News
The Guarantee fund takes part in the Central and Eastern Europe Road Safety Initiative
20 September 2021
Some countries celebrate Children’s day on September 20. Other countries celebrate National Insurance Awareness Day on the same date. Eight countries located in Central and Eastern Europe chose that date to start a joint initiative focused on children’s road safety.
Children’s behavior on the road cannot be compared to that of adults – they perceive their environment in a very different way and get distracted more easily and more frequently. This makes them particularly vulnerable. Children need the highest possible degree of protection and support to ensure their safety. However, despite all efforts, there are still daily road accidents involving children. As a result of the efforts of police forces, road safety organizations and the public, as well as thanks to the development of technology and the improvements to infrastructure, the frequency of road accidents involving children in Bulgaria is decreasing. Despite this, the number of accident victims remains high and cooperation is needed to achieve the goals of the Zero Vision initiative of the European Commission.
To this end, the insurance industry, road safety organizations, state authorities and educational institutions in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined their efforts in a shared initiative under the motto “Together for children’s road safety”, which started on September 20. Bulgarian participants in the initiative are the State Agency of Road Safety, the Association of Bulgarian Insurers and the Guarantee fund.
Each country plans different activities that range from educational events structured as games and theater plays, to online quizzes and campaigns that use social networks. The goal is to stimulate children to observe road safety rules, to learn how to recognize and avoid dangers on the road and to pay special attention to the fact that each one of us has a special role in protecting our children.
The Guarantee fund, together with the Association of Bulgarian Insurers, plans a number of attractive events as part of the initiative and aiming to focus public attention on the topic of children’s road safety.
- September 20 is the starting date of an online quiz-game called “No mistakes on the road”. It will be accessible through the website of the Association of Bulgarian Insurers. In addition to testing and enriching their knowledge of road safety rules, both children and adults, as well as other educational institutions, can participate in a prize draw. In order to be part of the draw, participants will need to find the “mistakes” in 10 different road scenarios, presented in the quiz.
- Using an informational campaign conducted through social media, the Guarantee fund and the Association of Bulgarian Insurers will address parents, drivers and the public at large, with an appeal for heightened attention on the road, so that we can preserve what we hold dearest – our children.
- Planned activities include the creation and staging of a children’s play, dedicated to road safety.