sol emagazine no11
DESCRIPTION
The SOL eMAGAZINE is produced by the SOL consortium. All articles are written by the SOL partners. The responsibility for all contents and statements made lies with the authors. The eMagazine does not represent the opinion of the European Communities. The project „SOL – Save our Lives“ in the Central Europe Program www.central2013.eu is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).TRANSCRIPT
S O L - S A V E O U R L I V E S . A C O M P R E H E N S I V E R O A D S A F E T Y S T R A T E G Y F O R C E N T R A L E U R O P E
THE SOL F INAL CONFERENCE TOOK PLACE IN BRUSSELS ON THE 27TH OF MAY 2013
DEAR READERS
THE SOL eMAGAZINE
The SOL eMAGAZINE is produced by the SOL consor-
tium. All articles are written by the SOL partners. The
responsibility for all contents and statements made
lies with the authors. The eMagazine does not repre-
sent the opinion of the European Communities. The
project „SOL – Save our Lives“ in the Central Europe
Program www.central2013.eu is co-financed by the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Find more about SOL on: www.sol-project.eu
Welcome to the new issue of the SOL project
eMagazine. In this issue, we would like to focus
your attention on our final conference that took
place in Brussels in May. It was a great success
all around. The invited speakers captivated the
audience with their presentations.
The SOL Road Safety Guidelines for Experts and for
Decision Makers are also available now. You can
download them on the website: http://www.sol-
project.eu/index.php?id=2589&ID1=2589!
The other articles presented here will deal with the
youth Flashmob for Road Safety that took place
in Athens and with the new WHO European Road
Safety report.
Enjoy reading
Alberto Milotti Project Manager SOL
The SOL Final Conference, was held in Brus-
sels on 27th May 2013 in Brussels. This was
an opportunity for all SOL Project Partners to
The conference was started off with an intro-
ductory speech from Mrs Olga Sehnalova, Czech
MEP Transport and Tourism who showed that
road safety is a cross cutting priority and that,
to achieve positive results a good cooperation
among EU institutions and national and local au-
thorities is necessary. The ensuing discussion
started with a speech of Mr. Szabolcs Schmidt,
Head of Road Safety Unit of DG MOVE, European
Commission. Mr. Szabolcs Schmidt presented
the latest developments on the European Road
Safety Area from the perspective of the EC. Then
Ms Di Pietro from GRSP showed how we can
learn from a different kind of road safety part-
nerships that can be established among local
authorities, stakeholders and national govern-
meet many experts from all over Europe and
to present the project results obtained in the
area of road safety in the partner countries.
ments. ETSC Director, Mr Avenoso, provided in-
teresting recommendations to public authorities
and also the European Commission with regard
to future actions.
During the second part of the Conference the
discussion focused on the effectiveness of the
developed pilot projects in the project area.
Thanks to representatives of the public admi-
nistrations, police and other stakeholders from
Mantua, Kocevje, Gyor, Presov, Olsztyn, the
round table showed how working together at a
local level is fundamental for achievements con-
cerning of road safety issues.
You can find all presentations from the confe-
rence on our project website
www.sol-project.eu.
ISSUE No. 11 JUNE 2013
Photo: FGM
One of the most interesting lectures at the Fi-
nal Conference was the one from Mr. Szabol-
cs Schmidt, Head of Road Safety Unit of DG
As starting point, Mr. Schmidt presented the
most recent EU road safety statistics: compared
to last year the accident rate was reduced by 9%,
this means 28.000 fewer road fatalities in 2012.
Despite the improvements that have been made
within the last years this value is still unaccept-
ably high for the Commission. For this reason,
the Commission has recently drafted a step wise
strategy to tackle seriously injured. This strategy
will not only improve the statistic but also set a
target for. To achieve this result an EU strategy
with seven strategic objectives has been outlined
in the Policy Orientations for the Road Safety Pol-
icy: 1. Education and training; 2. Compliance with
road traffic rules; 3. Safer road infrastructure; 4.
MOVE, European Commission. He presented
the latest developments in the European Road
Safety Area from the EC perspective.
As starting point, Mr. Schmidt
presented the most recent EU
road safety statistics: compared
to last year the accident rate
was reduced by 9%, this means
28.000 fewer road fatalities in
2012.
Safer vehicles; 5. Intelligent Transport Systems
(ITS); 6. Emergency and post-injuries services; 7.
Vulnerable road users.
The second key point of the speech presented
the holistic integrated approach underlying all EU
initiatives in the field of road safety. Concretely,
this is a system-wide intervention based on the
long-term elimination of death and serious in-
jury and on the shared responsibility among all
citizens. Sharing responsibility among all the citi-
zens means that all road users, not only drivers,
should make an effort in behaving safely. This
also includes pedestrians and cyclists. In order to
achieve this awareness and cooperation have to
be increased through the European Road Safety
June 2013 ISSUE No. 11
Photo: A.L.O.T.
