The Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

On November, 20, The Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was held in Ukraine for the fourth time.

The tradition of commemorating road traffic victims that is also aimed to raise public awareness of the road safety problems, was initiated by the British non-governmental organization RoadPeace. Soon this idea found understanding and support around the world. On October 26, 2005 the UN adopted a resolution with an appeal to the governments of all countries to mark the third Sunday of November as the Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims,. According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, each year road accidents take lives of13 million people and leave 50 million people with permanent disabilities.

Every 18 minutes the road accident happens on the Ukrainian roads, and every 117 minutes one person dies in road accident.

As in previous years, the Ukrainian Road Safety Association appealed to the religious organizations of Ukraine to hold a memorial service for road accident victims on The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (the third Sunday of November).

The appeal was supported by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Russian Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Ukrainian Roman Catholic Church, the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Ukraine, Jewish  community and other denominations.

The Greek Catholic Churches of Ukraine held the memorial service to honour those who died in road accidents. Commenting on the initiative of the Ukrainian Road Safety Association in respect to the memorial service within the Road Safety Week, Bishop  Bohdan (Dzyurakh), the Secretary of Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, in particular, said:  "By giving the prayer that was created in Kyiv Patriarch cathedral and in other Ukrainian churches, we want to honour those who died in road accidents, because their lives  eneded only halfway,. Such deaths are always unexpected and the bereaved feel great pain. We want to share their pain and to say our prayers for the peace of the souls of their beloved ones".

In addition, the Bishop has emphasized that "every day in different divine services the Church prays for travellers, letting the people be in ward of God, pleading the Guardian Angel to protect them on their way and to help them safely reach their destination". "At the same time, together with the prayer, the Church considers its  duty to remind  its churchmembers and all drivers about a necessity to obey the traffic rules,  which prevent road accidents and thereby, protect human health and lives", - stressed the Secretary of Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

"On the roads, as nowhere else, we greatly realize the human interdependence, and that is the reason for all of us to feel responsibility for each other’s lives and to do everything possible to protect and save these lives",  Bishop Bohdan has added in conclusion.

While holding the memorial service in Kyiv Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, the Holy Father Victor Nagirnyak reminded that in 2008, His Beatitude Lubomyr (Guzar) in his Address to comply with the traffic rules has stressed that traffic offence is a sin. Therefore, anyone who drives the car, must use it to the benefits of themselves and other road users, and carefully avoid anything that could cause material losses, loss of health or even life.

St. Vladimir's Cathedral of Kyiv

As with the last and previous year, many residents of Kyiv prayed in the Refectory Church of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.for their relatives and friends, who died in road accidents.

Refectory Church of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

With the blessing of His Beatitude Volodymyr, Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine, the memorial service to honour those who died in road accidents was headed by Kyiv Vicar, Metropolitan, Bishop Vasilkovsky  Panteleimon. He stressed out that the Church, as a loving mother, deeply mourns for every one, who lost their life prematurely. And, in particular it concerns road accident victims. During the memorial services the priests urge believers to be attentive to each other, not to accomplish any actions, which could harm the health or, what is even worse, to cause death of the human. Therefore, when setting off on a journey, a driver must remember that he is responsible both for his own safety and for the people he was entrusted to carry. So, he must not violate the traffic rules, and especially, not to drink drive and not to exceed the speed limit. 

St. Vladimir's Cathedral of Kyiv

After the service, those present were given the icons of the Saviour with a Prayer for Driver.

Thus, the Chairman of the Synod department of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy Church  for Pastoral Care of the Penitentiary System, priest Victor Yatsenko reminded that before setting off on a journey, everybody must read the Prayer for Driver, which cautions against inattention, carelessness and other evil while on the road. 

Memorial services were held in the churches of other confessions as well.

Refectory Church of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

On the same day, on the square of Great Patriotic War Heroes after the signal of Auto-radio the representatives of the Ukrainian Automobile Clubs at 13.30 pressed on their car horns to honour the memory of road traffic victims. The event was initiated by Kharkiv Union of Automobile Clubs.

On the Day of Remembrance the representatives of Simferopol Automobile Clubs held motor race through the central streets of the city. More than 20 cars participated in the event. Even more people gathered later on at one of the city’s racing tracks, to commemorate the road crash victims by giving the memorable signal of their car horns at 13.30 together with the drivers all over Ukraine.

Events that took place on the Day of Remembrance were aimed at raising awareness of the public to the problem of road accidents. Not only the road accident victims, but also the society in general pays the greatest price for their consequences. It is therefore necessary to find the most effective measures to overcome the road crisis, uniting efforts of the government, public, business and media.

After meeting in London, in 2008 with the initiator of the Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims Ms. Brigitte Chaudhry (the president of  the RoadPeace Charity organization), our Association has started to spread this initiative in Ukraine – says the president of the NGO Ukrainian Road Safety Association  Mykhailo Berlin. - We informed politicians, religious figures, representatives of the automobile clubs and media about the importance of this idea. And now we can see that every year  more and more of our compatriots realize the need to commemorate the road accident victims.

The world practice proves that public efforts always yield positive results. For example, in the USA, on the insistence of the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)  the Congress passed the resolution on giving the national status to The Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.  The All-Ukrainian Non-Governmental Organization the Ukrainian Road Safety Association also initiates the introduction of The Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims at the national level.