Greece is among the worst performing countries in Europe in terms of road safety, with Crete suffering one of the highest rates of road injury in the country. Sadly, children between the ages of 0-14 years old make up a high proportion of those injured on the roads. According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority, 1 in every 2 children injured on the roads in 2014 were pedestrians, walking without adult supervision, with 1 in 3 failing to use designated pedestrian crossings. For those injured in cars, 70 per cent were not using any child restraints and of the 10 per cent of children who were injured as cyclists, almost none wore a helmet.
Since 2015, therefore, in an attempt to combat these life-threatening habits and keep children safe on the roads, EASST partner, Make Roads Safe Hellas (MRSH), have been introducing Road Safety education to schools across Chania, Crete. Prior to their work, road safety education was not a standard that schools in the municipality were required to fulfill. However, now both the Municipality of Chania and the Ministry of Education have approved the use of the EASST Road Safety Education Pack and are supporting its implementation in schools across the city.
In 2016, MRSH introduced the Education Pack to over 800 school children in the region, and trained 44 teachers in how to use it. In 2017, this number is expected to double due to the number of requests they have received from schools to use the pack.
In today’s society in Greece road safety education is fundamental. So by delivering key messages, and reinforcing and developing them at every stage of a child’s education MRSH are helping to ensure that they remain healthy, safe, and able to enjoy their lives.
