Zavarovalnica Triglav dd : Working together against speeding drivers in Goričko

As part of efforts to increase traffic safety for their residents, the municipalities of Grad and Kuzma have installed 'Your Speed' signs at critical stretches of road. This has already resulted in greater road safety. In the first week of operation, the number of speeding drivers fell by 13% on the local road between Domajinci, Motovilci and Kuzma, and by 6% on the regional road through the village of Grad. Nevertheless, there are still far too many speeding drivers in the municipality, which lies in the tri-border area between Slovenia, Austria and Hungary.

As the Slovenian police have been warning for several years now, speed kills. Being struck by a vehicle travelling at 50 km/h has the same effect on the human body as a fall from a height of 10 metres. At 100 km/h, this equates to a fall from a height of 40 metres, which means the pedestrian will suffer extremely serious injuries, if they survive at all. As even small reductions in speed are key to preventing serious road accidents, traffic calming in residential areas, where pedestrians are most at risk, is one of the main elements of a preventive approach and an effective measure for reducing the number of road accidents.

The Calming Traffic Together project was proposed by Sipronika and is supported by Zavarovalnica Triglav and municipalities around Slovenia, among them the municipalities of Grad and Kuzma. The most pronounced fall in the percentage of speeding drivers in the municipalities in question occurred in the village of Kuzma, by the local primary school and nursery, where the speed limit is 30 km/h.

Plea for drivers to kill their speed

'Despite the speed limit and the speed bumps that have been installed on the road, large numbers of drivers have been speeding on this section, indirectly putting the safety of pre-schoolers and primary schoolchildren at risk. Installing a speed display unit will encourage drivers to reduce their speed, which is the project's main aim and purpose,' explained Kuzma's mayorJožef Škalič.

The number of speeding drivers has also fallen by 6% in the Municipality of Grad, where the unit has been installedon the regional road as it passes through the centre of the village and the speed limit is 50 km/h. 'We opted for this location because very heavy amounts of traffic pass through the centre of Grad.The road is also a school route and lots of public buildings, such as the health centre, dentist's surgery, church, Vulkanija adventure playground and various bars and restaurants, are situated close by. Installing the speed display sign is an expression of our desire to increase road safety,' explained Cvetka Ficko, mayor of Grad.

An innovative tool

In the past two years, Zavarovalnica Triglav, in collaboration with Sipronika, have installed 30 'Your Speed' smart display systems around the country as part of the preventive 'Calming Traffic Together' project. The signs thank drivers for driving carefully or make them aware that their behaviour behind the wheel is unsatisfactory. At the same time, they store and process traffic data, which can then be viewed on the www.vi-vozite.si website, on the municipality's website and on netbook computers in school assembly halls, including the halls of the primary schools in Kuzma and Grad. The system therefore constitutes an innovative and effective solution and an important tool for analysing data and determining future speed-reduction measures. 'The positive effect of the 'Your Speed' signs on road users seen in the majority of those municipalities in which they are already operational has been replicated in these two municipalities in Goričko. Despite the fall in the proportion of drivers speeding in these areas, the number of drivers who ignore the speed limit is still high and, in fact, too high, particularly in the Municipality of Kuzma. Our suggestion is that the police take a closer look as well and ensure, by means of speed cameras, that drivers start taking the limits seriously,' said Sipronika's managing director Marjan Kržišnik.

44 speed displays already installed

For several years now, Zavarovalnica Triglav have been involved in a variety of activities designed to improve road safety. The company's support for the installation of speed displays in the two municipalities in Goričko is fully in line with its values, which place safety and responsibility to the fore. 'Traffic-calming is urgently required in these two areas because of the large numbers of children and other road users. Our experiences up to now mean that we are well aware that speed indicator signs are an effective way of doing this and that they really do increase safety on selected sections of road, which is why we have installed these two new display units,' said Sandi Štefan Flisar, director of the Murska Sobota regional office of Zavarovalnica Triglav, who added that he was particularly proud of the exemplary collaboration with the local communities in Prekmurje on this project.

Taking this season into account as well, Slovenian municipalities, Sipronika and Zavarovalnica Triglav have further increased the safety of all road users in a total of 44 local communities around the country. The installation of the units in Kuzma and Grad means that there are now three units operational in Prekmurje, a unit having been installed in Šalovci last year.