Giro d’Italia Road Safety Education Drive by Italian Police
The Giro d’Italia? Not just sport and entertainment, but also a vehicle to teach young and very young people how to behave on the roads. For several years, the State Police have used these festive days to involve schools and future drivers and cyclists, even if less famous than figures like Pantani. The goal is education: ensuring that those who will soon become road users know the rules and, most importantly, respect them.
For this reason, the State Police organize meetings with Italian students. In the past, the “Azure Buses” have stopped in towns where the Giro has taken a stage. This will also happen in Sirmione and Erbusco. Third-year students, their parents, and middle school teachers from Colombaro di Sirmione—a town where the time trial stage departs from the thermal center headed toward Salò—will be involved.
Meanwhile, from Erbusco, the cyclists will depart for Parma. The State Police will involve students from Sirmione and Erbusco on June 3 and 4, who will follow the stage on a police bus, leading the cyclists at the arrival. Along the route and at the finish line, officers will distribute educational materials to the children and invite them to board the second “Azure Bus,” where interactive games will test their skills.
Activities and Awareness Campaign for Road Safety
This is a practical test for new drivers, who can humorously say for a day, “We were police officers.” After the festive day, students from Sirmione and Erbusco will be taken back to their towns in the police bus, escorted by their “real” colleagues from the State Police. These officers will give quick lessons on how to behave on the roads and will highlight main dangers such as excessive speed and the failure to wear helmets on motorcycles or seat belts in cars driven by parents.
Technology (interactive videos) and an understanding of those who work daily on the roads go hand in hand. The stands set up alongside the Giro caravan will be located at the finish lines of the stages and will also be open to adults. The State Police encourages parents to accompany their children to the azure buses and to visit the stands set up for the occasion.
A day of celebration alongside two-wheel champions. Raising awareness among youth about road safety has been a recurring slogan of Sergio Basile, commander of the Polizia stradale of Brescia. This awareness campaign goes beyond routine patrols on the roads, which are often understaffed due to the size of the province, though the department is about to be reorganized to increase personnel.
According to the figures, the situation is improving. “Last year, there were 200 victims on Brescia’s roads, a 16.1% decrease compared to the previous year, which recorded 230 fatalities. In 1998, the number was as high as 260. This trend is encouraging for the future. Much remains to be done in terms of safety and awareness,” said Dr. Sergio Basile, busy preparing for the Giro’s arrival on Lake Garda and in Franciacorta. Another important statistic should make young people, teachers, and parents reflect: road accidents are the leading cause of death among people under thirty. Therefore, it is crucial that road education become part of the school curriculum.
