The pedestrian crossing in the area of the “Dimitrie Cantemir” School in Sângerei was transformed into a safer and more accessible one, using the methods of tactical urban planning, while first graders participated in an interactive lesson on road safety. Also, the local students demanded the right to safe streets in a flashmob, thus joining the international community regarding road safety. The activities were carried out as part of the “Safe roads - healthy and safe children” project, in the context of the Global Road Safety Week that takes place between May 15-21.

The project launched by UNICEF Moldova, Automobile Club Moldova, the International Automobile Federation and the FIA Foundation will be carried out over three years and aims to improve the knowledge, skills and practices of students regarding road safety in three localities - Balti, Sângerei and Ungheni, both in terms of road education and safe infrastructure and the application of legislative changes to encourage the reduction of speed below 30 km/h around schools.

In 2022 in Moldova, 15 children died and over 400 others were injured as a result of over two thousand traffic accidents, according to the data of the National Inspectorate for Public Security. The leading cause of road accidents on national routes is excessive speed.

Road traffic injuries are also the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with approximately 1.3 million people killed and up to 50 million injured annually. Now in its seventh edition, UN Global Road Safety Week aims to urge policymakers at national level to #RethinkMobility (#RethinkMobility) to make walking, cycling and using public transport safer and more convenient, so that people can switch to active, mobile and sustainable modes of transport.