The City of Nicosia in Cyrpus will be the backdrop for this year’s European Road Safety Day.

On 25th July, youth delegates from across Europe will come together for one day in the sunshine city of Nicosia, Cyprus for the Fourth European Road Safety Day. This conference will have a strong focus on young people’s involvement in road safety.

The event is being organized by the European Commission and Cypriot Transport Authorities alongside international road safety organizations. There will be numerous presentations from road safety experts on the latest developments in road safety in a European context as well as interactive discussions and debates on topics important to young people in Europe orientated on road safety issues. Of course a lot of young people from around the region have been invited, and many are part of the European Youth Network for Road Safety under the leadership of our Coordinator of the European Region Mr. Axel Druart (http://www.youthforroadsafety.org/about_us/core_group), who will also be a pannelist during one of the sessions.

The Surreal Posters Series has been a program that was highly subscribed to. Delegates are able to download the poster series for free, featuring five posters focusing on the five key risk factors in road safety. Now, YOURS is featuring a focus on each poster explaining the risk factor behind each theme. This week, we focus on seatbelts…

Non-Use of Seat Belts
Ever wondered why most countries have seatbelt laws? And why some countries are very strict in enforcing these laws? The answer is in three words: seatbelts save lives! It is now known that seatbelts have saved more lives than any other road safety intervention in history.

Have excuses not to wear your seatbelt? Here are some common excuses and why they don’t work.

Seatbelts are not needed if the car is equipped with air bags
Check out what is says on your air bag: SRS – meaning supplementary restraint system. Air bags are not designed to work alone but to supplement the work of the seatbelt. Air bags will not prevent you from being thrown out of the car and might actually cause sever injuries in high impact crashes.

A seatbelt will trap you in the car in a fire or underwater
Aside from the action movies and thrillers, how often have you seen a crash cause a fire or throw the car in water? Crashes involving fire or water account for less than one perent of all crashes. In case of a crash of such magnitude, without a seatbelt, a person will be killed or at least very seriously injured. Wearing a seatbelt can keep from sustaining such unjuries and you can unbuckle yourself when needed. Not only that, but in case of submersion underwater, keep you belt on and it can help you escape by stabilizing your body as you try to open the door or window.

Belts can hurt you in a crash
Not more that you will be hurt without them! Seatbelts are meant to restrain you in your seat and prevent you from being smashes in the steering wheel or dashboard if you’re in the front seats , or thrown out of the car. Seatbelts rarely cause any injuries themselves, and if they do, they are usually surface bruses. If you are not restrained, you might be thrown out of the care and injured badly.

You can be driving to the grocery store just around the corner for a crash to happen. Most crashes happen within 40km (25 miles) of home and at speeds less than 60km (40mph).

Taking an original approach to road safety, the Michelin Group, who are Founding Members of YOURS have organized a contest for young drivers on Facebook. This unique ‘game style’ application, called ‘Tom the European Tour’ is a innovative tool for road safety combating the road safety problem facing young people in Europe.

Every year on average, nearly 5,000 young people age 18 to 24 are killed in road crashes in the European Union. At the same time, since nearly 80% of young Europeans age 16 to 24 are regular uses of social media, Facebook represents a logical means for raising their awareness of road safety issues.

Called Tom European Tour, the game invites young people who drive – or are learning to drive – to travel with a virtual character named Tom through seven countries. Through the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Spain, web users can follow and share Tom’s adventures from April 17 through June 8, 2012.

For each stage of the journey, participants will answer questions or take part in a game dealing with the main aspects of road safety, such as complying with road signs and driving laws, anticipating hazards, maintaining vigilance, respecting speed limits, drinking when driving and adjusting to weather conditions. Participants with the best score will be awarded a symbolic driver’s license for each country visited. A random drawing will then be held to choose the winner, who receives a new Citroën C1.

The adventure is designed to educate young people the right reflexes and behavior at the wheel and to allow the exchange and sharing of views across Europe. Traveling across Europe with Tom will provide young people with the opportunity to learn more about key rules of the road, as well as each country’s special features, and encourage them to take road safety more seriously.

The initiative is part of the European ROSYPE project (ROad Safety for Young People in Europe), which was launched and led by the Michelin Group with the support of the European Commission. The goal is to raise road safety awareness among 730,000 young Europeans, ages 6 to 25, over a three-year period.

Discover the game now on Facebook!

The Surreal Poster Series has been a program that was highly subscribed to. Delegates are able to download the poster series for free, featuring five posters focusing on the five key risk factors in road safety. Now, YOURS is featuring a focus on each poster explaining the risk factor behind each theme. This week, we focus on helmets…

Most injuries resulting from crashes involving motorcycles or bicycles are head injuries. Head injuries that do not result in death may still have a long term impact. In European countries, head injuries contribute to around 75% of deaths among motorcycle users and in some low-income and middle-income countries head injuries are estimated to account for up to 88% of such fatalities.

Helmets are vital because they offer the only protection when you are on motorcycle or bike. The body is totally exposed with no metallic framework for protection and no seatbelt to hold you in your seat and prevent you from being thrown off. Wearing a helmet is the single most effective way of reducing head injuries and fatalities resulting from motorcycle, moped, and bicycle crashes.

Although wearing a helmet makes sense on many levels, some people still try to minimize its importance. Others are also influenced by myths and misconceptions that are absolutely false. For example:

Helmets are just hats so they can’t protect the head
Helmets have four major components that work together to protect your head from injuries: a rigid outer shell, an impact absorbing liner, a comfort padding, face shield, and a retention system to buckle up. So, helmets are way more than hats!

