Education Minister Athena Michaelidou called for a collective effort to improve road safety and change attitudes towards driving behaviour, saying Cyprus could not afford “any more losses”.
Speaking at a road safety event in the Troodos mountain village of Gourri on Sunday, Michaelidou said it was necessary “to join forces and cultivate a culture of safety, responsibility and respect”.
“Statistics reveal the urgent need to foster a culture of proper road behaviour and create a more responsible society,” she said.
“We have a responsibility to change mentalities. We have a responsibility to create positive role models for our children.”
Michaelidou described the event as “an event of humanity” that reinforced the importance of preventing road accidents and fatalities.
Addressing young people attending the event, the minister urged them to lead by example.
“I am glad to see many children and young people here today,” she said. “I call on you to become the example yourselves. Take the lead. Do not allow us to deviate. Give the message of life, because you are the life and future of our country.”
Michaelidou said almost everyone had experienced the pain caused by serious road accidents either directly or indirectly.
“It is precisely this pain that we have a responsibility to bring to an end. And we can do so, each from our own field of action,” she said.
The minister added that road behaviour had been included among the key priorities of the education ministry and the Christodoulides government.
She said awareness efforts now begin from early childhood, arguing that prevention was the safest way to establish a culture capable of reducing road fatalities and accidents.
“We want a new generation that moves with reason and road awareness. A generation that respects and enjoys life,” she said.
Michaelidou said road safety education plays a central role in the “life education” and health education curriculum in both primary and secondary schools.
The aim, she added, is to develop responsible behaviour among students as pedestrians, passengers, cyclists and future drivers, while helping them understand the consequences of dangerous road behaviour and their rights and obligations on the road.
“We want every citizen to feel safe on the road,” she said. “The most important lesson is cultivating respect from one person to another,” the minister concluded.
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