A new smart collision-preventing safety system, COPS@zebra LITE, has been installed in the Municipality of Rače-Fram. It warns drivers as they approach the pedestrian crossing, thereby helping to make life safer for those in the direct vicinity of Rače primary school. The system was installed as a collaboration between Zavarovalnica Triglav, the Municipality of Rače-Fram and the Tenzor company on one of the key school routes in the local community, one that sees large numbers of pedestrians, schoolchildren and drivers on a daily basis. More than 170,000 vehicles have passed through the system since it was installed in front of the primary school, with almost every eighth driver exceeding the speed limit – including one who was clocked at 109 km/h.
For a number of years, Slovenia’s biggest insurer has been engaged in a range of activities to improve road safety and protect the most vulnerable road users. They include the smart COPS systems that warn drivers of hazards as they approach critical points, and help to reduce speed and increase driver awareness. In the last decade, the company has partnered with local councils and Slovenian tech companies to install more than 130 COPS systems around the country, with studies showing that the number of road accidents has fallen by around 80% at those locations at which the systems have been set up.
“At Zavarovalnica Triglav we believe that safer mobility is not created through individual measures, but through the integration of technology, data and prevention,” says Ana Cergolj Kebler, head of the company’s marketing communications department. “The COPS systems are an example of precisely this kind of integration. At one location, the system has had to warn more than 40% of drivers that they are driving too fast – which shows just how many drivers need this kind of warning. The theme of this year’s European Mobility Week is once again ‘Mobility for Everyone’ – and the new system in Rače is a concrete example of a solution that addresses a particularly important area of safety: along the routes that children take daily to school.”
Greater visibility on challenging road sections
The new system has been installed at the triangular junction on Mariborska cesta. The configuration of the road and the lack of a clear line of sight from one direction make the pedestrian crossing more difficult to spot for drivers as they approach it – and since there is a primary school in the immediate vicinity, the location is one that is used heavily by children and other pedestrians on a daily basis. The system has therefore been installed so that warning signals can be seen by drivers coming to the junction from both directions. This will make the pedestrian crossing much easier to see and improve road safety considerably.
“For the Municipality of Rače-Fram, the safety of our youngest road users is extremely important. We are delighted to be able to take a further very important step towards greater road safety with the introduction of the new COPS smart system in front of Rače primary school,” said Samo Rajšp, mayor of Rače-Fram. He added: “It has been particularly valuable to involve the children who encounter traffic to and from school every day in discussions about road safety. I believe we can create a safer environment for our children – and all our residents – by integrating state-of-the-art solutions, a focus on prevention and more responsible behaviour by all road users.”
Young people helping to shape a safer traffic environment
Year 7 children from Rače primary school also made an important contribution to events by setting out their proposals for improving road safety in the local area. This drew attention to the importance of involving young people in the creation of safer traffic spaces and a responsible culture of coexistence on the roads.
“Road safety is not built merely by infrastructure, technology and regulations, but also and above all by people. It is often young people who are most aware of the challenges that attend any route to and from school. We should therefore listen to them and include them in our search for solutions – which is where data from the DRAJV app can help,” says David Razboršek, director of the Zavod Vozim Institute. “We are delighted to see the pupils of Rače primary school actively putting situations to the test and coming up with excellent proposals which, we are sure, will be taken into account for local decision-makers. Together we are building not only a safer traffic environment, but shaping the thoughts of a generation of future responsible and active co-creators of safer mobility.”
Slovenian technology for safer routes to and from school
The COPS smart systems are the fruit of Slovenian knowledge and know-how, and are aimed at preventing accidents at the most critical traffic points. They are deployed at pedestrian crossings, junctions and other locations where the risk of road accidents is higher. Slovenia already has more than 130 such systems in operation in all parts of the country.
“Road safety begins at the moment we perceive danger in good time,” explains Miha Senčar, managing director of Tenzor. “COPS systems increase pedestrian visibility at critical traffic points and warn road users at those moments when their full attention is more required. We are particularly proud of the fact that we can deploy Slovenian knowledge and know-how to make school journeys and local communities safer right across the country. I would like to thank Zavarovalnica Triglav for their trust and partnership, as projects like this show that the integration of technology, prevention and local actors can bring about concrete change,” he added.
Further assistance offered by the DRAJV map
The DRAJV map, a free digital traffic map of Slovenia, has been around for five years, helping local councils identify dangerous sections of road. It gathers together in a single place data about the most dangerous sections, and the most common challenges faced when driving in Slovenia.
As part of this year’s activities to increase road safety in Zavarovalnica Triglav’s eastern region, a new COPS@zebra LITE system has come into operation in the Municipality of Kidričevo. It has been installed at the pedestrian crossing on Tovarniška cesta, an area of increased accident risk because of the density of traffic and the large numbers of pedestrians. The location is an important road link with large employment centres, with the nearby shop and railway station meaning that the area is heavily used by children and the elderly. Around 4,500 vehicles pass along this section every day, with frequent speeding adding further danger.
