For the second consecutive year, COMECE supports “Project EDWARD”, the European day without a road death, endorsed by the European Commission to make Europe’s roads safer and to reduce the number of accidents in the EU.
According to a recent study, road traffic accidents in EU Member States claimed about 25.600 lives and left more than 1.4 million people injured in 2016. These numbers tend to repeat every year, transforming our roads in battle fields and affecting not only the victims, but also their families, communities and the society as a whole.
To tackle this phenomena, the European Commission adopted a Road Safety Programme aiming to cut road deaths in Europe by improving vehicle safety, the safety of infrastructure and road users’ behavior.
COMECE welcomes the EU Programme and advocates for more education, giving greater awareness of our responsibilities for those travelling alongside us.
Last year COMECE supported the EDWARD initiative with a video campaign, reiterating the commitment of the Catholic Church in the EU to reduce death risk on roads.
Today Bishops from across Europe call their fellow nationals to finally consider roads a shared place of our society, and to respect traffic rules, highlighting how responsibility, attention, solidarity, respect and rule of law are essential to protect lives.
Last week, on the occasion of the European Mobility Week (16-22 September), COMECE supported the campaign “We live zero. Ø by 30” organised by the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims in order to reduce to zero the number of deaths and serious injuries in urban areas by 2030.