On 26th September 2012, EASST partner the Automobile Club of Moldova (ACM) and the Department of Education of Gagauzia held a press conference dedicated to the ACM’s Seat Belt campaign in Comrat, a region of Gagauzia. The results of the campaign, held from September 2011 to August 2012, were presented along with an assessment of the current road safety situation in Comrat.
“The main achievement is that 67% of respondents considered the campaign very effective and useful to society. We were pleased to observe an increase of seat belt use among drivers by 4%, and by front passengers by 24%,” said Anna Ponomareva, survey coordinator and Professor of the Pedagogical College in Comrat. The final campaign assessment consisted of observation of 3928 motorists (3671 men and 257 women drivers), 1718 front seat passengers (1103 men and 615 women), 683 back-seat passengers, and 102 children. In addition 1,000 local citizens were interviewed regarding attitudes to road traffic regulations and mandatory use of seat belts.
The press conference was attended by the Governor of Gagauzia, representatives of the Automobile Club of Moldova, representatives of the Department for Interior in Gagauzia and Road Traffic Police, Departments of Education and Health, along with students and teachers. Anna Gagauz, representative of the Road Police, presented a statistical report and information on enforcement actions for drivers who violated the seat belt use regulation, stressing that the number of road crashes has decreased by 18% since November 2011 in Comrat. The Governor, Mr. Formuzal, promised to support future campaigns on road safety and praised the activities conducted by the ACM, local Road Police, the Education Department and Pedagogical College. As a result of the effectiveness of the campaign and its engagement with young people, the Deputy Head of the Education Department, Maria Sirkeli, suggested conducting similar campaigns in other towns of Gagauzia.
Tatiana Mihailova, the ACM Project Manager, spoke of the development of the successful partnership with the local authorities, the road police, educational institutions, and GRT Channel that made possible the large campaign in Comrat. Tatiana was also took part in a one hour radio broadcast at the GRT company to discuss road safety in Comrat and share the campaign results with radio listeners.
EASST is hugely proud of the ACM’s achievements in this area and continues to support their effective road safety activities in Moldova.
