derek received more than 620,000 hits before being expanded to mainstream media.

See the Country Version of Get Your Hand Off It

See the Hip Hop Version of Get Your Hand Off It

See the Rock Version of Get Your Hand Off It

Our Regional Coordinator for the Western Pacific Region, Mr Joel Tucker updated us of recent campaign launched in New South Wales, Australia called, ‘Get Your Hand Off It’. It offers a comical approach to a music video to raise awareness of distracted driving, created in three genres of music.

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Minister for Roads and Ports Duncan Gay today launched the next stage of the NSW Government’s ‘Get Your Hand Off It’ road safety campaign on mobile phone distraction.

During a visit to Tamworth, Minister Gay released new ‘Get Your Hand Off It’ videos including a country music version.

“This is one of the biggest road safety issues in NSW. Taking your hand off the wheel and taking your eyes off the road to text or use social media threatens the safety of all road users,” Minister Gay said.

“Our cheeky slogan ‘Get Your Hand Off It’ is about making the practice of using your phone while driving unacceptable. “It’s been hugely successful in sparking awareness of the risks. Our first You Tube video featuring Derek received more than 620,000 hits before being expanded to mainstream media.

Think Bikes! Making cyclists more visible on the road in the UK

Think Bikes! Making cyclists more visible on the road in the UK

by | Dec 10, 2023 | News & Blog

According to a survery carried out by the Automobile Association Charitable Trust in the UK, new figures show that nine out of ten drivers (93%) admit it is sometimes hard to see cyclists while they are driving and more than half of the people spoken to were often ‘surprised when a cyclist appears out of nowhere’.

These are the results of an AA-Populus poll of 17,629 drivers. A previous AA-Populus poll showed 85 per cent of drivers think motorcyclists are sometimes hard to see and more than half (57%) are often ‘surprised when a motorcycle appears from nowhere’.

As a result of these findings the AA and the AA Charitable Trust have got together, with support from British Cycling and The Motorcycle Industry Association, to launch a national ‘Think Bikes!’ awareness campaign

Initially one million free stickers will be distributed to drivers as a reminder to do a ‘double-take’ in their mirrors for cycles and motorcycles in their blind spots. It is proposed that the cycle sticker is placed on the passenger’s side and the motorcycle one on the driver’s side.

Failure to look properly
Failure to look properly is the most commonly cited (42%) contributory factor in UK road accidents, adding further weight to the need for road users to have greater awareness of each other.

The campaign was launched on Friday 7 March at Marble Arch, London, with the help of famous Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman, 20 times TT winner John McGuinness and with support from the Metropolitan Police.

The original sticker concept came from Tony Rich, AA Patrol of the Year, after his friend, Jack Bellis, was killed in a motorcycle crash. Tony and Jack’s family wanted to do something to help prevent such crashes in the future.

‘New Deal’ for road users
Think Bikes! is part of the AA’s ongoing commitment to improve road safety for all road users and forms part of its ‘New Deal’ for road users the organisation is championing; where all road users agree to stick to the rules of the road and treat each other with respect.

Now You See Me – Just what would it take for motorists to start noticing bikers and cyclists?

Naked cycling might not be the ideal solution — it can get a bit brrr — but our intrepid volunteer certainly turned a few heads on his commute through busy London streets. The stunt was part of the AA’s #ThinkBikes campaign. Let’s all stay safe on the roads!

Read more about the campaign here.

US Legal Drinking Age Saves Hundreds of Lives Each Year – new study

US Legal Drinking Age Saves Hundreds of Lives Each Year – new study

by | Dec 10, 2023 | News & Blog

The legal drinking age in the United States saves hundreds of lives every year, according to research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. It notes that attitudes towards alcohol and driving has changed significantly over the past 20 years although there is a lot more to do.

The study also addressed teen drinking and driving rates, which have dropped by 54 percent in the past two decades. The biggest decline in teen drinking and driving rates was between 1982 and 1995 when federal laws began pressuring states to increase their legal drinking age to 21.

