How schoolchildren from the village of Savaleevo in Zainsk are changing the culture of road safety.

      For 14 years the long-standing leader of the Young Traffic Inspectors squad, Svetlana Moskova, has been raising a generation of responsible road users.

      In the modern world, where the flow of motor vehicles does not cease even on rural roads, the question of safety becomes everyone’s business. And, as the example of the village of Savaleevo shows, the most substantial contribution to this common cause can come from its youngest residents.

      What happens at the local school is what statisticians call the best investment in future safety. A special team operates there – the Young Traffic Inspectors (YTI) squad “Signal,” where 23 schoolchildren under the guidance of the experienced teacher Svetlana Moskova not only become exemplary road users themselves but also bring a culture of safety to the streets of the entire village.

      At the origins – the enthusiastic teacher

      The squad leader, a teacher with 34 years of pedagogical experience, Svetlana Moskova, has been at the origins of the movement at the school since 2011. Over the years, dozens of children have passed through the “Young Traffic Inspector” club, and today it has a record number of participants – 23 people, which eloquently speaks to the popularity and importance of their work.

      “Originally we had about 15 people, and now we have 23! The children really enjoy performing and wearing the YTI uniform. They feel their responsibility and significance. The YTI squad’s activities can be summed up by three slogans: ‘Learn the traffic rules yourself!’, ‘Teach traffic rules to your peers!’, ‘Remind adults about road safety culture!’ A squad member can be an organizer, an artist, a musician, a journalist, an actor, a director, a sound engineer, a designer, but above all – a connoisseur of the traffic rules,” shares Svetlana Moskova.

      The school hosts many road safety events: campaigns, patrols, drawing and craft contests, flash mobs, games, competitions, and olympiads. They are currently holding the “Safe Roads” olympiad on the Uchi.ru website and on the “Sakla” portal. The children enthusiastically participate in all events because the work is meaningful and important.

      The YTI members especially like taking part in the municipal contest “Safe Wheel.” They take this competition seriously and win prizes every year. And how pleased the children are to receive congratulations and prizes from the head of the road safety department. This is why more and more children are being drawn into the group.

      From theory to real action

      Work in the squad is far more than theory. Three times a week in the “YTI,” “YTI Leader,” and “Volunteer” club sessions, the children study traffic rules in depth, learn the basics of first aid, and even study bicycle mechanics. Svetlana Ivanovna tries to design the programs for the sessions herself, filling them with practical exercises and creativity.

      The YTI members actively spread their knowledge. They are frequent guests at the kindergarten, where they explain the basics of safety to little ones in an accessible way. The campaigns “Be Visible” and “Be Careful on the Roads” have become traditional, and the squad’s agitation team performances always draw full houses.

      Achievements that save lives

      And these activities yield impressive results. Since 2019, Svetlana Moskova’s protégés have been regular prize-winners in the municipal “Safe Wheel” contest. The squad’s record includes individual victories by Yegor Smirnov and Arina Sabaeva in traffic rules knowledge, and successes by Darya Usmanova, Arseny Sabaev, Arina Sabaeva and Anastasia Ryabova in the medical training contest. Prize-winners also include Darya Gorbunova, Almir Sharipov and Arseny Sabaev.

      Last year the squad’s video report took an honorable fourth place in the republican “Best YTI Squad” contest among 56 entries. For many years ninth-grader Artyom Butyaev, who has been in the squad since primary school, has been helping Svetlana Ivanovna create congratulatory videos and contest clips.

      “Artyom is great! And his parents always support him,” the teacher warmly notes.

      Speaking of parental support, it was they who took on a huge amount of work at the start: they sewed costumes, made road signs from boards, donated traffic rule games and bicycle protective gear. Svetlana Ivanovna herself did not stand aside – she sewed bright bibs for the children.

      In 2025 the Savaleevo schoolchildren took second place in the overall team standings, and Anastasia Ryabova and Arina Sabaeva became the best at the “First Aid” station in the district contest “Best YTI Squad.”

      “The YTI movement has become part of my life! And I will continue to participate in the squad’s work on mastering traffic rules. All of this will be useful in life, for example, knowledge of medicine. I wish others to study the rules, be active and follow traffic regulations,” shares seventh-grader Almir Sharipov, a contest participant.

      Fourth-grade pupil Roma Sabaev studies the traffic rules very diligently. He performed as part of the team and became a prize-winner. “I really like being a young inspector. We YTI members are very friendly, and I think we do important work,” he says.

      Arina Sabaeva and Anastasia Ryabova are also proud to be YTI members. “If we and our peers know the road alphabet, we can pass this knowledge on to our classmates and friends,” the girls say.

      The achievements of the young inspectors are highly appreciated at the highest level. The head of the Zainsk branch of the State Institution “Road Safety” (GBU “BDD”), Vadim Ivanov, personally awards the schoolchildren diplomas, certificates and valuable gifts.

      Svetlana Ivanovna is immensely proud of her charges: “Despite their young age, the boys and girls from the YTI squads possess knowledge of traffic rules that many adults may not have.”

      Work that matters

      Statistics on child road traffic injuries in Russia remain alarming.

      “I believe my merit is not that I lead the children to victory,” says Svetlana Moskova. “My personal and main achievement in this work is the contribution to raising disciplined road users. I hope that the children we work with in the YTI, once outside the school, will become law-abiding pedestrians and drivers and will raise their children by personal example.”

      The squad “Signal” motto – “Learn the traffic rules yourself – teach another” – accurately reflects the essence of their work. And the main advice that its members and their leader give to both drivers and pedestrians is simple and wise: “The most important and golden rule is attentiveness. Don’t rush. Slow and steady gets you further.”

      Step by step, through drawing and craft contests, agitation performances and personal example, the “Signal” squad makes its invaluable contribution to the common cause – saving lives on the roads.

      Photo by the author

      Roza Ilaltdinova