On November 15, Russia payed the tribute to the memory of road accident victims
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims has been commemorated for more than 10 years all over the world. According to the UN General Assembly resolution, the World Day falls on the third Sunday of November. The Day pursues two goals: to pay the tribute to the memory of road traffic victims (according to the UN, road accidents claim more than a million lives every year) and to send a message to those who have never been in a road accident about the necessity to be responsible and attentive on the road.
As is customary, numerous countries all over the world hold actions urging people to be more careful; people release balloons to the sky, attend memorial services. This year, memorial service to honor the dead was held in the Cathedral of the Christ the Savior in Kaliningrad, with prayer of remembrance being performed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill. Memorial services were held all across the country, with priests urging parishioners to follow traffic rules to the letter.
Hospitals in Tyumen Region held special classes for children-victims of road accidents, where kids were able to express their gratitude to the doctors who had saved their lives. Several regions held interactive flash mobs, with people, cars and motorcycles spelling out a word “REMEMBER”. The State Road Traffic Inspectorate in Magadan joined automobile clubs representatives in a motor rally that finished with the word “REMEMBER” being spelled out with cars at the destination point of the rally. Residents of Bashkortostan spelled out a number “501” – for the number of people killed in road accidents this year. Residents of Murmansk arranged a special memory wall with images of their loved ones who had died in road accidents. All actions were held in public places in order to engage as many people as possible and make them understand the importance of road safety and road accident prevention.
Road Safety Russia President Natalia Agre voiced her support to such actions:
“Road Safety Russia supports The World Day of Remembrance events every year. It is very important to share in the grief of those who has lost their loved ones. Such actions need to receive a wide mass media coverage, need to be held in public places and need to show people that road accidents are not something out of the ordinary that could never affect them, but something very common and, unfortunately, widespread. Impressive actions for the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims were held this weekend in Russia. Sergiyev Posad had a very strong action: on the one hand, thousands of people showed their support to road accident victims during a memorial service in one of the most revered orthodox sanctuaries; on the other hand, wreckages transported by tow trucks within the city and images of road accident wreckages shared by people who had lost their loved ones had a strong emotional impact on and served as an outstanding wake up call for those who still believed in their immortality and failed to buckle up, stick to the speed limits or use cild restraint systems. We give our full support and recognition of such actions, and we will continue to participate in The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims”.
The World Day of Remembrance in Sergiyev Posad united friends and family members of road accident victims, chief officers of the State Road Traffic Inspectorate, heads of the Moscow diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, representatives of the Federation Council, NGOs, State Road Traffic Inspectorate departments, auto- and moto clubs, and automobile operating companies.
It should be noted that the action was organized in a way permitting to attract the attention of a wider public to the topic of tragic consequences that followed even the slightest mishaps.
Thousands of people marched in front of tow trucks carrying wreckages from road accidents with signs “This could have been prevented”. These words helped people understand how many accidents and tragedies on the road happened due to neglect of safety rules and disregard of one’s own life and lives of other road users. Patrol cars accompanied the march, making it safe for everyone to participate.
A special memorial service was held in the local cathedral, with a moment of silence in honor of those who had lost their lives. After the memorial service, the parishioners released in the sky hundreds of white balloons symbolizing souls of road accident victims.
“Deaths on the road are affecting everyone; it is a global problem that requires an early solution., Only in Moscow region, more than fifteen hundred people die in road accidents every year. These numbers are similar to those in war zones. Today we remember victims of road accidents, share in grief of their loved ones, and ask each other to think about the problems of road safety. Improving the situation requires law abiding behavior and high level of responsibility of each and every one road user” – noted the Head of the Moscow Region State Road Traffic Inspectorate Victor Kuznetsov.
Russia has been actively battling road safety problems, which resulted in a constant decrease in death rates and road accident rates. A state-approved Federal Target Program «Increasing road safety in 2013-2020» is now being realized jointly by Road Safety Russian and the State Road Traffic Inspectorate at the Russian Ministry of Interior.
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