Photo: A.L.O.T.
2
EUROPEAN COMMISSION: THE STATE OF THE ART IN ROAD SAFETY
3
Charter. The European Road Safety Charter is a
well known instrument, conceived in 2004, to in-
tegrate the civil society in the endeavour to reach
the common EU target.
Mr. Schmidt underlined that the Project “SOL
- Save Our Lives” may provide interesting Les-
sons Learnt concerning the application of the
shared responsibility principle at different gov-
ernance levels. This is because SOL involved lo-
cal authorities from different Member States and
provided them with support to elaborate a road
safety strategy and actions that are tailor-made
to the need of local communities. Here it needs to
be underlined that SOL is not top-down initiative
proposed or financed by DG MOVE but rather the
opposite: SOL was conceived and implemented
by local and regional authorities.
A major objective of SOL is to
provide guidance for both ex‑
perts and practitioners and
road safety decision makers
on the key concepts regarding
road safety.
ARE DYING85 PEOPLE
ON EUROPEAN ROADS
DO YOU KNOW, THAT EVERY DAY,
Photo: FGM
Photo: FGM
THE SOL ROAD SAFETY GUIDELINES - “ADVICE FOR EX-PERTS AND DECISION MAKERS” ARE AVAILABLE NOW
The “SOL Road Safety Guidelines - Advice
for experts and decision makers” is avail-
able as electronic and paper version since
A major objective of SOL is to provide guidance
for both experts and practitioners and road safe-
ty decision makers on the key concepts regard-
ing road safety. This also includes the principles
of a Safe System approach to road safety man-
agement.
The Guidelines are divided in two main sections:
a guidance manual for experts and practitioners,
and a shorter manual that highlights the key is-
sues for decision makers. Some content is the
same in both manuals, but as each manual de-
signed as a stand-alone all texts are available in
both documents.
The manuals describe the global road safety
situation in the context of the Decade of Action,
and the current road safety situation in Central
European countries compared with other EU
countries, showing the need for urgent action to
address the road safety problem. They include
details of the SOL project’s aims and method-
ology and how they have been implemented
through a range of pilot actions.
A major section in the manual for experts de-
scribes the steps to be undertaken in order to
May. Moreover, a DVD with all major outputs,
deliverables and the movie is included in the
brochure.
develop and implement a road safety strategy
and the importance of monitoring the results.
Wider issues such as community engagement,
sustainable transport and land use policy are
also included. There is also a detailed section
that describes the tools which a low a replica-
tion on a transnational level. These tools are a
key output of the SOL project.
The manual for decision makers concentrates on
the need for action and how roads can be made
safe. Both manuals include sections on the most
important road safety interventions but it is not
the purpose of the manuals to provide compre-
hensive guidance on interventions. There are
many existing sources of information, including
the manuals published by WHO that focus on
how to develop and implement programmes to
address the key risks such as speed and drink
driving. Primary information sources are refer-
enced, and a full bibliography is included.
You can flip through or download the guidelines
on the SOL website:
www.sol-project.eu/index php?id=2589&ID1=2589
A YOUTH FLASHMOB FOR ROAD SAFETY TOOK PLACE IN ATHENS, GREECE
As part of the Second UN Global Road Safety
Week a flashmob was organized in Syntagma
Square, Greece. It promoted the message
“Stop Road Crashes”. The stunt was organized
The event brought together a group of young people
on a square in Athens/Greece and the performance
of a live, orchestrated dance to grab the attention of
the unsuspecting and astonished public. The video
of the event shows a crowd of dancing people on
the square performing their choreography that
transported the key message: “Stop road crashes”!
What is a Flashmob?
A Flashmob (or Flash mob) is created when a
group of people assemble suddenly in a public
place. This group of people then perform an unu-
sual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time.
After that they quickly disperse. The purposes of
such a Flashmob can include entertainment, sat-
ire, advertisement and artistic expression. Flash
in Athens by the Hellenic Road Safety Institute
(I.O.A.S) - RSI Panos Mylonas with the support
of the European Commission and the Europe-
an Youth Forum for Road Safety - EYFRS.
mobs are organized via telecommunications, so-
cial media, or viral emails. In this case, the Flash-
mob was organized to raise awareness of the
United Nations Global Road Safety Week to and of
the cause of pedestrian safety. The target group
were the people present in the square at the time,
but to also leave a legacy of the event, it was
captured on video. Considering its huge success,
the Greek Delegates will present their Flash-Mob
guidelines during the next edition of the EYFRS in
September 2013 in Crotone (Italy), for you to be
able to reproduce it in your country as well.
