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World Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims
3rd Sunday of November
21st November 2004
Worldwide, over 3,000 people are killed and over
100,000 injured every day. The price in terms
of human loss, grief and care is immeasurable.
Remembering road victims
'Road deaths and injuries shatter lives'
The impact of such a traumatic event is long-term, often
forever, and the scale of the problem means that each year many
thousands of people who have suffered bereavement or injury through
a road crash that year, are added to the existing huge group of
people already affected.
Yet this needless loss of life and suffering does not receive
proper attention or acknowledgement. Many of those killed and
injured on the road are young, which is why the sense of loss and
waste is all the greater.
The Day of Remembrance responds to the great need of
road crash victims for public recognition, which is so readily
given to victims of other types of disaster. It also acknowledges
the work of all those involved in the aftermath of a crash - fire,
police and ambulance personnel, doctors, nurses and
counsellors.
Initiated by RoadPeace in 1993, this day, known for several
years as European Day of Remembrance, is now being observed
annually by an increasing number of people in an increasing number
of countries and continents.
RoadPeace continues to promote this day, both nationally and
internationally, encouraging churches and places of worship of
all denominations and faiths, schools and community groups and,
importantly, Governments, to remember the victims of this
ongoing mass disaster.
In the UK, many cathedrals and churches have already made
a special road victim service an annual event as part of their
pastoral care, with schools beginning to follow. There is also
growing support and participation from local and national
politicians and agency representatives.
In other countries, both religious and secular events take
place on this international Remembrance Day in memory of road
crash victims, and church leaders, notably the Pope, remember them
in their prayers.
Ways of remembering
In religious gatherings of all kinds, the reading out of names
of those killed and injured, the lighting of candles and offering
of flowers or acorns as signs of hope, help the bereaved and
injured to find expression for their sorrow and give them the
courage to go forward. These meetings and ritual acts bring people
together and make them appreciate that they are not alone.
As well as observing this special day with acts of remembrance
and reflection in churches and other places of worship, many varied
events may take place, such as the march through the City of Bath
to an open-air gathering, the Critical Mass of cyclists through
London to the sites where someone was killed, or a Remembrance
Concert with many bands in Johannesburg, in years past. Schools may
hold special assemblies, minutes of silence, or allow pupils to
express their thoughts or feelings in essays and various art
forms.
Raising awareness
The Day has had increasing media coverage on radio, television
and in the press, which has helped to raise public awareness of the
enormous scale of the disaster and the plight and despair of
road crash victims.
From April 2004, when the World Health Organisation published
the World Report on Road Injury Prevention and the United Nations
discussed 'the global road safety crisis' in a General Assembly in
New York, this day will have even greater significance and
international importance.
How RoadPeace can help
People are encouraged to create acts of remembrance in their own
way, but a booklet of PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS published by RoadPeace
is available with suggested material. Some of the prayers included
in it have been specially written for RoadPeace. In addition, we
can provide examples of complete services, paper Oak leaves on
which to inscribe the names, posters and leaflets.
You can help
Please join and contribute to highlighting this World Day of
Remembrance, to bring recognition and solace to many people and a
change of attitude towards danger on the roads.
If you are organising an event then do let us know about it so
that we can record it and if you wish advertise it.
About RoadPeace
RoadPeace is UK's charity dedicated to supporting people
bereaved and injured as the result of a road crash. It offers them
vital help and advice through the only national helpline for road
victims - open 7 days - and literature written from the victims'
perspective. Long-term support and friendship are offered through
local groups, annual events and common acts of remembrance.
RoadPeace researches and documents the position and experiences
of road crash victims, for the findings to inform, educate and
influence relevant agencies, policy makers, the public and media,
in order to improve the present deeply unsatisfactory legal
response and treatment of victims.
One of RoadPeace's main aims is also working for road danger
reduction, to ensure the causes of road crashes and risks to
vulnerable road users are reduced to a minimum. RoadPeace supports
road victims in their expectation that lessons should be learnt
from their tragedies.
RoadPeace is a member of the European Federation of Road Traffic
Victims, an umbrella organisation of some 35 international victim
organisations, many of which have followed RoadPeace in adopting
the third Sunday of November as a universal Day of Remembrance, it
also cooperates with the World Health Organisation, together with
other international road victim advocacy organisations.
RoadPeace
PO Box 2579
London NW10 3PW
Tel: 020 8838 5102
Fax: 020 8838 5103
info@roadpeace.org
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