For the sixth time this year, 8 Central European insurance associations are joining forces within the framework of the Child Safety programme, a road safety and accident prevention initiative, running in parallel with European Mobility Week or during this year, to draw the attention of both young and older people to road safety and accident prevention.

Budapest, 14th September 2026. Children are among the most vulnerable road users. In order to reduce accident risks for children, the insurance industry, road safety associations, public authorities and educational institutions from Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia have joined forces once more to set a collective sign for child safety all over Central Europe. The joint initiative aims to draw attention to the fact that each and everyone of us has a crucially important role in taking care of children as road users and making our roads safer. With campaigns, educational games and other demonstrations the mission’s goal is to prevent accidents involving children.

Through interactive community events, social media campaigns, digital platforms, insurance lessons, making use of artificial intelligence, and on-site outreach activities, the insurance associations of the participating member states provide the knowledge needed so that children can get home safely every day.

Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the authorities, civil society organisations, police forces and road maintenance bodies, road accident indicators are now showing a downward trend across Europe. Nevertheless, even these road accident figures remain high, and we all still have further work to do in order to achieve our common European objective: that not a single European citizen should become a victim of a road accident.

In addition to wearing seat belts, properly securing child seats and observing speed limits, a new danger has emerged across Europe: users of various types of scooters are causing an increasing number of accidents, including fatal ones, while scooter regulation and safety measures need to be updated and implemented. According to various police statistics, moreover, scooter riders are responsible for an increasing proportion of such accidents. It remains a very important — and unfortunately still highly relevant — objective that no one should drive any vehicle under the influence of alcohol or any other intoxicating or mind-altering substance. This objective is also strongly reflected in the efforts of the European insurance federation, Insurance Europe: https://insuranceeurope.eu/road-safety-e-scooters/

In order to make the roads of Europe safer for children and everbody, the help of everyone is needed: let us talk to our children and family members about the importance to comply with road traffic rules. Let us share the videos, information and digital content of Child Safety programme on social media, and do everything in our own environment to make safety something everyone can be part of! Support us to draw the attention of legislators, authorities and institutions involved in road safety to the objectives of the European Commission’s Vision Zero initiative, and let us take part in the 6th Child Safety events across Europe in as large numbers as possible!

Share your child safety initiative on social media with the hashtag #ChildSafetyInCentralEurope.

Project Partners:

AT	KFV (Austrian Road Safety Board)	www.kfv.at/
AT	VVO (Austrian Insurance Association)	www.vvo.at
BG	SARS (Bulgarian State Agency Road Safety)	www.sars.gov.bg
BG	ABI (Association of Bulgarian Insurers)	www.abz.bg
BG	The Guarantee Fund	http://guaranteefund.org
HU	MABISZ – Association of the Hungarian Insurance Companies and more than forty partner organizations, among others the National Police Headquarters, Hungarian Red Cross, Road Safety Research Centre, Institute for Transport Sciences – KTI, Hungarian State Railways, MÁV-group), and several ministries. More information in Hungarian and in English: https://mabisz.hu/biztonsaghete/	www.mabisz.hu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZziLQ9sb5t0 https://www.facebook.com/magyarbiztositokszovetsege https://mabisz.hu/biztonsaghete/
PL	PIU (Polish Chamber of Insurance)	www.piu.org.pl
RO	UNSAR (National Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Romania)	www.unsar.ro
SLO	SIA (Slovenian Insurance Association)	www.zav-zdruzenje.si
SLO	AVP RS (Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency)	www.avp-rs.si
SK	SLASPO (Slovak Insurance Association)	www.slaspo.sk

World Children’s Day is celebrated on September 20th. Several Central and Eastern European countries are taking this day as an opportunity to unite in action to increase child safety, with a focus on road traffic. For that reason, in September 2025 child safety is highlighted again all over Central and Eastern Europe, when several EU member states join forces in a campaign to set a sign for child safety in Central and Eastern Europe. The common goal is clear and was set years ago, since the launch of Child Safety Week actions aligned with the European Commission’s Vision Zero initiative: with united efforts, the multiple actions are aimed to increase child safety, with a focus on road safety and accident prevention.

