The Park will host a unique demo zone of the campaign to improve road safety "Hang in - don't freak out"

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As part of a new campaign designed to encourage as many Ukrainians as possible to wear seat belts, the police will tell drivers and passengers on the roads why this is important, as well as equip special information and demonstration zones with a collision simulator and teach schoolchildren how to protect themselves while driving in the rear car seat.

Kharkiv, April 8, 2021 ─ Today, activities start in the city within the framework of a new joint initiative of the National Police of Ukraine (NPU) and the EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine ─ a campaign to improve road safety "Come on - don't freak out". In Kharkiv, the events will last from April 8 to May 2.

The goal of the initiative is to draw public attention to the risk of injury and death that can result from neglecting seat belts while driving, as well as to encourage Ukrainians to wear seat belts in cars, both in the front and in the back. The campaign is aimed at adult passengers and drivers, as well as schoolchildren aged 8 to 16.

According to the results of the online survey "Perception and use of seat belts by drivers and passengers" * conducted in Kyiv, Odessa, Mariupol, Lviv and Kharkiv in December 2020, 93% of respondents from Kharkiv agree that it is important to wear a seat belt to save lives in in case of an accident. However, when it comes to driving a car, not everyone remembers this belief. So, 79% of the polled Kharkiv residents said that they buckle up in the front seat, but only 48% do it all the time. For drivers, the figures are lower, with 45% of drivers wearing their seat belt at least occasionally, and only 40% claiming to wear a seat belt at all times. The worst situation is with the use of seat belts in the back seat. Only 23% say they buckle up when sitting in the back, and only 9% are used to doing it every time. At the same time, 11% of Kharkiv residents noted that they never wear seat belts at all, which is more than the average for all surveyed cities (8%).

The situation with the safety of children in the car is also alarming. Almost 67% of respondents from Kharkiv said they consider themselves responsible for ensuring that a child under the age of 18 is fastened while traveling in a car (as a whole for the study - 69%). However, only 57% of city dwellers answered that they always buckle up their child, which is below the five-city average of 61%. At the same time, Kharkiv has the highest proportion of those who never buckle up their children - 7% compared to an average of 3%.

To remind Ukrainians that it is always necessary to buckle up in a car, even in the back seats, the authors of the campaign decided in a rather unexpected way, combining horror and humor in their concept. Recognizable images from horror movies will help overcome the belief that the back seat is a safer place where unbelted passengers have nothing to fear.

And skeptics, who ignore seat belts, will be convinced by “practical experience”. As part of the campaign, those who wish will be able to feel for themselves in a safe way what happens to a person in a car during a collision. This will be helped by special simulators that can be tested in demo zones dedicated to the topic of road accidents. Such demo zones will work in crowded city locations on spring weekends. Citizens will also have the opportunity to talk to the police, who will tell you why it is necessary to wear seat belts.

In particular, in Kharkov, such a zone will also work in Gorky Park on the main stage on April 9, 10 and 11 from 15 to 17.