Children 0-16

PRP addresses road safety as a major public health challenge, focusing on the behaviours and risk factors that contribute most to road crashes, injuries and fatalities. Within the scope of PAFSE, our work is particularly connected to raising young people’s awareness of risky behaviours and strengthening their role as informed and responsible citizens, providing the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours necessary for safe behaviour.

The main road safety challenges we address include speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fatigue, distraction caused by mobile phones and other devices, non-use or incorrect use of seatbelts and child restraint systems, protective equipment and unsafe behaviours among vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and powered two-wheeler users. We also work on broader issues such as risk perception, peer influence, mobility habits, and the importance of shared responsibility in creating safer communities.

Through educational activities, awareness campaigns, training programmes and partnerships with schools and other stakeholders, we aim to promote scientific literacy, evidence-based decision-making and safer attitudes from an early age. In the context of PAFSE, road safety education is framed as part of community preparedness, encouraging students to understand risks, analyse evidence, communicate prevention messages and act as ambassadors for safer mobility within their families, schools and local communities.

One of the most common misuses of child car seats for infants and toddlers is slack in the harness. Studies show that nearly one in two children travels with a harness that is too loose, reducing the protective effect of the car seat in a collision. In parallel, many parents also face situations where children unbuckle themselves during a journey.

Even when a child is placed in an approved and correctly installed car seat, slack in the harness can allow forward or sideways movement during an impact, increasing the risk of injury.

This challenge remains widespread and persistent because achieving the harness tension relies entirely on the judgement of parents and caregivers. Determining the harness tension is difficult, particularly in everyday situations involving time pressure, short journeys, or physical limitations. As a result, many children unintentionally travel with insufficiently tightened harnesses despite caregivers’ best intentions and a high level of safety awareness.

Educational campaigns and improved instructions have increased knowledge around correct child restraint use. However, the continued high prevalence of slack in harnesses shows that knowledge alone is not enough to solve the problem. A similar gap exists when children unbuckle themselves during travel, an additional real world challenge for caregivers.

Together, these factors highlight a critical gap between safety recommendations and actual usage. Addressing harness slack, while also supporting caregivers in managing unbuckling events, represents a significant opportunity to improve real world child safety on European roads.

Glavni izazovi sigurnosti u prometu kojima se projekt „Matematika na cesti” sustavno bavi odnose se na kombinaciju ponašanja sudionika u prometu, nedostatka prometne kulture te nedovoljne povezanosti teorijskog znanja i stvarnih situacija u svakodnevnom okruženju.
Jedan od ključnih problema je neprepoznavanje i nedovoljno razumijevanje prometnih znakova i pravila, osobito kod djece i mladih sudionika u prometu. To uključuje pravilno kretanje pješaka, sigurno prelazak ceste te uočavanje potencijalno opasnih situacija u lokalnim naseljima.
Dodatni izazov je nepažnja i distrakcija u prometu, koja se sve češće pojavljuje zbog korištenja mobilnih uređaja i smanjene koncentracije sudionika, što povećava rizik od nesreća.
Projekt se također bavi problemom nedovoljne povezanosti prometne sigurnosti s nastavnim sadržajima, posebno u matematici i ostalim predmetima. Učenici često uče prometna pravila izolirano, bez razumijevanja njihove stvarne primjene.
Poseban izazov predstavlja i potreba za jačanjem prometne kulture u ruralnim sredinama, gdje je infrastruktura raznolika, a prometna opterećenost varira.
Kroz projekt se ovi izazovi nastoje prevladati integriranim pristupom, praktičnim aktivnostima, video materijalima, kvizovima i suradnjom s policijom i stručnim institucijama, s ciljem stvaranja dugoročno sigurnijeg ponašanja u prometu.

Romania has historically faced one of the lowest rates of child restraint system use in the European Union. In 2019, European data indicated that only around one quarter of child passengers were transported using appropriate child restraint systems. This reflected a broader road safety challenge: high child injury and fatality risks linked to improper restraint, misuse of car seats, and limited parental awareness.

The main challenges addressed by our initiative include:

• low usage rates of child restraint systems
• incorrect installation and misuse of car seats
• lack of parental awareness regarding age-appropriate restraint systems
• widespread misconceptions influenced by marketing, informal advice, and outdated practices
• limited access to evidence-based guidance and professional counselling
• insufficient integration of child passenger safety education into healthcare and community services
• socio-economic disparities affecting access to safety information and equipment

Additionally, parents often receive conflicting information and lack practical, hands-on guidance on proper installation and safe transportation practices.

These challenges contribute to preventable injuries and fatalities among child passengers and hinder progress toward EU road safety targets.

Our initiative addresses these systemic barriers through education, professional training, community outreach, and evidence-based awareness programs designed to improve correct usage and long-term behavioral change.

The campaign promotes helmet wearing, among others, when riding a bicycle, scooter, e-scooter, skateboard. It responds to micromobility users , e-scooters and cyclists safety. Every year in Poland many crashes occur in which children suffer serious head and brain injuries – and most of these could be avoided if wearing a properly fitted helmet.

In the Pasavček project, the focus lies on rule learning that contributes to road safety (correct use of child restraint systems and seatbelt use, but consequently also rules for pedestrians, passengers, etc., depending on the age of the children and the learning objectives of the teachers). The project initially started as part of the international EUCHIRES project and is thanks to its success still active today.

Children and adolescents are among the most frequently involved road users in road traffic accidents and often suffer the most severe consequences, also as passengers in vehicles. Consistently ensuring that children are properly buckled up while driving could significantly reduce this risk.

In the Pasavček project, the focus lies on rule learning that contributes to road safety (correct use of child restraint systems and seatbelt use, but consequently also rules for pedestrians, passengers, etc., depending on the age of the children and the learning objectives of the teachers). The project initially started as part of the international EUCHIRES project and is thanks to its success still active today.

Children and adolescents are among the most frequently involved road users in road traffic accidents and often suffer the most severe consequences, also as passengers in vehicles. Consistently ensuring that children are properly buckled up while driving could significantly reduce this risk.