In 2012, approximately every 51 minutes, someone was killed in a drunk-driving related accident, with a total of 10,322 deaths, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a campaign that aims to stop drunk driving. For the same year, approximately every 90 seconds, someone was injured in a drunk-driving related accident, with a total of 345,000 injuries.

“MADD has always cared about the health and well-being of our youth in particular,” said Mary Alice Serafini, director of the Pat Walker Health Center. “Drinking and driving is an extremely high risk to any age group and is life threatening. One death lost to drinking and driving is one too many deaths.”  

Along with increased safety on the road, the legal drinking age has health benefits as well. Research reveals that consumption of alcohol during adolescence can interfere with brain development, Serafini said. The human brain develops during the early 20s, and drinking alcohol during that development can cause short-or long-term damage to brain growth, according to the MADD website.

While the legal drinking age has health and safety benefits, there are some drawback to having a higher legal drinking age in the U.S. than in other countries.  

The YOURS Youth and Road Safety Action Kit illustrates the effects of aclohol on the body.

“Because the drinking age is 21, some people vilify alcohol altogether, growing up learning that alcohol is intrinsically bad and cannot be good for people,” said senior Joey Castrodale. “On the other end of the spectrum, people under the age who like to rebel against society drink uncontrollably just to break the rules, which is also damaging to themselves and society as a whole.” Despite the drawbacks, Castrodale said he would not change the legal drinking age.

“I believe the drinking age is fine where it is,” Castrodale said. “Because of the precedence that has already been set, I do not believe changing it either way will be good for America. We are too far in to make any change without serious ramifications. If we could go back and re-found the country and never enstate the drinking age, I would say to not have one, but now we’re this far in, so it would lead to chaos were it to change.” 

Q: How does alcohol affect driving?


A: Even a small quantity of alcohol can have the following effects:

  • Poor coordination: trouble doing more than one thing at a time, difficulty steering the car.
  • Longer reaction time: reacting more slowly when something unexpected happens (a car approaching you from the side, people crossing the street).
  • Poor judgment: trouble judging your and other people’s behaviour (including speed, distances, movement) and estimating risks.
  • Reduction in concentration, memory, vision and hearing:
    focusing only on the road ahead, losing track of what is taking place in your peripheral vision area, missing out on things you see and hear.
  • False sense of confidence and overestimation of abilities: feeling more confident and taking risks that you would not usually take.
Uganda puts pedestrian and cyclist safety first for road safety

Uganda puts pedestrian and cyclist safety first for road safety

by | Dec 10, 2023 | News & Blog

In partnership with the Road Safety Fund, the Guardian’s Global Road Safety in Focus series offers in depth explorations of road safety issues from around the world. In a recent article written with the aid of UNEP, pedestrian safety is put in the spotlight in Uganda. See the article here.

The original source of this article can be found at the Guardian here. All links link back the Guardian’s website.

 

Sub-Saharan Africa is the most dangerous place in the world to travel by foot. Pedestrians account for 22% (pdf) of road fatalities worldwide; in Africa, this proportion rises to 38%. But these most vulnerable road users are easy for government officials to overlook. Only about a third of low- and middle-income countries have policies that protect pedestrians.

Such statistics have served as a wake-up call in Africa, a continent that struggles with traffic congestion, air pollution and limited access to transport. In Uganda, Kenya and a handful of other countries, officials are developing laws and guidelines to keep pedestrians safe. But policies alone are not enough – any legislation needs to be implemented and enforced.

Pedestrian safety is a major concern in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city. The government has made real progress in this area. In 2012, it drafted a policy, which has since been made law, to protect pedestrians and cyclists.

Pedestrian safety must become a key concern for the benefit of all.

The policy reinforces the idea that the government is responsible for providing high-quality infrastructure – pavements, cycle lanes and the like – to serve the country’s non-motorised transport (NMT) users. It sets out standards to ensure that elderly people, those with disabilities and pedestrians with small children can use roads and pavements safely.

But infrastructure alone cannot reduce pedestrian deaths. People will have to change their behaviour on the roads, which is why educating the public is so important, as Uganda’s new policy recognises.

