Initiative details
66% of road accidents in Slovenia happen in built-up areas (data for 2020). This means that two out of every three traffic accidents take place on roads where the most vulnerable users are present – pedestrians, children, old people, cyclists. This also means that accidents happen within local communities – both the person causing the accident and the victim are often from the same community. Slovenia is a very dispersed country, with 2 million inhabitants living spread out in 212 municipalities, which are in charge of local roads in their specific areas. According to research data, localised, locally adapted campaigns addressing road safety are 150% more successful than general, national ones. This means that all of us participants in traffic are more motivated to be part of traffic solutions in our community – where our children are on the street. Can all this be used in planning and implementing sustainable solutions in local communities? Is it possible to implement a programme that is custom-made for specific problems of each local community, which at the same time is applicable to all local communities in Slovenia and beyond? Can we do anything to equip, empower and motivate local communities to create their own safer future? Zavarovalnica Triglav, the oldest and biggest insurance company in Slovenia, approached this well-known problem in a different way. Our line of business – through car insurance – is indeed so closely tied in to road safety that we see preventive safety activity as part of our core business. We brought together the best technological partners in the field of road innovation, our own knowledge from years of observing damage events, and leading experts in the field of road safety. With this reinforcement we linked up with decision-makers and other key groups in each of the local communities, invited the local media to participate and set ourselves an ambitious goal: to achieve long-term, sustainable and measurable improvements in road safety in local communities. We realised that in traffic safety we were in for the long haul, so we set out a multi-year, long-term programme that we are building on. "A core goal of the ""Together for road safety – empowering communities 360°"" is to combine the best partners that Slovenia has to offer in the field of road safety and implementation of a modular programme, which in the 360° model addresses all target groups in the local community for sustainable, measurable and long-term progress in the area of traffic safety. The aim is to secure a measurable long-term change in road users and a measurable change/improvement in traffic statistics in the individual local community. Objectives 2016 – 2021 Local community: Enter into sustainable, long-term cooperation with at least 44 Slovenian municipalities (20% of all municipalities) to achieve lasting change at critical black spots in the individual community: 1) First stage: objectives associated with negative statistics and critical infrastructure points in the individual local community: o Reduce the number of speeding drivers in the vicinity of schools, nursery schools and on the way to school – by 5% o Reduce the number of accidents at accident black spots, since most accidents happen because of poor visibility – by 50% o Eliminate fatalities at railway level crossings that are marked only by a St Andrew's cross – 0 fatalities one year after installation o Improve the safety of pedestrian crossings near schools and nursery schools – increase the attention of pedestrians by 10% 2) Second stage: objectives associated with changing the behaviour of drivers in the local community. a. Gather, research and analyse various driving habits of long-term drivers in Slovenia – conduct research in 10/12 regions b. Enable long-term drivers, who are the most frequent cause of traffic accidents, to renew their practical traffic knowledge within their environment, on roads where they drive every day – in 12/12 regions c. Ensure that drivers who already have a driving licence can renew forgotten or acquire new knowledge about road and traffic regulations – achieve at least 10%, i.e. 130,000 Slovenian drivers d. Offer drivers in local communities who are safer a reward in the form of a discount on their insurance premium. Primary: Entities responsible for road safety in municipalities: Roads in villages and small towns (equipment, maintenance) are generally operated by municipalities, which are faced with a shortfall in funding for even the most urgent maintenance. Additional traffic signalling and the elimination of blind spots and areas where visibility is poor are therefore often deficient. Drivers in local communities: Slovenian drivers do not adjust their driving sufficiently to take account of driving conditions in built-up areas. In 2020, 66% of all road accidents occurred in such areas. Two of the most common causes of accidents were a failure to give way and excessive speed (Source: Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency). Those who most frequently cause fatal traffic accidents are aged 45 to 64 years – in other words middle-aged people who have been driving for many years. These drivers passed their test 25 to 40 years ago. In that time the transport infrastructure, cars and road traffic regulations have all changed. These drivers are not required to refresh their driving knowledge and skills. Primary schools in the communities: Primary schools are generally located in the centre of built-up areas, although pressures of space mean that they can be found outside those areas as well. Road safety issues are addressed through various primary school programmes organised by the police and the Traffic Safety Agency. Because of the relatively small size of local environments (primary schools have an average of 200 pupils according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia), pupils most commonly walk to school unaccompanied. They are therefore active road users from an early age (the law permits children to walk to school on their own from the age of seven). Secondary: Traffic police in local communities: In smaller Slovenian towns or villages, station-based police officers are responsible for road safety. This is usually a very small team who work with the municipality and their parent police station to ensure road safety and carry out traffic controls. The problem faced by local police officers is mainly one of staff shortages, a lack of time to spend in the field or a lack of tools to help them take action at a critical section at the right time. Local media: Local media, especially radio stations, are still the most influential media when it comes to local issues in Slovenia. We picked the most popular radio stations and other local media for each region or community and invited them to address their listeners to help improve very specific accident black spots in the local environment.
