Mobility and Safety: with ABC, the road becomes a classroom

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor)- Mobility and safety. This combination ABC – Autostrada del Brennero in Città forms the basis of the road safety educational project run by Autostrada del Brennero and Traffic Police, which was launched in 2014. The aim of “Abc” is, in fact, to offer secondary school pupils in the provinces crossed by the A22 motorway (Bolzano, Trento, Verona, Mantua, Reggio Emilia and Modena) an educational programme specifically dedicated to the correct behaviour to adopt on the motorway, building on the experience of “Icaro”, which instead covers road safety education in all its forms, from crossing the road for the youngest children right through to driving motor vehicles. The objectives are therefore to familiarise young people with the Highway Code, to provide students about to obtain their driving licence with the tools to assess risk correctly, and to promote correct and responsible behaviour when travelling on the motorway.

In early March, the twelfth edition of the educational project got underway; as it is a travelling initiative, it involved over 1,700 pupils from the province of Reggio Emilia. The day began with a training session at the Teatro Ariosto, followed by a ‘safety village’ in Piazza della Vittoria, where the students were able to interact directly with emergency services personnel and vehicles, take part in practical demonstrations and witness a simulated road accident, gaining an understanding of the coordinated role of all those involved in emergency operations. Numerous institutional and operational partners contributed to the initiative, including the Fire Brigade, ACI, 118, the Red Cross, the Green Cross, Civil Protection and the Local Police, together with Autostrada del Brennero and the Traffic Police. The initiative will continue over the coming weeks in other towns along the A22 motorway: Asola (province of Mantua), Bolzano, Castelfranco Emilia (Modena), Rovereto (Trentino-Alto Adige) and Verona. During the 100-minute theory session, the trainers provided advice and information to the pupils (ranging from how to use an emergency lay-by correctly to what to do in the event of a vehicle breakdown), accompanied by videos featuring personal accounts or footage of accidents. In this way, the pupils were able to learn from the stories of their peers what it means to lose a friend or a parent, or to be left in a wheelchair because someone who crossed their path had been drinking or was texting on their mobile whilst driving. The initiative also featured a real-time quiz on the topics covered, delivered via the Kahoot! platform. The winning classes – one from each stage – received a prize of 1,500 euros’ worth of school supplies.

The initiative stems from the realisation that, even today in Italia, road accidents remain the leading cause of death among young people aged between 15 and 29. That is why, every year, Autostrada del Brennero, together with the Traffic Police, visits schools in the areas along the A22 motorway with an educational programme that is both informative and engaging, the result of collaboration with numerous partners active in the field of road safety. One hundred minutes of advice and best practice, delivered by two trainers from A22 and the Traffic Police from the stage of auditoriums and theatres, followed by a series of practical demonstrations in outdoor areas: this is the tried-and-tested format of the initiative, which over 11 years has involved almost 37,000 young people in the fourth and fifth years of upper secondary school. In other words, those who are about to obtain their driving licence, for whom inexperience and an underestimation of risk can play nasty tricks.

The Brenner Motorway has an overall accident rate of 14.54 points (2025 figure), which is significantly lower than the national average (26.52, 2023 figure, the latest available) and has been on a steady downward trend for several years now. This is the result of a combination of factors ranging from the choice of cutting-edge materials and designs to the maintenance programme, as well as the careful management of roadworks and traffic flow. All this is made possible by an efficient safety system coordinated by the Cau (User Assistance Centre), which operates 24 hours a day. It is also due to the results achieved in this area that 93 per cent of accidents are now attributable to human error. It is therefore here that action must be taken, including through projects that raise awareness amongst young people about the importance of responsible driving behaviour.

As mentioned, ABC is a travelling project that promotes a culture of safety in the areas through which the A22 motorway passes, with which the company has a special relationship. It should not be forgotten, in fact, that it was the local authorities themselves who championed and funded the A22 in the 1960s, a history that is still reflected today in the company’s ownership structure.