Initiative details
As an insurance company we know that the safer our roads are, the fewer accidents we will have. We also know that children are the best audience in order to ensure that bad road usage habits will change in the years to come.
Road safety is a major issue in the EU, taking into consideration Vision Zero and all the proposals towards reducing fatalities and serious injuries. At the same time, the crosswalks outside schools all around Greece are faded or even invisible. While we talk to the children about safety, we have no means to safeguard their most regular trip, to and from their school, and lack the practical prompt to show them how they can walk safely in the urban environment.
At Hella Direct we care, beyond insurance, about safety, and acknowledge that both infrastructure and road safety education do not rise up to current needs and expectations, we decided to act.
Thus we launched the Safe Roads project. With our expert crew, we go wherever we are needed all around Greece. Always in cooperation with the municipalities and schools, we paint faded crossings. That's how we're changing insurance for good.
Road safety is a major issue in the EU, taking into consideration Vision Zero and all the proposals towards reducing fatalities and serious injuries. At the same time, the crosswalks outside schools all around Greece are faded or even invisible. While we talk to the children about safety, we have no means to safeguard their most regular trip, to and from their school, and lack the practical prompt to show them how they can walk safely in the urban environment.
At Hella Direct we care, beyond insurance, about safety, and acknowledge that both infrastructure and road safety education do not rise up to current needs and expectations, we decided to act.
Thus we launched the Safe Roads project. With our expert crew, we go wherever we are needed all around Greece. Always in cooperation with the municipalities and schools, we paint faded crossings. That's how we're changing insurance for good.
Initiative date
Who was/is your target audience?
Public authorities
Children 0-16
Young adults 17-25
Adults
Parents
Seniors
Car drivers
Car drivers – professional
Educational staff
Pedestrians
Topic
Create awareness
Education in school or in community organizations
Improve vehicles and infrastructure
Knowledge building and sharing
Training
Organisation details
HELLAS DIRECT
Enterprise
Greece
Greece
Contact name
Elina Nomicou
Telephone number
+306974022291
elina.nomicou@hellasdirect.gr
Website link
Project activities
If you work together with external partners, list the most important partners and briefly describe their role.
Our only external partners are schools and local authorities, because it’s them who invite us and give us the license to work. After getting in contact with the projects team, they become advocates and ambassadors.
Please describe the project activities you carried/are carrying out and the time period over which these were implemented.
With our Safe Roads project we address the road safety issue both inside and outside schools.
In the safe and protected school environment, we organise experiential activities with students during which they are informed about the meaning, the importance and the aspects of road safety and then they wear VR glasses in order to experience what it’s like to DUI or in other difficult situations.
Outside schools, we collaborate with local authorities and the schools themselves and we revamp crosswalks in an engaging and responsible way.
In the safe and protected school environment, we organise experiential activities with students during which they are informed about the meaning, the importance and the aspects of road safety and then they wear VR glasses in order to experience what it’s like to DUI or in other difficult situations.
Outside schools, we collaborate with local authorities and the schools themselves and we revamp crosswalks in an engaging and responsible way.
In terms of implementation, what worked well and what challenges did you need to overcome?
We had a very robust plan from the very beginning, so we were ready to roam the streets and fix them.
There was reserve and disbelief because it was difficult for people to believe that we took action with no benefit for us, in business terms, and with paying all the costs. During the implementation of the project, the biggest challenges were finding the way to keep the crosswalks free from parked cars, in order to paint them. A clear sign of the way cars reign public space.
There was reserve and disbelief because it was difficult for people to believe that we took action with no benefit for us, in business terms, and with paying all the costs. During the implementation of the project, the biggest challenges were finding the way to keep the crosswalks free from parked cars, in order to paint them. A clear sign of the way cars reign public space.
Evaluation
Please summarise how you have evaluated the initiative’s impact (e.g. social media reach, survey, feedback forms, statistics).
To evaluate the impact of the Safe Roads initiative, we employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods.
Firstly, we tracked engagement and reach through our social media channels, where we documented crosswalk restorations and school visits. These posts generated significant interaction, including shares, comments, and messages of support, particularly from parents, educators, and local officials. This organic engagement helped us gauge public sentiment and raise awareness around the issue of road safety.
