Cypriot academic help spearhead EU road safety campaign

A local chartered psychologist's years-long efforts to improve road safety have prompted an all-new EU-wide project.

Dr George A. Georgiou, based at the University of Nicosia, has been working towards helping Cyprus achieve the EU Road Safety Charter aim of a 50% traffic fatality reduction by 2010

Georgiou's research on road traffic accidents in Cyprus over the past few years attracted the attention of Johan Chiers, the Director of Responsible Young Drivers, a road safety volunteering association in Benelux. The fruits of their collaboration so far have led to the successful introduction of the “European Night Without Accident” effort in Cyprus which saw young drivers undergoing a breathalyser test before leaving participating nightspots.

Georgiou, Chiers and others involved in their efforts met in Paris earlier this month (December) in what became the first meeting of a transnational partnership of the ‘Heroes' project.

The Heroes (Health & Road Safety: Volunteering heroes) project, submitted to the European Commission by Responsible Young Drivers in cooperation with the University of Nicosia and 13 bodies coming from 11 EU Member States, has been selected for EAHC (Executive Agency for Health and Consumers) funding.

The three-year project aims is to bring together youth volunteer organizations active in health prevention (HIV/AIDS prevention and alcohol and drug abuse prevention), road safety organizations aimed at adolescents and young adults, and universities/research institutes working with young adults, students and peer educators. It will include the development of a virtual European network.

Cooperations with other activities co-funded by the European Commission and other institutions will be considered, conveying both risk and protective factors with an impact on lifestyles and behaviours. As half of the associated partners have mainly a health prevention background, and the other half, a road safety prevention background, Heroes will allow each to create adapted, integrated best practice campaign material linking health prevention and road safety, showing awareness of wider socio-economic considerations and contribute to the reduction of health inequalities in Europe. A Heroes website will also be created, gathering the best practices chosen by all partners.

The Heroes partners will next gather in Nicosia in September 2009.