Watch the video here: Link to the video
EYFRS: www.eyfrs.eu
RSI Panos Mylonas: www.ioas.gr
4
Photo: EYFRS / RSI “PANOS MYLONAS”
Photo: EYFRS / RSI “PANOS MYLONAS”
June 2013 ISSUE No. 11
RELEASE OF THE NEW WHO EUROPEAN ROAD SAFETY REPORT
The “European facts and Global status re-
port on road safety 2013” published today
by WHO/Europe reveals a significant im-
The “European facts and Global status report
on road safety 2013” published today by WHO/
Europe reveals significant improvement in
overall fatalities but also indicates that only
half of the European countries have adequate
road safety laws.
Fifty-five per cent of the European population
lives in countries that do not provide com-
prehensive road safety laws on the five key
risk factors: drinking and driving, speeding,
helmets, seat-belts and child restraints. The
remaining 45% benefit from rapidly improving
legislative change as countries work hard to
meet the target set by the Decade of Action for
Road Safety 2011-2020.
The report demonstrates that improvements
are achievable and 40 out of 48 countries have
reduced the number of deaths on their roads
in recent years.
“The improvements in road safety in the Euro-
pean Region are striking,” said Zsuzsanna Ja-
provement in overall fatalities but also in-
dicates that only half of the European coun-
tries have adequate road safety laws.
kab, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “How-
ever, 92 000 deaths per year is 92 000 deaths
too many. Thanks to this report, we have a
clear vision of what needs to be done and also
a clear vision of the human and economic ben-
efits of improving road safety. We would like to
appeal to governments to act on this evidence,
knowing that this course of action will pay
dividends in the short and long term.”
The “European facts and Global status report
on road safety 2013” is the second report in a
series analysing to what extent countries are
implementing effective road safety measures.
In addition to the risk factors, it highlights the
importance of issues such as vehicle safety
standards, road infrastructure inspections and
policies on walking and cycling. The report
presents information from 51 countries, ac-
counting for 99.4% of the European Region’s
population or 891 million people.
The project SOL shall help to prevent road
crashes, deaths and injuries in the Central Europe
Space (CEUS). In 12 pilot areas of the 7 countries
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slo-
venia, Italy and Austria targeted strategies will be
developed implementing effective programmes to
build a transnational road safety network. Find
detailed informations to all pilot areas on the
website of SOL: www.sol-project.eu
THE PILOT AREAS OF SOL:
• Poland: Olsztyn, Barczewo, Nidzica
• Czech Republic: Region of Liberec
• Slovakia: City of Prešov and Region of Prešov
‑ Selfgovernment County
• Hungary: City of Gyor
• Slovenia: Tolmin, Kočevje and Maribor
• Italy: Province of Brescia and Mantua
• Austria: Province of Styria
THE P ILOT AREAS OF THE PROJECT SOL
GERMANYCZECH REPUBLIC
AUSTRIA
ITALY
SLOVAKIA
POLAND
SLOVENIA
HUNGARY
The SOL Countries
Photo: istock
Photo: istock
5
SOL – A COMPREHENSIVE ROAD SAFETY STRATEGY FOR CENTRAL EUROPE
The main goal of the project is to promote
sustainable mobility and increase awareness
for safety issues as well as contributing to the
achievement of higher quality of living condi-
tions.
The approach of SOL sees Road-Safety within
the context of sustainable mobility, i.e. to make
walking and cycling safe and to promote a modal
shift from the private car to public transport.
SOL unites some of the most competent RS or-
ganisations from CEUS and worldwide, among
them the Global Road Safety Patnership (GRPS).
The multi-sector partners from eight countries
of CEUS have jointly developed a strategy that
supports the region in catching up with highest
EU standards in Road Safety.
A.L.O.T. Agency of East Lombardy for Transport and Logistics (Italy)
Austrian Mobility Research FGM-AMOR (Austria)
Province of Styria – Traffic Department (Austria)
University of Tuebingen, Institute of Geography (Germany)
HBH Projekt spol. s r.o. (Czech Republic)
ITS Motor Transport Institute(Poland)
University of Zilina(Slovakia)
Global Road Safety Partnership Hungary(Hungary)
KTI Institute for Transport Sciences(Hungary)
Automobile Association of Slovenia(Slovenia)
ZAS – The Association of the Driving Schools in the Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
WORD Olsztyn organization(Poland)
12 PROJECT PARTNERS FROM 8 COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL EUROPE
The project „SOL – Save our Lives“ in the Central Europe Program www.central2013.eu
is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Imprint:
Texts: Alberto Milotti, A.L.O.T. (p.1 and Foreword, p. 2);
All other articles collected by FGM-AMOR
Design by FGM-AMOR
June 2013 ISSUE No. 11