With 50 days to go until the first ‘European Day Without a Road Death’ (Project EDWARD), TISPOL has published a video suggesting ways for road users to get involved in the event.
Project EDWARD takes place on 21 September, and TISPOL, the European traffic police network, hopes all of its 30 member countries will participate.
Supported by Road Safety GB and other road safety stakeholders in the UK and across Europe, the event has been created to ‘re-energise the reduction of fatalities and serious injuries on Europe’s roads’.
The video says the simplest way for road users to get involved is to put safety first by ‘reducing the risks you take when using the roads’, using the slogan ‘if we each do a little, we can all achieve a lot’.
The film asks people to look for the #ProjectEDWARD hashtag on Twitter, display the tweetwall at their place of work and to check if their local road safety team has organised an event or events.
TISPOL hopes to use the event to encourage drivers to reflect on their behaviour and attitude, which it describes as the biggest barrier to reaching casualty reduction targets.
It is asking road users to ‘make the pledge’, promising to: ‘drive at speeds that are both legal and safe’, ‘pay particular attention when driving near schools’, ‘never drive after drinking alcohol or taking drugs/medicines, ‘always wear my seatbelt’ and ‘not use my mobile phone while driving’.
In July, Honor Byford, chair of Road Safety GB, issued a call for road safety professionals to show their support for Project Edward by signing the pledge.
At the time, she said: “Project EDWARD is about setting a target of no road deaths; targets are vital in helping to consolidate the efforts of those who want to improve safety on Europe’s roads.
“We believe that by working together we can make a significant contribution towards further sizeable and sustained reductions in road death and serious injury.”
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