Initiative date
to
Who was/is your target audience?
Public authorities
Car drivers
Topic
Create awareness
Organisation details
Triglav insurance company (Zavarovalnica Triglav)
Enterprise
Slovenia
Ljublijana
Project activities
If you work together with external partners, list the most important partners and briefly describe their role.
Since this is a very far-reaching project, we set up a broad partnership. We established partnerships on two levels: 1) Umbrella partnerships for developing solutions Innovative technological companies for developing systemic and programme solutions to deal with traffic black spots: Sipronika (solutions for reducing speeding), COPS systems (intelligent interactive systems for preventing collisions), Nervtech (Simulation technologies in road safety) National traffic safety specialists: AMZS (National Automobile Association and the owner of most accomplished driving school in Slovenia), Institute for Civilisation and Culture (director Andrej Brglez is a leading expert on studying drivers' behaviour), Faculty of Logistics in Maribor, the Zavod Vozim institute, advertising agency Pristop/Renderspace 2) Local partnerships in the individual local community Municipalities (more than 85 municipalities in which we implemented at least one module, representing 38% of Slovenian municipalities), primary schools (more than 60 primary schools in which we implemented at least one module), local media. Total of more than 170 partners.
Please describe the project activities you carried/are carrying out and the time period over which these were implemented.
1) Dealing with accident black spots in local communities Method: Through a public call, invite Slovenian municipalities to register problematic spots in their community, and Zavarovalnica Triglav together with leading technological innovators implements smart solutions and cofinances their installation in municipalities. We measure the results of each system at each individual location in real time and annually, and data are also available to local authorities and the police. Number of traffic calming systems in built-up areas: 81 systems in more than 75 local communities. Number of COPS@road systems for preventing accidents on road sections with poor visibility: 24 systems in 24 local communities. Number of COPS@rail systems to prevent collisions on railway level crossings: 24 systems in 24 local communities. Number of COPS@zebra systems to increase pedestrian safety at pedestrian crossings: 4 systems in 4 communities. 2) Inclusion of key target groups in local communities to eliminate black spots Primary schools: in each primary school around which we have calmed traffic with speed indicators, we have installed a screen which shows in real time the proportion of drivers speeding past the school. We invited pupils to deal with the problem of speed in the community – younger children made signs and brought the attention of their parents to speeding, while older children in physics classes researched impact momentum at various speeds and worked on project assignments. With partners from the Zavod Vozim institute we held workshops on the topic of speed for various age groups in each community. Decision-makers: We provided decision-makers in municipalities access to a web portal which in real time shows the movement of speeding drivers at selected locations in the municipality. The decision-makers can formulate reports and analyses free of charge. These provide the basis for traffic policy measures in the location for which they are competent. In this way we empowered them to plan future measures. Local police: The problem of a lack of police officers who in local environments could ensure control over speeding violations was addressed partly by having control conducted by smart systems, which provide real-time reports of data that police can access. In this way they can identify repeated violations and take action at the right time. 3) Researching driver behaviour, analysis of behaviour, developing innovative techniques for monitoring driver behaviour in local communities Mobility Tour – Collecting data in a virtual environment: Together with the company Nervtech we developed an advanced driving simulator called DRAJV, which provides a safe setting to research driver habits and abilities, while at the same time offering drivers safe training for dangerous situations on the road. In the Mobility Tour we took the DRAJV simulator to 10 Slovenian towns and invited drivers to do a test drive – and we programmed into the scenario unforeseen, dangerous situations that drivers might encounter. Each test drive was monitored by a driving instructor, who analysed the driver and at the end gave them tips for eliminating the errors observed. The simulator algorithm and driving instructor decided that if driving on the simulator was a condition for passing, only 35% of drivers would pass their driving test. Retaking driving test – Eliminating the entrenched errors of long-term drivers: In view of the alarming results of driving in a virtual environment and the fact that drivers aged 45 to 64 years old are the most frequent cause of fatal traffic accidents, we decided to transfer the test drive from the virtual environment to the road. We linked up with the most authoritative driving school in Slovenia, run by the AMZS, and invited long-term drivers in Slovenian local communities to set out for an hour on local roads with a driving instructor and eliminate the mistakes that have accumulated in years of routine driving. In their own cars, on roads where they drive most frequently. 4) Motivating and rewarding safe and improved behaviour in local communities The DRAJV application is the only telematic application in Europe that monitors and assesses driving. The application assesses driving in terms of certain key factors (speed, use of telephone). Zavarovalnica Triglav rewards drivers who demonstrate safe driving in the application with a discount on their insurance premium. The portal vozimse.si is set up to enable long-term drivers to refresh their knowledge of traffic regulations in an attractive, interesting and popular way. Through interactive tests we establish where the biggest deficits are in knowledge within an individual area.
