School classes resume at Trafik Eğitim Parkı in Lefkoşa

Road safety classes for primary school students have resumed at the Kuzey Kıbrıs Turkcell Trafik Eğitim Parkı. The training is held in cooperation with the Association for the Prevention of Traffic Accidents, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Professor Mehmet Zeki Avcı, Chairman of the Association for the Prevention of Traffic Accidents, noted that the formation of a safe road behavior culture must begin in childhood. Students in grades 3–5 participate in 1.5-hour sessions, meaning that over their primary school years, children attend the course three times.

The program includes:

• safe sidewalk movement rules
• seat belt use
• cycling rules
• basics of self-protection in the road environment

Special emphasis is placed on children reminding parents about seat belts and speeding.

The park has been operating for 15 years and meets international standards. It hosts sessions not only for schoolchildren but also for bus and taxi drivers, military personnel, university students, and even traffic offenders.

A special seat belt simulator is used to demonstrate the consequences of collisions and vehicle rollovers.

Özgül Gürkut Mutluyakalı, Deputy Chair of the association, emphasized that the center operates seven days a week. Plans are in place to expand the program to include high school students approaching driving age.

A large-scale information campaign is planned for May as part of Road Safety Week.