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Road accidents are among the most distressing daily occurrences which we have to cope with every day in the State of Israel.
In 1996 45,400 persons were injured in automobile accidents, of whom 35,530 were drivers or passengers and 4,633 were pedestrians. That same year 513 persons were killed, 75 of whom were children.
In general, automobile accidents are caused by a combination of factors. It can be an engineering factor (groundwork), a mechanical factor (automobile), a geographical factor (road, weather conditions, hour of day), or the human factor (users of the road: pedestrians, drivers and passengers).
All bodies involved in the subject of road safety point to the human factor as the most significant one in the cause and prevention of accidents. The person using the road - the human factor -can be educated to change his behavioural pattern. He can be more conscious of values such as tolerance, have more consideration for his fellow man, have more respect of the law and maintain public order and safety on the road.
Road Safety Education has become a necessity for our existence and a top priority subject dealt with by the educational system in Israel today. Road Safety Education is promoting a different type of behaviour, a more cultured one, behaviour which is considerate and thoughtful, behaviour respecting the rights of others to lead a life of quality and safety.
Educating towards personal responsibility and cultural behaviour demands in depth learning, from inner consciousness, and the internalization of principles, laws and behavioural rules.
The nature of this topic - road safety - demands that it be dealt with in depth. It facilitates the combination of various arts, among them graphics and humour.
Humour allows a person to feel good, self confident and optimistic. It also has a social function in the inter-personal communications and understanding and in creating inter-personal cooperation.
Social psychology recognizes humour as a means of giving a person strength, pleasure and the capacity to overcome difficult and complicated situations.
Road safety deals with complicated situations including life and death. These subjects are difficult to cope with and people have a tendency to push them away and avoid dealing with them concretely.
Through the use of art and humour, the positive aspect of road safety, as well as the beauty and happiness of life can be exposed. The harsh picture of road accidents and their consequences may isolate the onlooker and turn him into an apathetic and uninvolved spectator.
Presenting situations humorously may encourage the development of personal responsibility towards increased road safety and involvement in creating a better quality of life.
The Philatelic Service has dealt with the topic of road safety many times throughout the years, using its educational and promotional resources to produce a road safety series.
The most recent series, "Road safety for our children's sake", which appeared in 1993, consisted of three stamps drawn by pupils. Presenting the topic of road safety via stamps brings the message home to every household in Israel and the world at large, and reaches all users of roads.
The new series presents three stamps with the emphasis on the human factor. The aim is to attract the attention of drivers and their families and especially the attention of young people. Some of them already drive, others will drive in the future and all of them can influence road safety as drivers as well as passengers. The series presents the three most frequent causes of road accidents in our country; not maintaining proper distance, not staying in one lane and driving under the influence of alcohol. Using artistry and humour these stamps present important messages regarding intelligent and safe driving, maintaining traffic laws and consideration for one's fellow man.
Road safety is a national task and demands from each one of us the development of personal responsibility and the nurturing of decent behaviour on our roads.