Evaluation
What has been the effect of the activities?
Measure: Setting up 81 traffic speed calming systems in built-up areas Method of measuring: the portal collects data in real time from all the displays. Results: On average 5% fewer speeding drivers after installation of the system. In local communities where we carried out localised campaigns (jumbo posters, radio stations) for traffic calming at specific spots, an additional 2% fewer speeding drivers. Measure: Installation of 24 COPS@road systems for preventing accidents on road sections with poor visibility Measurement method: Obtaining police statistics in the 12 months before/after installation Result: On average 80% fewer traffic accidents at these spots in the 12 months following installation compared to the year before installation Measure: Installation of 24 COPS@rail systems to prevent collisions at points where there is an unprotected railway level crossing Measurement method: Obtaining police statistics on accidents in the 12 months before/after installation Result: 0 fatalities for one year after installation of each system Measure: Installation of four COPS@zebra systems for safer pedestrian crossings Measurement method: Analysis through observation and surveying in cooperation with the Faculty of Logistics Result: In the survey the majority (more than 50%) of pedestrians using a crossing with the system stated that because of the information provided by the smart system they felt safer crossing the road. Measure: including primary and nursery schools in dealing with the issue Result: more than 70 schools furnished with a display showing the proportion of speeding drivers going past the school, in real time. More than 24 workshops conducted for primary school pupils on the topic of speed. Measure: access for decision-makers and local police officers to current data on speed black spots in their location Result: More than 70 local authorities and police officers have a tool for planning measures in the local community. Some municipalities publish data in real time for all residents on their websites Measure: Conducting research on driver habits around Slovenian regions on the DRAJV virtual driving simulator Result: More than 280 drivers in 10 regions around Slovenia took part in the research and performed a complete test drive with all scenarios. Only 35% of drivers would have passed a driving test on the simulator. We tested drivers in a number of critical scenarios on the road and in this way tested attention, reactions and differences depending on age, gender and lifestyle. Measure: Implementing refresher hours of driving (campaign: Re in a real environment for long-term drivers in individual communities Result: More than 3,400 drivers registered. More than 400 drives conducted in 12 Slovenian regions. Less than a quarter of the drivers would pass the driving test. With driving instructors, all the drivers eliminated the errors they made on the road. After the drive, each driver rated the usefulness of the experience for their driving – the average rating was 4.92 (out of 5 possible). Measure: Rewarding safe drivers in the local environment with a discount on the car insurance premium. Measurement method: Number of drivers who receive a discount on their premium for safe driving in the DRAJV system Result: More than 54,000 Slovenian drivers use the DRAJV system. Drivers using the DRAJV application are shown to be safer, since we observe for them 12% fewer damage events than for the general population of drivers. Measure: Raising knowledge of traffic regulations through the preventive portal vozimse.si Measurement method: Number of single visitors who took the CPP tests on the portal in one year Result: More than 150,000 drivers took the test of knowledge of professional regulations (more than 10% of all drivers in Slovenia).
Please briefly explain why your initiative is a good example of improving road safety.
Zavarovalnica Triglav's mission is to create a safer future. Since our dominant market share gives us a strong presence in the Slovenian transport insurance sector, we regard road safety as part of our primary business activity. For decades insurance companies around the world have supported various projects of non-governmental and other organisations for road safety, which are often not linked together, it is impossible to associate them under a common denominator and their joint effect is therefore hard to measure. But Zavarovalnica Triglav set out an ambitious plan: link together its own knowledge based on years of collecting and analysing data in the field of car damages, the most advanced innovative solutions in the fields of business, modern technologies, professions and local communities, to achieve long-term measurable results to improve all segments of road safety in an individual local community, where drivers are most motivated to change their behaviour. The project "Together for road safety - Empowering communities 360°" thus through cofinancing, knowledge transfer, education and empowering local communities on all levels offers local communities tools and knowledge to take the future on their roads into their own hands.
How have you shared information about your project and its results?
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