RACE LAUNCHES “SAFE SCHOOL JOURNEYS”
During the 2021-2022 school year, FIA Member Club the Real Automóvil Club de España (RACE — Spain), has designed and implemented, together with the FIA Foundation, the Road Safety Plan “Caminos Escolares Seguros” (“Safe School Journeys”) in the Madrid municipalities of Guadalix de la Sierra and Tres Cantos. Supported by the FIA Road Safety Grants Programme, this project aims to create safe access routes to schools in both towns and validate the FIA School Assessment Toolkit.
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The FIA School Assessment Programme is delivered with the support and expertise of Star Ratings for School (SR4S), developed by long-term FIA Foundation partner iRAP. SR4S is an evidence-based tool for measuring, managing and communicating the risk children are exposed to on their daily journey to school. It supports quick interventions that save lives and prevent serious injuries from day one.
The criteria used by RACE to select the towns were their size, urban and demographic characteristics, together with the willingness of the municipalities to apply the proposals put forward in the project.
Guadalix de la Sierra was one of the smallest municipalities selected for the implementation and execution of the project. It has a population of over 6,000 inhabitants and RACE has assessed the safety conditions in the surroundings of two schools, both for primary and secondary school children, due to the location of these schools.
Tres Cantos, which now has over 50,000 inhabitants, has taken advantage of this collaboration to develop initial planning for five safe school environments, four for primary and one for secondary schools.
Both municipalities are currently implementing the works proposed in the study carried out by RACE. This includes improvements in road safety infrastructure such as roadside painting and signage, which will be completed by the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, thus improving the safety of schoolchildren.
In the framework of this Plan, RACE has also organised different activities in order to raise awareness on road safety among schoolchildren and their families.
RACE is committed to continue developing this type of social projects in other municipalities in Spain, with the objective of promoting safe routes to schools and avoiding risks for children.