Odense Municipality is the largest municipality at the Island of Fyn in central Denmark. The municipality has 185.000 inhabitants.

The Traffic and Park Department works with traffic planning and road safety, among other issues.

The Municipality of Odense will commit to the European Road Safety Charter with the following actions;

 

THE SEE-MI PROJECT

The purpose of this project is to prevent right turn accidents. the See-mi system focuses on enhancing awareness and attention among truckers and to increase the visibility of the cyclists on the right side and in front of the trucks.

See-mi is a technology that enables communication between trucks, bicycles and light in dangerous crossings. In this communication the driver of a right-turning truck is made aware on the risk of cyclists to turn up on his/her right side. The driver is thereby given an additional opportunity to avoid dangerous situations.

 

In the trial from mid-2010 and a couple of years ahead,   See-mi will be tested in 4 crossings in the city. 1000 cyclists will be supplied with a Relight lamp with built tags.

 

External evaluation of the experiment will be carried out as a behavioural study, culminating in a report.

 

YOUNG-TO-YOUNG COMMUNICATION

The aim is to inform and involve young people, making them take personal responsibility and achieve an understanding of risks for hazards in traffic.

 

1. First they are involved during class at school where they are asked to take a photo to be included in the competition for the golden helmet

2. They are then invited to an event with a traffic pilot who is a young person, telling his/her own experience of an accident and subsequently holding an sms vote in the class, having the young people answer 4 questions about road safety.

 

3. A hairdresser then puts on "helmet nets" and gives advice on hairstyle after wearing a helmet.

 

4. A well-known and popular stand-up comedian then presents his/her thoughts on road safety.

 

5. Subsequently, the young people are invited to a group on Facebook, where they, among others, can see pictures of themselves from the event.

 

6. Parents are provided with a leaflet with information about the risk of their children in traffic and they are informed what the children answered to the questions about road safety, thereby enabling them to take a dialogue with their child about the issues.

 

In 2009, the campaign focused on the use of helmets and was a success in the Municipality of Odense. The Road safety Committee of Southern Denmark consequently offered the concept to other municipalities in South Denmark, and an initial 8 municipalities have already conducted the campaign. It is the aim that many will follow over the coming years.

 

SAFE DAYS

In September 2010, the Municipality of Odense will be involved in the SAFE DAYS campaign, offering training to 500 students. Its focus will be on alcohol and traffic risks. It will be carried out in collaboration with Road Centre South and the advertising agency Cosmographic. Subsequently, the campaign will be offered to other municipalities in the region through the Road Safety Council of Southern Denmark.