More than 450,000 Euros Spent on the Successful Project: ‘We reward your safety"

Hanover, October 2007 – Where traffic signals, pedestrian crossings or road markings are lacking, school kids – the most group out on the road – are at high risk of being involved in an accident. This is one reason for Continental AG's strong commitment to the successful "We reward your safety" project since 2004. Run in cooperation with Germany's Road Patrol organizations, it marks an effort to make school routes safer. Since it got started, schools, parent initiatives and concerned citizens have submitted more than 130 project applications aimed at eliminating danger hotspots for children on the road and at organizing traffic signals, pedestrian crossings and traffic safety education courses.

Two first graders about to cross the road beyond a bend. Working with the School Route Planner, parents can draw attention to the problem under "Supplement danger point"

46 of the project applications have been approved and funded by Continental AG to the tune of more than 450,000 euros. While the project as a whole is now due to expire, as scheduled, Continental AG has defined two focal points for the future – school bus safety and school route planning – both of which were frequently targeted in project applications: The ‘school bus safety’ project is to be continued (details can be found at www.conti-online.com), complemented by something completely new, an internet school route planner at SchulwegPlaner.de. It has just been launched as a pilot project in Lower Saxony with an attractive contest (main prize: 5,000 euros). Although the program will not be officially launched until January 2008, the platform can already be used throughout Germany while being piloted in Lower Saxony. Current statistics show how very important it is to do even more in the future to ensure that kids get to and from school safely. The federal working group "Greater Safety for Children in Traffic"

reported 175,000 traffic accidents in 2005 involving children under 14 and Germany's Road Patrol organizations have determined that every 15 minutes a child suffers a traffic accident.

This is how the School Route Planner works: Simply enter your zip code and check whether a route map already exists for the school indicated. If not, a menu helps parents and teachers draw up their own route maps. Dr. Stefanie Märzheuser, pediatric surgeon at Charité hospital in Berlin and on the executive board of the Federal Working Group "Enhanced Safety for Children", notes: “The school route planner is a smart idea. It’s important that children are made aware of accident risks so that they become safety-conscious traffic participants in the future. Nonetheless, children should not be viewed as mini adults. This is why we have to try to see the route to school through the eyes of a child and then actively practice safety with children – not only in front of the computer but also out on the road."

More information: www.schulwegPlaner.de

Source: Continental AG

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