Secondly, we created a dedicated online submission form and collected requests from parents, teachers, municipalities, citizens, even school students. We organized the destinations and prioritized urgency, location and logistical efficiency, in order to onboard as many towns as possible.
In addition, we conducted observational assessments in collaboration with school staff to monitor changes in student behavior around crosswalks before and after the intervention. Reports indicated increased use of the designated crossings and more cautious behavior among students.
Lastly, we maintained records of the number of crossings repainted and the geographic spread of the initiative, ensuring we track both the scale and equity of our impact. These combined efforts have provided us with a comprehensive understanding of how Safe Roads is contributing to safer, more informed communities.
Firstly, we tracked engagement and reach through our social media channels, where we documented crosswalk restorations and school visits. These posts generated significant interaction, including shares, comments, and messages of support, particularly from parents, educators, and local officials. This organic engagement helped us gauge public sentiment and raise awareness around the issue of road safety.
Secondly, we created a dedicated online submission form and collected requests from parents, teachers, municipalities, citizens, even school students. We organized the destinations and prioritized urgency, location and logistical efficiency, in order to onboard as many towns as possible.
In addition, we conducted observational assessments in collaboration with school staff to monitor changes in student behavior around crosswalks before and after the intervention. Reports indicated increased use of the designated crossings and more cautious behavior among students.
Lastly, we maintained records of the number of crossings repainted and the geographic spread of the initiative, ensuring we track both the scale and equity of our impact. These combined efforts have provided us with a comprehensive understanding of how Safe Roads is contributing to safer, more informed communities.
What has been the effect of the activities?
At Hellas Direct we have received hundreds of phone calls, invitation mails, messages and submission forms from citizens, teachers or local authorities who want the Safe Roads project to revamp their school crosswalks and organize the experiential visits at schools.
Approximately 80 municipalities have onboarded the project, and there are many more waiting or in the process of launching the collaboration. We have already painted approximately 800 crosswalks, visited more than 100 schools, talked to more than 20.000 students all around Greece.
The feedback from schools, municipalities and parents is that the children change their habits the same day of our visit. They ask their parents to drive more carefully, not check their cell phones while driving, wear their helmets when driving their motorcycle and carry a second helmet for them. They stop before the crosswalk and wait for the vehicles to stop. They know their rights, as pedestrians, and that the safety of road users is crucial for all of them.
Approximately 80 municipalities have onboarded the project, and there are many more waiting or in the process of launching the collaboration. We have already painted approximately 800 crosswalks, visited more than 100 schools, talked to more than 20.000 students all around Greece.
The feedback from schools, municipalities and parents is that the children change their habits the same day of our visit. They ask their parents to drive more carefully, not check their cell phones while driving, wear their helmets when driving their motorcycle and carry a second helmet for them. They stop before the crosswalk and wait for the vehicles to stop. They know their rights, as pedestrians, and that the safety of road users is crucial for all of them.
Please briefly explain why your initiative is a good example of improving road safety.
The Safe Roads project shows all the changes happening in the urban environment most of us live in. It’s a project highlighting the transition of cities built mainly giving priority to vehicles to pedestrian friendly environments with respect to the different needs and different standards of each road user.
The project educates children for the present and helps them become more attentive drivers in the future. At the same time, by revamping the school crosswalks we show in action what has to be done for them to walk safely and move safely.
The fact that municipalities are alerted and start repainting other crosswalks in their territory as well shows that we all share the main concern about safety in the streets.
The project educates children for the present and helps them become more attentive drivers in the future. At the same time, by revamping the school crosswalks we show in action what has to be done for them to walk safely and move safely.
The fact that municipalities are alerted and start repainting other crosswalks in their territory as well shows that we all share the main concern about safety in the streets.
How have you shared information about your project and its results?
We announced the launch of the programme and we keep people informed by Press Releases, blog posts and Social Media material. We have also shared useful material with the municipalities, so they can spread the word and actively encourage others to join.
Supporting materials
