Project EDWARD Results
Results from the first European Day Without A Road Death (Project EDWARD) have been published by TISPOL (the European Traffic Police Network) and the European Commission.
Summary of results:
- On Wednesday 21 September 2016 (Project EDWARD day) there were 43 road deaths across 31 countries
- This compares with 70 fatalities on the same day in 2015 and represents a like-for-like reduction of almost 39 per cent
- 19 countries recorded zero fatalities on 21 September, compared with 11 countries in 2015. Eight of these countries had recorded at least one fatality on 21 September 2015
- Seven other countries recorded a reduction in fatalities, compared with the same day in 2015
- Three countries recorded an increase in fatalities
- A full country-by-country result sheet is available here
Twitter impact:
- 7,923 Twitter posts on Monday 19th, Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st September
- 19,298,225 unique reach for #ProjectEDWARD
- Project EDWARD featured in Twitter Moments Today
- Trending in top 5 in UK
- Trending in many other countries
- At one point trending in top 50 globally
Commenting on Project EDWARD, European Commissioner Violeta Bulc said:
"Education and awareness make important contributions to road safety, and Project EDWARD sets an extremely ambitious target: to achieve a day without a single death on Europe’s roads. This year, we recorded a significant improvement compared to 2015, which shows that when all stakeholders come together we really make an impact and save lives. We are on the right path to make the aspirational goal of zero fatality a reality."
Chair of Road Safety Wales, Susan Storch said:
“ When we made the pledge to Project EDWARD, we accepted that it would be incredibly difficult to achieve a day without road death across Europe.”
“ I would like to thank partners in Road Safety Wales and across Europe for their concerted effort in raising awareness of key contributory factors in road deaths. Although we cannot claim that Project EDWARD was the reason that there were no fatalities on the roads of Wales on the day, we can be sure that the project was successful in fostering a collaborative, committed approach, in Wales and beyond.”
“Road Safety Wales extends thanks to road users in Wales who signed up to the pledge and helped to share the road safety message far and wide. Road deaths are almost entirely avoidable; by working together we can help ensure that families are spared the pain of losing a loved one on our roads.”