Budapest, 15 September 2025. We take it for granted, but it isn’t. It’s in all of our interests, but we need to talk about it too: it’s SAFETY. Whether we are children or adults, it’s only worth living, working, and travelling if it’s safe. That’s why this will be the theme of Child Safety Week again across several Central and Eastern European EU-member states this year again. Because children behave differently in road traffic: they see, hear and feel differently, perceive their environment from a different perspective and are distracted more quickly. This makes them particularly vulnerable to accidents. Children need the greatest possible protection and support to be optimally prepared for a safe life. Every effort counts, however, serious accidents involving children happen every day.

Thanks to huge efforts of police and road safety institutions, actions of civil society, infrastructural modifications and technical/digital developments all over Europe, the frequency and severity of accidents show decreasing trends. But the number of fatalities is still high, so comprehensive cooperation is needed to achieve the target of the European Commission’s Vision Zero initiative.

In recent years, various types of scooters have emerged as a particularly worrying hazard in European cities, and their use poses a particular danger to young people. At this year’s Child Safety Week events, we will also be drawing attention to this hazard.

In order to reduce accident risks especially for children as effectively as possible, the insurance industry, road safety associations, public authorities and educational institutions from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia have joined forces again to set a common sign for child safety in fall of 2025.

This year, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia participate with a platform about school crossing guards regulations, country-wide public events, university fairs, digital school initiatives in elementary schools, an E-learning platform, and several other various programs, that were launched in the project partners EU member states from summer during autumn as well. The topical focal points, such as the safe way to school and correct behaviour in poor visibility conditions, particularly risky situations will be specifically addressed.

Further Information: Association of Hungarian Insurance Companies – https://mabisz.hu/en/homepage/

Press Contact: Mr. Attila Jeney head of communications: attila.jeney@mabisz.hu

Events, photos of the Child Safety Week 2025

Beyond the activities of MABISZ, our partner associations had been really creative and active as well during Autumn of 2025 regarding our joint initiative. You can find some photos and short reports about the events of the partner associations from Austria,Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Austria:

School crossing guards are important for the safety of children on their way to school. Together with the AUVA and the Austrian ministry of the Interior the Austrian Road Safety Board (KFV) has launched a new information platform:

For all those who want to contribute to more safety on Austria’s roads to school and become a school crossing guard, information is provided at www.schulwegsicherung.at.

Short video summary of a press conference:

video credit for all video material: © KFV, photo credit for all photographs: © KFV / APA-Fotoservice / Juhasz

Poland:

Child safety_2025_PIU

Romania:

National Road Safety Week – First Edition (May 2025)

2025 marked a historic milestone for Romania: for the first time, through a law adopted by Parliament, road safety was officially brought to national attention by establishing the National Road Safety Week. This was not just a legislative achievement, but a true mobilization of society – institutions, NGOs, the private sector, teachers, parents, and above all, children.

The event brought together initiatives from Coalition members and partners. Traffic police officers, authorities, education and safety experts worked side by side with students, explaining basic rules in an interactive and friendly way. Children received educational materials and took part in games and contests that taught them the importance of respecting rules.

National Road Safety Week was not limited to Bucharest. Across the country, schools, municipalities, NGOs, and companies organized dedicated activities: from educational modules and open lessons on road safety, to bicycle parades and online campaigns. Each action reinforced the idea that road safety is not a marginal issue, but a shared responsibility.Through this initiative, Romania took its first step toward aligning with global initiatives coordinated by the World Health Organization and the European vision of Zero deaths by 2050.

“Children Safe: in Vehicles and on the Road”

The project “Children Safe: in Vehicles and on the Road”, implemented by ASCENDIA SA in partnership with the Coalition for Road Safety and Save the Children Romania, with support from the Ministry of Education, reached its second edition in 2025. (Over 41,000 participants (teachers, students, parents), 7,800 hours of digital road safety education delivered, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Romanian Police, Save the Children Romania.)

This edition marked a significant expansion of educational tools dedicated to road safety, through the development of interactive e-learning modules, freely accessible to children, parents, and teachers. A key novelty was the launch of the module “The Role of Parents in Children’s Road Safety”, addressing directly the responsibility of adults in preventing risky behaviors. Additionally, the campaign introduced a module dedicated to moped and motorcycle safety, complementing the three existing modules for children (safe routes to school, responsible cycling, and safety in vehicles). In this way, both children and adults benefit from a coherent set of resources aligned with the recommendations of the Road Safety White Paper.

