Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Mr. Sergey Kononuchenko HLPF at the Side Event “Every Journey, Every Child: A Global Priority For Urban Sustainable Development”
Dear colleagues,
Allow me to express my gratitude to the organizers for hosting this important side event.
The issues of ensuring the protection and safety of children on the roads are a priority for the Russian Federation. It is not only government bodies who are involved in the work on improving national legislation in this sphere but also representatives of non-governmental organizations, commissioners for the rights of the child, parents’ committees and even certain socially active citizens.
One of the most effective methods of improving road safety is the shaping of children’s behavior on the roads. For these purposes, educational institutions have developed special road safety certificates, on the basis of which plans of safe routes for children are drawn up. Teachers together with the State Traffic Inspectorate and parents conduct, on an annual basis, a monitoring of the road networks in the districts where schools are located to check their safety. Such plans necessarily contain information on focal points who need to be contacted in case of emergency.
The project “Walking Bus” is being actively implemented in the Russian regions. Within its framework, the awareness-raising activities are provided and children are being taught the specifics of the arrangement of the road network and safe routes. Various traffic situations are studied using specific examples, with the attention drawn to the significance of traffic lights signals, crosswalks and road signs.
We are also implementing a project aimed at the involvement of children in gaining awareness about road safety in order to ensure that they learn to follow traffic rules and embrace the culture of behavior on the road. This program is divided into relevant thematic blocks: pedestrians, passengers, drivers, first aid.
An integral part of the set of road safety measures is the monitoring of the ongoing process of transporting children by school buses. In 2018 90% of educational institutions were provided with transport services.
Equally important element is teaching children the basics of safety behavior in the cabin of the vehicle. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of seat belts, child restraints, evacuation rules in emergency situations. For this purpose, a specialized bus simulator is used. It is installed with equipment that demonstrates what happens to seat belts during an accident or sudden braking, as well as the consequences of a collision of a vehicle with a bicycle.
One of the innovative, most effective and well-established forms of work with young people is the implementation of the special project titled “Crash Course”. Its target audience is young people aged 16 to 23 years. It is aimed at forming a negative attitude towards dangerous behavior on the road by getting emotional experience from the example of real road accidents. Young people can put themselves in the victim’s place, bypassing the real negative situation.
All these measures made it possible to reduce the number of road accidents involving children by 1,9% in four months of this year alone, and in the number of deaths by 21,6%.
Thank you for your attention.