The law calls for primary schools, media outlets and NGOs to support the government’s efforts to keep pedestrians safe. In conjunction with the transport ministry, the First African Bicycle Information Organisation organised Kampala’s third annual car-free day last December. Such events will be critical to ensuring the new policy’s success.

Implementing a non-motorised transport policy is no easy task, however. It requires co-ordination across many branches of government, including departments responsible for transport, health and security. Law-enforcement authorities must understand the importance of the issue and the need to support it. Local government officials must also buy into the policy, since they are often responsible for the quality of traffic infrastructure.

Safe Roads for All is a key aim of the international road safety community for the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Despite such challenges, Uganda stands to gain much from the policy, which will be implemented by the summer of 2014. By enabling people to walk and cycle safely, the government can improve air quality as well as access to schools, health facilities and other critical services, promoting social and economic development across the country.

The UN environment programme (Unep) has worked hard to promote the safety of pedestrians and cyclists throughout Africa. Our Share the Road initiative, which focuses on east Africa, has encouraged countries to pay more attention to non-motorised transport. In Uganda, Unep has worked closely with the government to help to design its NMT policy, enhance public awareness and develop pilot projects to improve pedestrian safety.

Uganda is an African pioneer in prioritising the safety of pedestrians and cyclists; other countries would do well to follow its example. But, crucially, Uganda and other countries need international support as they design and implement new policies to keep pedestrians safe. Rob de Jong is head of the transport unit at Unep

Women and Road Safety: Project for Society – reporting from Morocco

Women and Road Safety: Project for Society – reporting from Morocco

by | Dec 10, 2023 | News & Blog

Recently, our friends at La Prevention Routiere Internationale (La PRI) hosted Women and Road Safety: Project for Society on the 8th and 9th March 2014 at tge Palais des Congrès, Skhirat – Rabat. Our CORE Group representative for Europe and leader in road safety, Ms Ana Rita Lavado attended the event and wrote this report for YOURS.

With the frame that every day in Morocco and around the world, many people are killed or injured on the roads and because it was also international women day we started with general discussions about road safety but focusing on the important role of women in road safety.

Road traffic crashes are a major public health problem worldwide, with adverse consequences on economic and social plans. The risk of being killed in a traffic crash varies by age and sex and it is almost three times higher in men than in women. However, according to the World Health Organization, the accidents are among the ten leading causes of death among teenagers and adult women.

Ms Ana Rita Lavado (Left) attends the global road safety conference on women.

In countries with high and middle income, crashes are the leading cause of death among the female population aged 10-44 years. Considering the central and multifaceted role that women play in society and also play as an actor that influence their environment constructively, the National Committee for the Prevention of Traffic Accidents (CNPAC) and the National Union of Women of Morocco (UNFM), co- organized the 1st World Congress on woman and road safety under the theme ” women and road Safety: project for society.”

This congress was under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and the Conference was organized under the chairmanship of Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem  This event was organized in collaboration with several international organizations, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Road Safety Organization (PRI), the Laser International Foundation and Laser Europe, the International Transport Forum (ITF) and the International Automobile Federation (FIA).
More than 300 delegates take part in this event.

The event brought together leading decision female decision makers in global road safety.

We had 3 panels where we could discuss several of the main objectives of the congress like

  • Panel 1: gendering of public safety policies: international benchmark
  • Panel 2: Civil Society, the pillar of road safety
  • Panel 3: Road safety, vector for sustainable development

By the end of the last day of work we assisted to the adoption of the “Rabat Declaration” on the woman and road safety and to the presentation of the letter of intent to establish the international Women’s foundation for road safety!

This is the kind of event we should be involved in and for sure I represented the Region of Europe, talking about our CORE Group, YOURS, Our European Youth Forum and of course my work at GARE, as I represent an NGO and a participated, as a speaker, on panel II, where I had the opportunity to talk about our efforts, our lack of governmental support and our importance in the road safety issues. It is important that we each NGO and ambassador for road safety represent road safety on every level of decision making. We are near people, near youngsters, near the real needs of society in terms of Road Safety. 

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Ana Rita Lavado
CORE Group Representative of Europe Region & coordinator of GARE