October 5th is International Road Safety Education Day, a date designed to raise global awareness of the importance of road safety education in the prevention of road fatalities. This commemoration aims to raise awareness of traffic rules, responsible behavior on the roads and the need to promote a safe road culture to prevent tragedies on urban roads and highways in the world.
In this context, Aleatica Road Safety Foundation has demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting road safety through its Road Safety Training Program. This guiding program has achieved significant educational milestones that deserve to be highlighted:
- Safe Motorcycle Riding Training. The foundation has provided more than 100 CEM (Circuito Exterior Mexiquense) employees with a theoretical and practical course on safe motorcycle driving. This program includes support to obtain the A1 license and provides certified safety helmets. The practical component was carried out in collaboration with Italika.
- Webinar for Journalists. In an effort to promote informed and sensitive journalism on road safety, the foundation organized this activity aimed at journalists. We were able to bring together representatives from 21 connected media outlets. This event aimed to share material of interest and raise awareness about the safe system approach and the iRAP (International Road Assessment Program) methodology, a charity of global relevance with which Aleatica Foundation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) since 2022 and close ties to disseminate its methodology, which has been proven as a tool to save more than 400,000 lives around the world through its partners since 2006.
- Open Day on Road Safety for police officers. The foundation has trained 345 traffic police officers from Mexico City, the State of Mexico and the municipalities of Naucalpan, Valle de Chalco Solidaridad and Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl. This training has official validity issued by the STPS (Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare) through DC-3 certificates in labor competencies. The three days of these workshops and the positive response, encourage us to continue replicating the workshops when and where required.
- Secure Infrastructure Training. A total of 17 Aleatica employees received training in “Safe Infrastructure”, with the accreditation of the iRAP methodology.
Road Safety Education: An Integral Approach to Road Safety
Road safety education is a comprehensive process that goes beyond teaching traffic signs or driving rules. It involves acquiring knowledge, practices, skills and values that contribute to road safety and reduce injuries and fatalities on the road. This educational process is aimed at everyone, from children to adults, and is essential to improve traffic relations and achieve greater safety on our roads.
It is important to note that it is applicable to all people who use the roads, regardless of whether they are pedestrians, cyclists, passengers or drivers of two or four-wheeled vehicles. This educational process begins as early as preschool age and extends throughout a person’s life, underlining its continuous and permanent nature.
The responsibility for promoting and maintaining road safety education does not fall solely on governments, but also involves families, businesses and civil society as a whole. This highlights the collaborative and participatory nature of road safety education.
Road safety education is not limited to a single field of study, but involves various scientific disciplines and areas of life, including law, ethics, psychology, sociology, health sciences, mechanics, statistics, ecology and engineering, among others. This multidisciplinary approach is essential to understand and address road safety challenges effectively.
Road safety education is tailored to different age groups, including children, youth, adults and older adults. Each group requires specific approaches to promote safe road behaviors.
For Children and Youth
For children and young people who are not yet old enough to obtain a driver’s license, driver education focuses on influencing their behavior, providing information to parents about their children’s traffic skills, and encouraging safe practices.
Educational measures for preschool children aim to:
- Influence children’s behavior.
- Provide parents with information about children’s actual abilities to travel safely on the road.
Children learn how they should behave in different ways:
- By copying behavior.
- Through their own experiences in traffic.
- Through programmed educational measures.
Organized road safety education aims to ensure that children live in realities where traffic incident rates are better than they would be if they did not receive such education.
The effects of road safety education for schoolchildren are as follows:
- 11 % fewer road traffic casualty events when crossing the road for children between 5 and 9 years of age.
- 20 % fewer road traffic casualties when crossing the road for children between 9 and 12 years of age.
- 6 % fewer road traffic fatalities among cyclists
Information for road users and other campaigns
Some types of behavior significantly increase the risk of traffic incidents or injuries. These include driving above the speed limit, alcohol use, running red lights, failure to wear seat belts and helmets. It has been estimated that if all road users respected traffic regulations perfectly (100%), the number of injuries could be reduced by 27% and the number of fatalities by up to 48%.
Road user information and road safety campaigns aim to reduce traffic incidents by promoting safer behavior, providing road users with better knowledge and promoting generally more favorable attitudes towards such behavior.
The effects on road safety of road user information and general campaigns are as follows:
- 13% fewer traffic incidents with the implementation of campaigns accompanied by police supervision.
- 14% fewer traffic incidents with campaigns, supervision of rules and education.
- 39% fewer traffic incidents with individualized local campaigns.
Aleatica Road Safety Foundation continues to work tirelessly to contribute to road safety and make road safety education accessible to all. On this International Road Safety Education Day, we remember the importance of learning, sharing and acting safely on the roads to protect lives and prevent tragedies.
Road safety education is a collective effort that involves governments, businesses, families and every individual, and Aleatica Road Safety Foundation is proud to be an active part of this cause.
Remember: driving, walking and cycling safely saves lives! Road Safety We Are All.
