VAMOS: EUROPEAN UNION’S SPONSORED PROJECT ON ROAD SAFETY
GREEK PARTNER: THE HELLENIC ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE COMPANIES (EAEE)
LOCAL COORDINATOR: ROAD SAFETY ORGANISATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF ATHENS

The European Union (EU) set an ambitious target in order to deal with one of the most serious problems for all European citizens: the number of road accidents is unacceptably high, 1.3 road accidents a year cause 40.000 deaths. The target that has been proposed is to reduce the number of road fatalities by 50% by 2010. In this context, and among other activities, the EU sponsors European projects with the sole aim to enhance road safety and reduce road accidents.

One of these projects is VAMOS-“Volunteers always on the move for road safety”. The duration of VAMOS project is of three years and it is about the prevention of road accidents on a voluntary basis. The copartners of the EAEE are organisatons from Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Belgium and Portugal.

The EAEE with the collaboration of the Road Safety Organisation of the municipality of Athens created a training project on the safe circulation of children of 4-12 years old on the roads of the municipality of Athens.

Under the slogan: «When I walk I am careful, When I drive (my bicycle) I am careful!” the first phase of the “VAMOS” project is completed at the campus of the Municipality of Athens.

At the campus of the municipality of Athens the children were trained at the Road Safety Parc: a volunteers’ team, which well trained for this purpose, trained children to circulate safely on a city road or to drive their bicycle safely.

Supportive activities also took place like dissemination of VAMOS t-shirts, granting of VAMOS diplomas, etc.

Children’s training was completed in August 2009.

During this year a parallel activity is also scheduled and it concerns the dissemination of printed material addressed to parents. This material will be disseminated by volunteers during the massive exits of the Athenians to the periphery.

By the completion of VAMOS project 4.500 children were trained by approximately 300 volunteers on circulating safely on foot or by their bicycles on the roads of Athens.