Helmets block your ability to see
Although it might be partially true that full-face helmets reduce your vision when looking down, this is not what matters. What is more important is your ability to see what is happening on your sides, in your peripheral vision. And this is not affected when wearing a helmet. Helmets give you full ability to see what is happening in your surroundings.

Helmets prevent you from hearing dangers
Helmets lower sounds and noises but do not eliminate them. Tests have shown that all sounds can be heard very clearly when wearing a helmet so you do not have to worry about missing any danger signals. Not only that, but helmets actually protect your ears from wind sounds and from ear drum damage at speeds of more than 100km/hr.

There is no point wearing a helmet at low speeds
Even at low speeds, the force at which your head will hit another surface can result in severe injuries.

Its is clear that wearing helmets on motorcycle vehicles is imperative; a helmet could save your life!

Whether you are in the know of the latest transfers, final fixtures or champions league play-offs, there are certain names in the world of football that need little introduction and Didier Drogba is one of them. For those of you that don’t know him however, he is one of the stars of Premier League clubs Chelsea FC and one of the world’s leading goal scorers from Africa. Now, Drogba has pledged support for global road safety raising awareness to millions.

Chelsea FC and Ivory Coast star striker Didier Drogba has given his support to the Zenani Campaign. Taking time out from a hectic schedule ahead of the UEFA Champions League Final, Drogba took part in a photo-shoot for the campaign.

Pledging support for the Zenani Campaign, Drogba said he wanted to help the Mandela family in their call to improve road safety for children particularly in developing countries. The Ivory Coast national team captain said he had seen the problem first-hand in Africa, where more children aged 5-14 are killed on the roads than from diseases such as HIV/AIDS or Malaria.

Drogba is a close friend of the Mandela family, meeting Nelson Mandela, the family and his great-granddaughter Zenani, when he was in South Africa in 2009. He has been in regular contact with the family since.

The global campaign calls for a range of measures to protect children including: investment in safe footpaths, cycle-ways and crossings on streets with lower speed limits particularly near schools; proper enforced legislation for child seats and seatbelts around the world, and tougher action to prevent drink driving and speeding; and better helmet protection for children in countries where motorcycles are the main mode of transport. 

Members of the public around the world are being encouraged wear the Zenani wristband and to join the call for improved protection to save children’s lives on the roads worldwide. Globally, road crashes are the number one killer of young people aged 10-24. The campaign is also a ‘Mandela Day’ initiative in honour of Nelson Mandela’s birthday.

A range of high profile figures have backed the Zenani Campaign since it was launched at the beginning of May 2012. They include supermodel Naomi Campbell, sprinter Asafa Powell and members of the Jamaican Olympic team, F1 stars Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The Surreal Poster Series has been a program that was highly subscribed to. Delegates are able to download the poster series for free, featuring five posters focusing on the five key risk factors in road safety. Now, YOURS is featuring a focus on each poster explaining the risk factor behind each theme. This week, we focus on alcohol…

Alcohol consumption results in a higher crash rate. More alcohol consumptions means even more crashes.

Alcohol affects our behavior and judgment. No person is too skilled, too big, or too clever to avoid the effects alcohol has. The bottom line is: as long as we are human, alcohol will affect our behaviour.

Do you know how alcohol affects your body? Check out the information below for more details.

What is BAC and BAL?

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) and Blood Alcohol Level (BAL) are measurements that reflect the amount of alcohol in the blood. A BAC of 0.05 means that in every 100 ml of blood there is 0.05 grams of alcohol. Many countries are enforcing BAC limits on drivers to reduce road traffic injuries. Police can stop any driver to check for the BAC. All the driver has to do is breathe into a device called a breathalyzer to know how much alcohol is in his/her blood.

How does alcohol affect driving?

Even small quantities of alcohol have an impact on our driving abilities. Here are some of the effects of alcohol consumption:

• Poor coordination: having trouble doing more than one thing at a time, having 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 judgement: having trouble judging your and other people’s behaviour (including speed, distances, movement) and more likely to underestimate 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 they see and hear

• False sense of confidence and overestimation of abilities: feeling more confident and taking risks that we would not usually take. At the same time, our actual abilities and skills are less than they usually are. The combination of reduced ability and more risk taking is particularly dangerous.

Why does this happen?

Alcohol is a nervous system depressant or a “downer”. It has a numbing effect on the brain making it slower and less able to concentrate.

How much can I drink?

To stay safe it is best not to drink at all when you will be driving. Research shows that a single drink increases the risk of death or serious injury by five times.

You do not have to be drunk for alcohol to affect your driving. Your driving abilities will be reduced even if you feel perfectly normal. If you are wake and can hold a conversation with your friends it does not mean that you can drive safely.

Your BAC is more likely to rise at a greater rate if you are a female, a fast drinker, have a low body weight, have not eaten recently, or are drinking highly carbonated drinks such as champagne.

Tips to stay safe:

• The most simple and straight forward tip: don´t drink alcohol or use drugs while you have to drive.
• Allow enough time to recover from the affects of alcohol and other drugs.
• Plan alternative ways to get home before you go out:
  • designate someone who will not drink alcohol,
  • use public transport,
  • catch a taxi,
  • stay the night,
  • ask a parent if it’s possible for them or another adult to pick you up.
• Have a back up plan so if your original plan doesn’t work out you know what to do.