Coalition Members’ Initiatives during National Road Safety Week

In May 2025, the Educatis Association, a member of the Coalition for Road Safety, organized a series of activities dedicated to children’s safety in traffic in Iași County.(ASCENDIA & Save the Children – 5 free interactive modules for schools, Educatis Association (Iași) – educational materials and reflective equipment for students.)

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EFen6XnHA/

Children and the Safety of Vulnerable Road Users

Expo Moto 2025 brought together 90% of the motorcycle market and 95% of the scooter market in Romania, alongside top equipment and accessories. The Coalition used this platform to promote best practices for the safety of motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users.(Expo Moto 2025 (with MotoADN) – promoting motorcyclists’ and child passengers’ safety),Poli AutoFest (with Asko Group) – road safety education for families and children.)

Conference “Stay Safe by RAR” (May 21–22, 2025)

Organized by the Romanian Auto Registry (RAR) as part of National Road Safety Week, the event brought together representatives of public institutions, the private sector, academia, and NGOs. Main topics included: the importance of Vision Zero, safe infrastructure, road safety education, and inter-institutional cooperation. The event also featured first aid training sessions for children and young people.

For the Coalition for Road Safety, 2025 was more than a year of projects – it was a year of emotion, mobilization, and hope. Every child involved, every teacher delivering a digital lesson, every parent participating in a community event contributed to building a culture of responsibility.

All these initiatives are now part of the European Child Safety Campaign, through which Romania sends a strong message: children’s safety in traffic is a national priority.

Slovakia:

Our partner association in Slovakia organized Road Safety on 23. – 24. June, because it was better option for them and for schools. Approximately 200 children participated in this activity. They had been cooperating with police department, city police and police dog handler. They showed children, how police dogs work, police men presented to children dog tasks and after that they continued to traffic playground. With police prevention officer they educated childen, how to handle on roads. The best part for children was to sit inside police cars and had discussions with police officers. Children got some security items as gifts and certificate from this activity.

Slovenia:

In May 2025, the Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency (Javna agencija RS za varnost prometa) organized the national competition for cyclists “What Do You Know About Traffic?” The event was attended by the best elementary school pupils, who demonstrated their knowledge, cycling skills on a training course, and safe cycling in real traffic conditions. In the 2024/2025 school year, the Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency carried out pilot workshops “Safe Use of E-Scooters” for ninth-grade pupils at three elementary schools.

At the end of August, during the Magical Day event at Arboretum Volčji Potok, the Agency provided more than 10,000 children and their parents with the opportunity to try demonstration devices. In the Vidko tent, visitors could learn about the importance of reflective elements in the dark, experience the Rollover Simulator, the Crash Simulator, test the weight of a cyclist’s head, and use simulation goggles to understand the effects of alcohol and drugs. Many high-quality preventive materials were also available at the Agency’s information stand.

At the beginning of the school year, the Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency, together with the Police and other traffic safety stakeholders, carried out the national preventive campaign “Safe to School.” Pupils were symbolically accompanied on their safe way to school by representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Acting Director of the Agency, the Mayor, and the Deputy Headteacher (at Davorin Jenko Elementary School in Cerklje na Gorenjskem). With the support of the media, attention was drawn to the increased presence of children in traffic. To improve visibility, the Agency distributed more than 16,000 reflective bands to first-graders through municipalities, along with posters and digital materials for the “Safe to School” campaign.

In cooperation with the Geodetic Institute of Slovenia, the Agency developed a new online platform for School Routes, which will allow the identification of safe routes to school and hazardous spots. The Agency will also expand the PoZOOr project to the national level. At the Ljubljana Zoo, the Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency participated in a traffic-themed event, where more than 300 children and visitors attended the educational and entertaining performance “Friends, Traffic and the Big World.” In cooperation with the Slovenian Insurance Association, the Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency organized a Traffic Day on 25 November 2025 in Minicity, featuring educational workshops for 100 children. The Slovenian Insurance Association contributed 3,000 reflective items for various preventive events.

https://www.avp-rs.si/skupaj-za-varnost-otrok-na-cestah-srednje-in-vzhodne-evrope-3/

