Children in Kazakhstan call on road users to drive safely

Road risk in Kazakhstan is the highest of any EASST countries. The World Health Organisation’s 2015 Global Status Report estimated the country’s road fatality rate as 24.2 per 100,000 of the population, significantly higher than the global average and over eight times more than the UK. Children are amongst the most vulnerable road users, road safety for children is therefore crucial. They are less able to recognise dangerous situations and they are physically smaller which means they can be unseen by drivers, and more likely to be injured by an impact.

Last week EASST’s Serghei Diaconu joined our Kazakh partners Common Road NGO and local Traffic Police in West Kazakhstan to lead a master class in road safety for children.

The session, a first for the West Kazakhstan Region, aimed at engaging kids in road safety issues, building confidence with road police, and teaching children how to keep safe on the roads.

The children were able to take a look at the police’s patrol car – even getting a chance to talk on the radio – while learning about different road rules, and what actions they can take to keep safe on the road.

A key focus of the session was the importance of being seen at night. Each child was given a high-viz reflector to attach to their school bags to help them in being seen on the road when walking home from school, particularly as autumn approaches and the evenings get darker.

At the end of the month Common Road NGO will also hold a special event for drivers, reminding them of the importance of driving safely – especially in the dark winter months. As a prelude to this session, the children of school number 7 in West Kazakhstan recorded a special message urging all drivers to take care on the roads and obey traffic rules.

This initiative was carried out as part of the partnership between Shell Kazakhstan and Common Road NGO to improve road safety on Kazakh roads.