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.

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