Young Generation of Tajikistan focus their 2019 World Day of Remembrance actions on reducing speed
On Wednesday 20 November EASST partners the Young Generation of Tajikistan (YGT) marked the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims by raising awareness of the importance of road safety in the country – particularly for children and young people.
The World Day of Remembrance (WDR) is “dedicated to remembering the many millions killed or injured in road crashes and their families and communities, as well as to pay tribute to the dedicated emergency crews, police and medical professionals who daily deal with the traumatic aftermath of road death and injury.”
Actions are held in almost every country globally, commemorating the lives that have been lost and calling for action to prevent further needless deaths.
Excessive speed is one of the biggest causes of road fatalities globally. In Tajikistan, the YGT have conducted research outside local schools which found cars travelling up to 40km/h over the speed limit. For this reason, they chose to focus their 2019 WDR action on reducing speed. Young Road Inspectors (a peer-led road safety initiative which sees school students trained as road safety ambassadors in their schools) along with local Traffic Police and school teachers from a selection of schools in Dushanbe lined the roads where there had been fatal crashes. The students held up road signs and called for drivers to slow down. Passing cars were also stopped and the drivers handed information leaflets on why it’s important to obey the speed limit.
One participating school then went on to host an assembly where YGT and the Traffic Police had the opportunity to present to school children the importance of road safety and why young people, in particular, need to remain careful on the roads. The children then lit candles in memory of those who have died this year and signed a wall of remembrance.
