Are the roads for cars or for pedestrians?

Recently, the Lombardy Region suspended a campaign dedicated to road safety due to the numerous criticisms it received. The initiative was called “In Lombardy, road safety is the top priority” and included, among other things, the publication of content on social media to raise awareness about various aspects related to driving. However, one of the posts – later deleted – was particularly ambiguous: it seemed to attribute much of the responsibility for accidents to pedestrians, who are considered “vulnerable users” – that is, the most vulnerable to the dangers of the road. “In 2023, in Lombardy, 58 pedestrians lost their lives and 3,633 were injured in traffic accidents. Most of these accidents happen right on pedestrian crossings,” the post read, as reported by MilanoToday. Yet, it continued by stating that “many pedestrians take for granted that they always have the right of way, without considering that safety also depends on their attention.” The wording of the text, in short, seemed to shift some of the blame to the pedestrians themselves, even though statistically, the causes of traffic accidents are more often related to the mistakes of those behind the wheel. The case did not go unnoticed and sparked much discussion on social networks, especially on Instagram.

The Lombardy Region itself, led by the right-wing president Attilio Fontana, acknowledged that the post contained “misleading passages.” In the note released later to calm the controversy and justify the suspension of the campaign, it stated: “The goal was in no way to blame pedestrians, but to provide all road users with useful tips to prevent accidents.” However, this step back was not enough to prevent the Lombardy Region from being accused of blaming the victims of traffic accidents (a phenomenon known as "victim blaming"), instead of focusing on educating drivers. But this episode was not an isolated case. As reported by Factanza, in the previous months, other videos for the same campaign were published on YouTube, which generated equally critical responses due to their simplistic approach – although their dissemination went relatively unnoticed. In particular, one piece of content aimed at cyclists – who, along with pedestrians, are among the “vulnerable users” – seemed to suggest that by acting more responsibly, they could reduce the risk of accidents. At the same time, however, motorists – the very people who often cause harm to cyclists with their behavior – were not mentioned. For example, one of the most controversial parts of the clip, later deleted, advised cyclists to “use the bell to make themselves noticed,” in order to avoid falls caused by the opening of a car door. The video also recommended being cautious of trucks, and especially blind spots – areas that heavy vehicle mirrors often fail to cover, and which generally require special sensors to detect.

In both cases, therefore, the message seemed to focus exclusively on the behavior of the most vulnerable road users, ignoring the fundamental role of those driving motorized vehicles. On one hand, the lack of explicit reference to drivers – who, according to the Highway Code, should be cautious when opening the car door – led to numerous negative comments; on the other hand, the mention of blind spots in heavy vehicles reignited the debate on the possibility of partially limiting their circulation in city centers – a topic particularly felt in Milan. The road safety campaign had a budget of around 240,000 euros – of which more than half was allocated by the Lombardy Region – and also involved ACI, the public body that promotes the interests of drivers. Perhaps this is why the lack of a viewpoint on pedestrians and cyclists was so strongly felt.