Organiser
The International Conference on Young Road Users’ Safety brings together experts from Romania and across Europe, representatives of public institutions, the medical field, non-governmental organizations, the automotive industry and the road safety community, in a much-needed dialogue on the protection of children, adolescents and young adults in traffic.
The conference aims to create an interdisciplinary framework for analysis, education and collaboration, starting from a painful reality: young road users remain one of the most vulnerable categories when it comes to road crashes. From the correct transportation of a newborn in an infant car seat to the behaviour of teenagers behind the wheel, the conference proposes a comprehensive approach to road safety, based on data, medical expertise, biomechanics, psychology, education, technology and public policies.
The objectives of the conference are to raise awareness of the risk factors affecting children and young people in traffic, to identify concrete solutions for reducing road crashes, to promote the correct use of child restraint systems, to develop road safety education within families, schools and communities, and to strengthen collaboration between authorities, healthcare professionals, specialists, NGOs, companies and civil society.
The topics addressed include risky behaviour behind the wheel, the psychological determinants of dangerous driving, the role of personality traits and locus of control, the medical and trauma-related consequences of road crashes, the importance of biomechanics in understanding impact forces, the role of healthcare professionals in awareness programmes, child passenger safety from birth to adolescence, errors in driving school training materials, innovation in child restraint systems, technology applied to road safety education, and national and European strategies for protecting young road users.
The conference brings together important voices from complementary fields: physicians, psychologists, road safety experts, representatives of the Traffic Police, the Romanian Senate, the European Road Safety Charter, the European Transport Safety Council, ASSMB, UNSAR, the Association of Road Crash Victims, journalists, defensive driving specialists, trauma biomechanics experts, child health professionals, and international organizations dedicated to child passenger safety.
An important part of the conference is the exchange of good practices between organizations actively involved in educating parents and promoting the correct transportation of children in vehicles, with the participation of the Children’s Road Safety Foundation Romania, Securange France, Kids on Board Bulgaria and Kids on Board Hungary.
The event is organized with the support of partners committed to road safety, education, health and innovation, including Porsche București West, Rotary Club București Cișmigiu, RotaryMed, Cybex GmbH, Autoliv Romania, Medicover, UNSAR, as well as representatives of European and national institutions and organizations dedicated to reducing the number of road crash victims.
Through this conference, we aim to move beyond merely acknowledging road tragedies and to build real, applicable and sustainable solutions together. Because the safety of children and young people in traffic is not the responsibility of one family, one institution or one organization alone, but a shared responsibility — one that begins with accurate information, education, collaboration and the courage to change what is not working.
Objectives
The main objective of the conference is to create a multidisciplinary platform for dialogue, education and collaboration dedicated to improving the safety of children, adolescents and young adults in traffic.
The conference aims to:
- raise awareness of the specific risks faced by young road users, from child passengers to teenage drivers and vulnerable road users;
- promote evidence-based road safety education, starting from early childhood and continuing throughout adolescence and young adulthood;
- highlight the importance of the correct use of child restraint systems and the role they play in preventing severe injuries and fatalities among child passengers;
- bring together medical, psychological, technical and institutional expertise in order to better understand the causes and consequences of road crashes involving young people;
- encourage cooperation between public authorities, healthcare professionals, road safety experts, NGOs, educational institutions, industry partners and civil society;
- present good practices, successful projects and innovative tools used in Romania and across Europe to improve road safety education and behaviour change;
- address the role of parents, schools, driving instructors, medical professionals and the media in shaping safer attitudes and behaviours in traffic;
- support the development of long-term strategies and partnerships aimed at reducing the number of children and young people injured or killed on the roads;
- strengthen Romania’s contribution to European road safety initiatives and to the broader objective of reducing road deaths and serious injuries.
