Total Serbia is committed to creating conditions for increased traffic safety and announces the continuation of last year’s socially responsible campaign “On the Road to the Safety of Children in Traffic”, which will be implemented this year even more intensively. The aim of this campaign is to draw the attention of the citizens of the Republic of Serbia to the need for additional education of the youngest generations in relation to traffic safety. This year, one of the sponsors is Hutchinson d.o.o. from Ruma, which belongs to Total Group and which employs over 1,000 people in its rubber production plant in Serbia.
The target group of this socially responsible campaign are children of first and second grade elementary school, which are among the most vulnerable categories when traffic safety is concerned, and whose knowledge of traffic behavior and traffic regulations need to be expanded.
“We congratulate Total Group, a renowned French company, on launching the project” On the Road to the Safety of Children in Traffic, the primary goal of which is to educate the youngest generations about behavior in traffic through the game. For the duration of this project, great progress has been made in adopting knowledge and rules of behavior in traffic thanks to the use of modern technologies and innovative games. We hope that the success of this project will motivate other companies to raise their socially responsible business to a higher level. Safety in traffic is a very important topic for us. That is the reason France took part last September for the second time at an annual seminar in Subotica organized by the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, “he told a press conference at the French Embassy’s residence, His Excellency, Mr. Frederik Mondoloni, French Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia.
Unlike other similar campaigns that are being implemented in Serbia and the region, Total has joined the education of the youngest part of the population in a unique way – using visual demonstration and card-banners, TOTAL QUARTZ robot mascots and interactive games on the tablet, specially created for this opportunity, all with the aim of animating children, and their adoption of traffic regulations.
The significance of this project was also recognized by Total, which awarded him the first place at the internal Europe Innovation competition, as well as by the French-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, which awarded him the Grand Prix 2018 prize.
“We are proud that we are able, after the success of last year’s campaign, to continue with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia. Our efforts are directed towards the children of the younger school age, not only because they are most exposed to traffic hazards, but also because we believe that with the help of education on this topic, we will grow into responsible and responsible road users “- said Almila Aćan Kahvečioglu , General Director of Total Serbia.
This year, 54 schools across the country will be visited within this campaign, while more than 5,500 children will participate in the educational program in a fun and interactive way, in order to become acquainted with traffic rules.
“It is noticeable that respect and knowledge of traffic regulations is not at the same level in large cities and outside of them. Our duty is to improve the safety of the young population on the roads, “said Pierluigi Ghione, director of Hutchinson d.o.o.
The use of the tablet and the long-term approach to the project implies that every year a team of pedagogues analyzes the results and improves their approach in order to enable as much as possible education of children.
“The use of tablet devices is part of the everyday life of most students, and their use in teaching and learning is necessary, as this is one of the ways that teaching and learning takes place in accordance with the real context, environment of a modern child “- said Anica Saković, a pedagogue.
“The game helped us understand that many kids make similar mistakes, based on which we are improving the project from year to year and to parents and educators who need special attention,” said Bozidar Dimić, a pedagogue.
Based on the experience of the pedagogue involved in the project On the road to the safety of children in traffic, among the most common mistakes and doubts that children of school age have in traffic are:
1. Passage between parked cars, when there is a danger that drivers will not notice them if they go out into the street;
2. Playing near the roadway, when there is a risk that the child runs for a ball or simply, during the game, do not notice a car that is going very close;
3. The concept of a conditioned green light for drivers, when it is often not clear to children how it is possible to move cars, even though they are pedestrians, the green light is on.
The education of children, led by experienced and proven pedagogues, will last for one school hour. In order to enable all parents to check their children’s knowledge and play with them, Total Serbia made this interactive tablet game publicly available on its website (www.total-serbia.rs).
“It’s important to talk to children about traffic, traffic rules and respect for these rules, but also about the importance of having rules in general. The game can help as a means and a chance to talk about these topics and help children to understand the rules from different perspectives “- said Ana Antanasijevic, a pedagogue and creator of the educational part of the program.
As far as the project is intended for its children, Total Serbia decided to include the SOS children’s village in Kraljevo, whose inhabitants are children who, for various reasons, were left without parental care, who grow up in the village with SOS parents and biological and SOS brothers and sister.
“Total Serbia is determined to make the traffic safer for all children in Serbia by preparing them for the challenges it brings with you, and we hope this is just another in a long series of actions,” concluded Mrs. Kahvechioglu.