Wednesday 19 September is the Europe-wide road safety day themed ‘a day without fatalities on Europe’s roads’. The theme is well founded, as some 70 people die in road traffic in Europe every day, while hundreds are severely injured. In Finland, the total number of fatalities in road traffic was 224 people. Every single death is one too many.
Every road user can contribute to traffic safety with their choices. These include the use of safety equipment, the appropriate driving speed, concentrating on driving, and sobriety on the road.
“Although these issues seem self-evident, people still tend to forget them. That is why the police have such a crucial role to play, both now and in the future, in terms of supervision and as an educator,” says Chief Superintendent Heikki Kallio of the National Police Board.
The European Day Without a Road Death is now organised for the third time by the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL) across 30 member countries, in cooperation with the European Commission and the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC).
In Finland, several traffic safety stakeholders have been invited to participate in the European Day Without A Road Death (Project EDWARD).
Last year EDWARD was successful in Finland: there were no road deaths. However, 12 accidents resulting in personal injury, with 14 injured, unfortunately occurred during the day.
To read more about the European theme day, go to the TISPOL website at www.tispol.org. Make your road safety pledge and join the discussion about road safety in Twitter #ProjectEDWARD and watch a video about the project.
