Be Safe, Be Visible

The road infrastructure in Tbilisi has been improved and there is a numerous number of cross walks and underground crossings and over passing bridges which should be used by pedestrians for their safety. But most of the population does not use them. “Partnership  for Road Safety” has conducted the research about pedestrians. It was implemented by ACT Group. The main target of the research was to learn the general attitude of Tbilisi population towards the pedestrian law. We have studied the following tasks:

•   What  does the  population  think  about  the  pedestrian  law? What  is people ‘s opinion  about

paying the fine?

•  How often do they use the underground and over passing crossings?

•   If the amount of fine increases, how many percentage of the Tbilisi population will use the underground and overground crossings?

• What barriers does the population have while crossing the underground and overground crossings?

According to the research results, 77 % of Tbilisi population uses the underground crossing, but only 47% use the overground crossing. As respondents say, the main barrier of using the underground crossings is insanitariness. The main barrier of using the overground crossing is the height of it, because people get tired when they go upstairs. As the research showed, only the third of the population knows the right amount of the fine, because 91% of the population has never been fined. The most of Tbilisi population agreed to the law about paying the fine while illegally crossing the road. If the amount of fine would increase (it was only 3 GEL), 80% of population would use the underground and overground crossings. The foundation “Partnership  for Road Safety” implemented two projects dedicated to the pedestrians awareness increase and their road safety. The projects “Be Safe, Be Visible” was supported by the Estonian government, BP Georgia, EASST; within the project, the special reflectors for pedestrians were  distributed among the citizens. Another project “Choose the safe  way” considered to work with members of Parliament of Georgia and make recommendations regarding the pedestrians and generally road safety problems solution; and to promote  pedestrians‟ right behavior and conduct the public campaign.