Safety of pedestrians - our common responsibility

The project consisted on 4 pillars:
1. Illumination of the pedestrians crossings in the region.
This refers to new illumination or improvement of the illumination that already existed.
In 2019, more than 200 pedestrian crossings on national, provincial, county and municipal roads were illuminated in the Malopolska Voivodeship.
In this area, Malopolska plays a leading role in the country, and the total amount allocated to this aim in 2019 was approx. PLN 7 millions.

In 2020, 122 pedestrian crossings on national and provincial roads were illuminated in Malopolska voivodeship.
Main actors involved:
• Deputy Marshal’s Office of Malopolska Voivodeship (Łukasz Smółka, President of Malopolska Road Safety Council)
• Malopolska Provincial Road Safety Council and its members:
- Malopolska Regional Police Headquarters in Kraków
- Cities and District Police Headquarters
- General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways, Kraków
- Provincial Road Authority in Kraków,
• Commune self-governments of the Małopolskie Voivodeship

2. Reduction of speed limits before all pedestrian crossings on 2 types of roads.
In 2020 , the members of the Council: Regional Headquarters of Police Department, together with Provincial Road Authority in Kraków, following the strategy of the “Safe pedestrian: common responsibility” project, implemented in whole region the reduction of speed limits before all pedestrian crossings on 2 types of roads: regional and national to max. 50 km/h. This implementation was aimed at minimalization of possible risks and crash consequences in the area of pedestrian crossings. The above has been implemented in whole Malopolska.
Main actors involved:
• Malopolska Provincial Road Safety Council and its members:
- Malopolska Regional Police Headquarters in Kraków
- Cities and District Police Headquarters
- General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways, Kraków
- Provincial Road Authority in Kraków,
• Deputy Marshal’s Office of Malopolska Voivodeship (President of Malopolska Road Safety Council)

3. Prevention and education campaigns aimed at pedestrian safety.

During 2019 and 2020, main projects led by Regional Road Safety Council of Malopolska focused on pedestrians and their visibility were implemented:
a) Odblaskowa Szkoła (Reflective School),aimed at students from the region – Malopolska Police Regional Quarters as main organizer (Malopolska Council member). Educational project for all primary schools in Malopolska region, leaded in cooperation with Board of Education of the region and other members as partners. It consists mainly on pedestrians’ safety and is addressed to all families. The participants must involve all local society to pedestrian safety starting from providing reflection materials for children, to local events and initiatives as debates, press interviews on safety, painting, knowledge contests and meeting with Seniors to join common road safety goal. Each year approximately 400 schools from Malopolska region take part in the initiative and more than 60.000 reflective materials are spread.
b) Zapnij Pasy – program in Radio Krakow, Radiostrada, dedicated to road safety. Each year minimum 50 editions of 2 hour long program are created together with Malopolska Road Safety Council that shapes the importance of pedestrian road safety themes. During 2019 and 2020 more than 100 programs were prepared and aimed at auditors of Malopolska.

c) “Jedź bezpiecznie” - road safety tv program in regional TVP Krakow tv (long-term continuous project). Each year minimum 50 editions of 15 minute long program leaded by a top road safety expert are realized and organized by Malopolska Road Safety Council. The programs are showing practical examples from roads of Malopolska of positive and negative behaviours both drivers and pedestrians. The majority of the episodes stress the pedestrian safety problem.
d) Road Show – program based on “peer-to-peer” education methodology, aimed at teenagers who meet directly police, firefighters, doctors, road traffic victims and families of mortal traffic victims who share their experience to prevent and avoid future crashes. The program was focused on pedestrian safety and case studies of pedestrian crashes and gathered in 2019 and 2020 almost 2000 teenagers from Malopolska.
e) “To see and to be seen”- animation annual contest aimed at student of primary and secondary schools in Malopolska, theme: pedestrians. Each year more than 100 animations on pedestrian road safety are presented from the region for the finals.
f) Economic Forum 2019 and 2020- representatives of Malopolska Regional Council with the Marshal of the region, stressing on national and international audience the importance of proper infrastructure of pedestrian crossings, illumination and safety of pedestrians, prevention and post-crash response.
Main actors involved:
Malopolska Provincial Road Safety Council and its members
- Malopolska Regional Police Headquarters in Kraków
- Board of Education in Cracow
-Center of Initiatives for Road Safety
-Radio Kraków
-Regional TV 3 Kraków

4. Post-crash response in the region.
Zabawa is a small village in Malopolska, where the only monument for road traffic victims in Poland is located. Here, since many years, association Przejście gathers victims and families from all over the country not only to commemorate the victims, but mainly to help those, who survived and grieved families, leading psychological help, support groups and workshops. The association, member of Malopolska Road Safety Council is also planning to create a professional Center for Trauma Recovery, which would include both psychological and physical help, prevention and social help area for victims, that would in a global and complete form fulfill and cover post-crash response help needs for the country.
Thanks to the cooperation with National Road Safety Council and Malopolska Road Safety Council, since 2018, the region has managed to strengthen and implement one, common national celebration of World Day of Remembrance in Zabawa near Tarnów. The celebrations are now officially nationally celebrated in Malopolska in cooperation with FEVR, focusing on the importance of post- crash response.
The support of Malopolska Council and its members within “Safe Pedestrian: common responsibility” project – post -crash response pillar, included also economical help in these years (2018-2020) to broaden the number of workshops / psychological help for the victims and families.
Both of these two actions within the project: symbolic support as unification of celebrations of World Day of Remembrance and strengthening the importance of post-crash response, as well as financing support of psychological help have had a significant impact not only on all the project, but also nation wide proving that post -crash response in Poland is a very neglected area and there is an enormous will and expectations from the part of victims and families, society expectations to fulfill and respond in the near future.
Actors involved:
• Malopolska Provincial Road Safety Council and its members:
-Association Przejście (The Passage),
- Association Center of Initiatives for Road Safety Improvement,
• European Federation of Road Traffic Victims FEVR, Motor Transport Institute, National Road Safety Council