THE CYPRUS Red Cross yesterday announced a campaign for Road Safety, with the support of the European Union and the Coca Cola and Toyota companies.
The campaign is organised in collaboration with the European Red Cross Society in Brussels, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Education and the police.
In her speech, the President of the Cyprus Red Cross Society, Fotini Papadopoulou, stated that the main objective of this year’s campaign was the enlightenment, sensitisation and improvement of public road behaviour, with the objective of reducing road deaths by half by 2010.
“Car accidents constitute a plague that affects the Cypriot population, and particularly the young, so the Red Cross Society with a rich programme of events and activities, that will last throughout 2008, hopes to help in creating awareness in Cypriot drivers on better road behaviour,” Papadopoulou said.
“For this aim we have prepared rich material for all ages and we began to materialise a programme of activities, that we hope will constitute a small contribution in the common effort to remove Cyprus from the 5th place in the list of countries of Europe with the most road accident victims per population.”
The Red Cross will give out 6,000 reflectors to children at primary schools in Nicosia. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Culture, a national competition of children’s painting on the subject of Road Safety is currently taking place, the results of which we will be announced shortly.
On the occasion of Mother’s Day, May 11, the children of all primary schools of Cyprus will give their parents coasters with a printed logo of campaign and the sign “Mum, dad, drive safely, I want you to come home tonight”.
Advertising spots for the campaign will appear on television during the intervals of all the Cyprus football cup matches and on many cinema screens over the next months.
In the beginning of September, 30,000 computer mouse pads with the slogan “You only have one life, take care of it!” will be distributed to pupils, students, soldiers and other young people. Also, a pamphlet guide to road safety will be given to children aged between seven and 11.
Throughout the campaign, posters and other printed material published in Greek, English and Turkish will circulate. Papadopoulou added that, “by being careful with our own life, we are also careful for the life of others”.
