One initiative aimed at improving road safety is the European Day Without A Road Death (European Day Without A Road Death – EDWARD), organized by the European Traffic Police Network – TISPOL, in cooperation with its member countries.

EDWARD is a 24-hour operation conducted by the traffic police forces of TISPOL member states and entities working in the field of road safety. The campaign promotes the “Vision Zero” adopted in many countries: zero road deaths in Europe on 21 September this year. This is an extremely difficult goal to achieve. However, it must be clearly emphasized that, in addition to increased police activity on European roads, the initiative is primarily intended to draw attention to the widespread problem of the large number of people who lose their lives and health in car accidents every day.

In 2016, 80 road accidents occurred on the roads of Bolesławiec County, resulting in 11 deaths and 96 injuries. The main causes of road accidents in our region are failure to yield the right of way and failure to adjust speed to traffic conditions.

To put the idea of Project EDWARD into practice, we encourage companies, organizations and schools to undertake road-safety initiatives on 21 September. Sometimes an ordinary conversation and shared reflection are enough. In keeping with the idea: SMALL ACTIONS LEAD TO BIG CHANGES.

However, it is not enough to change our behavior for just one day. To prevent people from dying on the roads, we should always bear in mind our own safety and the safety of those whom we may put at risk through our irresponsible behavior. Then “Vision Zero” really will be achievable.

The main objectives of EDWARD are:

  • raising awareness of the still-current problem of road safety and accidents involving people injured or killed on European roads
  • redirecting the attention of entities working to improve road safety toward effective measures necessary to achieve the Europe 2020 target, namely halving the total number of fatal accident victims in the European Union by 2020 compared with 2010, when 31,500 people died on the roads
  • showing the value of the targets established for the member states of the European Union
  • demonstrating the potential for significantly reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents through cooperation between different sectors and entities.

The above initiative has been supported, among others, by the European Commission, the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), the United Kingdom’s Road Safety Council and the traffic police forces of all countries that are TISPOL members.