Citation

Isoba M. Proc. Road Saf. Four Continents Conf. 2005; 13: 8p.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Conference Sponsor)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

In this presentation the author would like to share the experiences and approaches of a non governmental, non-profit organization that works to prevent traffic accidents in a developing country, Argentina. Trying to follow the model of developed countries in 1990, the paper created Luchemos por la Vida as a means to build up a new reality in traffic safety in our country. It wasn't easy. Where should it start and how should it go about this task in a country while the population at large participated every day, both suffering and inflicting wrongs, attributing each accident to fortuitous and chance actions, taking each tragedy as a personal misfortune, the result of destiny or fate. Meanwhile, the public authorities, who were supposedly responsible for this problem, evaded it out of ignorance or by closing their eyes to reality, in order to avoid assuming responsibilities which they believed would not bring them any short-term political gain. The author developed a multiple-approach plan aimed at the individual in the community to generate a social change of attitudes towards traffic accidents and behavior on the streets, and a better awareness about traffic as a system in order to provoke changes in the system of individual beliefs and attitudes. To do this, we decided to influence public opinion with a view to generating spaces of reflection and self-examination, and of social debate regarding the problem of accidents and its relationship with individual and social behaviors of all citizens, in general, and authorities, in particular. With this in view, we decided to privilege work among mass media, government and traffic safety education. The programs, each different in scope, realization and achievements have contributed to generating an important change in attitude in the population at large. The authors believe that approaching it from different fields, with a special emphasis on mass media, has enabled us to create a new social awareness on this problem. For example, in a public survey, in 1999, the traffic and accidents problems were included by people among the 10 most important problems to be solved by politicians, who have been forced to include it in their agendas. The authors observe important improvements in traffic behavior of the community in specific topics, such as wearing seat belts in cars and helmets on bicycles and motorcycles, improvement in respecting the priority of pedestrians, etc. Even though the project is still far from the ideal or desirable state. Even though we know that technology, infrastructure and legislation must be subservient to adequate behavior according to the acceptance that the human error is impossible to be totally eradicated in traffic, we think about the time of educational and awareness intervention is not over. But it is required in developing countries to build up, as World Health Organization says, a new traffic safety vision with a more interdisciplinary and integrative approach, thorough collaboration, targeted policies and national action plans. And the non governmental organizations can play important rolls in that.