The SAFER project aimed to: - improve the skills, knowledge base and level of civic engagement of youth workers on the topic of road safety and in particular with a focus on prevention of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs - empower and support the inclusion of physically impaired survivors of car accidents by training them as youth workers and influencers, who can affect the attitude and behavior of young drivers or young people, who are in the process of obtaining their driver's license - raise the awareness and support the adoption of safer driving practices among the group of young drivers or learner drivers, thus increasing their own level of responsibility and civic engagement.
The reasons behind the SAFER project development and implementation were several: - road safety in the EU is still not on the desired level, considering the current figures concerning n. of road deaths, obviously the EU cannot meet its target for halving the n. of deaths by 2050 (EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030) - in most EU countries, young people stand behind a large number of severe accidents, cause by reckless driving, driving under the influence, aggressive driving due to overconfidence, distracted driving and so on. Work with this group is a must if we want to change the grim statistics, because at the same time, the leading cause for children and young people mortality are road accidents. - survivors of severe traffic accidents and/or family members who have lost dear ones fall into exclusion and isolation and their voices and stories, which could have such tremendous impact on others’ behavior and attitude on the road, are silenced. We know the potential of the personal story and wanted to give this group the power to speak up, to share what they have experienced (without ego, judgement or finger pointing) and try to make sure that their own stories do not turn into the stories of their young listeners/viewers.