Project EDWARD 2018
The countdown to European Day Without A Road Death (Project EDWARD) is well and truly under way. Taking place this year on Wednesday 19 September, everyone is asked to reflect on one simple question:
What can I do for Road safety today?
Organised by TISPOL, the European Traffic Police Network, Project EDWARD seeks to bring together everyone with an interest in reducing the number of people killed on our roads. To assist partners a library of resources has been put together, with hints and tips on using the material.
As previously reported, the first Project EDWARD took place on 21 September 2016, and ran again on 21 September 2017. On both days, 43 road deaths were recorded across Europe, compared with a daily average of 70.
Additionally, the #ProjectEDWARD hashtag enjoyed widespread support on social media, trending in most European countries and even on a global scale for a short time.
This year Project EDWARD will take place with the support of 28 European countries, as well as European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc and an increasing number of partners from the public and private sectors.
TISPOL General Secretary Ruth Purdie commented: “A day without a road death is of course the vision we should strive for every day, not just on 19 September. But we have seen that Project EDWARD is a simple yet highly effective awareness-raiser, whether or not we achieve zero deaths on the day itself.
“Casualty reduction must remain a priority for all national governments. There were some excellent reductions in road deaths and serious injuries in the first decade of this century, but they have largely stalled in the past five years. It is therefore vital that we re-focus our attention on the efforts needed to bring about significant and long-lasting reductions.
“We believe strongly in the value of setting targets, and we believe that the support from all industry sectors and from individuals can make a massive difference in reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads.
“We need to make clear that a zero figure on 19 September is very unlikely. But if we aim for zero and end up with a daily tally far below the European average of 70 fatalities, then Project EDWARD will have succeeded, and will add further weight to the real value of casualty reduction targets.”
Find out more about Project EDWARD and to become involved, go to thr Project EDWARD website.
https://projectedward.eu/