Project Partners:

AT	KFV (Austrian Road Safety Board)	www.kfv.at/
AT	VVO (Austrian Insurance Association)	www.vvo.at
BG	SARS (Bulgarian State Agency Road Safety)	www.sars.gov.bg
BG	ABI (Association of Bulgarian Insurers)	www.abz.bg
BG	The Guarantee Fund	http://guaranteefund.org
HR	HUO (Croatian Insurance Bureau)	https://huo.hr
HU	MABISZ – Association of the Hungarian Insurance Companies and more than two dozen partners, among others the National Police Headquarters, Hungarian Red Cross, Road Safety Research Centre, Institute for Transport Sciences – KTI and several ministries. More information in Hungarian: https://mabisz.hu/biztonsaghete/	www.mabisz.hu
PL	PIU (Polish Chamber of Insurance)	www.piu.org.pl
RO	UNSAR (National Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Romania)	www.unsar.ro
SLO	SIA (Slovenian Insurance Association)	www.zav-zdruzenje.si
SLO	AVP RS (Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency)	www.avp-rs.si
SK	SLASPO (Slovak Insurance Association)	www.slaspo.sk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AqiE7z866o

Together for Child Safety on Central and Eastern Europe’s Roads

20 September is World Insurance Awareness Day. In several countries World Children’s Day is celebrated on the same day. Several Central and Eastern European countries are taking this day as an opportunity to unite in actions to increase child safety, with a focus on road traffic.

Children behave differently in road traffic: They see, hear and feel differently, perceive their environment from a different perspective and are distracted more quickly. This makes them particularly vulnerable to accidents. Children need the greatest possible protection and support to be optimally prepared for a safe life. Despite all efforts, however, serious accidents involving children happen every day.

Thanks to huge efforts of police and road safety institutions, adequate actions of civil society, infrastructural modifications and technical/digital developments, the frequency and severity of accidents show decreasing trends. But the numbers of fatalities are still high, so comprehensive cooperation is needed to achieve the target of the European Commission’s Vision Zero initiative. https://road-safety.transport.ec.europa.eu/index_en

In order to reduce accident risks especially for children as effectively as possible, insurance industry, road safety associations, public authorities and educational institutions from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia – in line with suggestion of MABISZ – have been joining forces to set a common sign for child safety in September.

The aim of the joint initiative is to provide children with useful assistance in recognising dangers and correct behaviour and to draw attention to the fact that everyone of us has a crucially important role in taking care of children, one of the most vulnerable road user groups. The prevention activities range from playful safety training for children and theatres to online quizzes and social media campaigns. With topical focal points, such as the safe way to school and correct behaviour in poor visibility conditions, particularly risky situations are specifically addressed.

Project Partners:

AT	KFV (Austrian Road Safety Board)	www.kfv.at/
AT	VVO (Austrian Insurance Association)	www.vvo.at
BG	SARS (Bulgarian State Agency Road Safety)	www.sars.gov.bg
BG	ABI (Association of Bulgarian Insurers)	www.abz.bg
BG	The Guarantee Fund	http://guaranteefund.org
HU	MABISZ – Association of the Hungarian Insurance Companies and more than two dozen partners, among others the National Police Headquarters, Hungarian Red Cross, Road Safety Research Centre, Institute for Transport Sciences – KTI and several ministries. More information in Hungarian: https://mabisz.hu/biztonsaghete/	www.mabisz.hu
PL	PIU (Polish Chamber of Insurance)	www.piu.org.pl
RO	UNSAR (National Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Romania)	www.unsar.ro
SLO	SIA (Slovenian Insurance Association)	www.zav-zdruzenje.si
SLO	AVP RS (Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency)	www.avp-rs.si
SK	SLASPO (Slovak Insurance Association)	www.slaspo.sk

Together for Child Safety on Central and Eastern Europe’s Roads

Together for Child Safety on Central and Eastern Europe’s Roads

Child Safety in Central Europe: 8 countries join initiative

Greetings videos from our partner associations, for the 10th anniversary of the Hungarian “Safety Week”- Biztonság Hete

Together for Child Safety on Central and Eastern Europe’s Roads

Events, photos of the Child Safety Week 2025