18. - 19.10.2021 - Speed cameras placed around schools in the municipalities of Šentjur, Škofja Loka, Štore, Razkrižje, Litija and Žužemberk served as a starting point for pupils to reflect on how they themselves can contribute to reducing speed in the vicinity of schools and the wider local environment, and how the municipality can do so.
The initiatives for the municipalities were developed by the pupils as part of the project Workshops "Thinking fast, driving slow", implemented by the VOZIM Institute in partnership with Zavarovalnica Triglav and Sipronika, and co-financed by the Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency. The project addressed speed as one of the main causes of traffic accidents among 9th grade pupils (age 14-15) in primary schools. The Triglav Insurance Company co-financed speed camera radars in 12 Slovenian municipalities to observe the behaviour of drivers. The data from a given period was then analysed by students in several intervention workshops and they actively sought possible solutions to reduce speeding on the roads around their school.
Meetings between mayors and other representatives of the municipalities concerned and primary school pupils were held in an online environment. During the meetings, pupils proposed higher fines for offenders, the construction of cycle paths, the installation of speed bumps, speed cameras around schools and more awareness-raising activities concerning speeding (including through workshops) in order to improve safety and tolerance in traffic. Suggestions included:
- "We propose a speed limit of 30 km/h around the school and houses to prevent drivers from running over our kittens."
- "Some drivers don't know there is a school here. We would like to see a sign or a camera here to make drivers drive slower."
- "We suggest speed bumps around the school because the asphalt there is new and people rush to work in the morning."
- "We are concerned about drivers running over pets and wild animals."
- "We remind parents and relatives to drive according to the rules."
The initiatives were contributed by pupils from the primary schools Blaž Kocen Ponikva (Municipality of Šentjur), Ivan Grohar, Bukovščica Branch School (Municipality of Škofje Loka), Štore (Municipality of Štore), Janez Kuhar Razkrižje (Municipality of Razkrižje), Gabrovka - Dole (Municipality of Litija) and Žužemberg (Municipality of Žužemberg). The representatives of the municipalities unanimously welcomed the initiatives of the pupils, their mobilisation and their willingness to improve the situation around speeding. They largely agreed with the observations made by the pupils, as similar observations are also made in many places at citizens' assemblies. They also point out that some of the proposals, such as higher penalties for offenders, are outside the remit of the municipalities.
Ana Cergolj Kebler, a representative of the Triglav Insurance Company, also welcomed the young people's activism and added: "In the last few years, we at Triglav Insurance Company have helped more than 80 local communities to obtain speed cameras. A display is a useful reminder, but the best thing is when it becomes a useful tool, a source of ideas for traffic calming and a basis for concrete action. This is exactly what the pupils in 12 schools did when they put their heads together to calm traffic in their local area. Their unencumbered ideas of today are the change of tomorrow."
It should be remembered that, despite their young age, pupils are heavily involved in traffic as passengers, cyclists or pedestrians, and the vast majority of them have at one time or another experienced speeding, fear or otherwise felt threatened. The project partners consider it particularly important to protect the youngest and most vulnerable road users, while at the same time reinforcing among students and the younger population that their voice counts and giving them more opportunities to contribute their opinions and suggestions for safer and more responsible behaviour on the roads.
Suggestions from the pupils at Janez Kuhar Primary School Razkrižje.
