Spain | Local/public authority

The Novelda Local Police Force, the main activities of which include traffic surveillance, order and prevention. It currently has 45 employees.

1. We would like to strengthen road safety education from an early age. Over the next few years, we will hold road safety education courses at private and state schools in our town (training includes theory and practical classes).
   Such courses will consist of:
   • Education for three-, four- and five-year olds (672 children in total).
   • Education for six- to twelve-year-old primary school pupils in years one to six (a total of 1,961 pupils).
   • Education for sixth-form students (a total of 350 students).
   • Special needs education (CAPAZ) (27 pupils in total).
   In order to do this, we will set up a municipal park with educational and practical material so as to teach road safety rules and conduct to young people and enable them to put their knowledge into practice, using the relevant vehicles.
   We will establish a road safety education department, with one employee dealing solely with the matter, supported by other members of staff for the monographic campaigns carried out.
   The road safety education will seek to encourage appropriate behaviour and attitudes among users of public roads, mainly pedestrians (walking on pavements and crossing roads in the right place) and passengers (getting into and out of cars on the side closest to the pavement and sitting down in the back seat, using the appropriate safety systems). For primary schoolchildren, education will focus on the meaning and importance of signs (according to colour and shape) and traffic rules, walking, and crossing roads in the right place; for middle schoolchildren, education will focus on correctly interpreting the most important signs (obligation, danger and prohibition) and training as pedestrians, cyclists and passengers.



2. Traffic accident database
   A database will be created for all accidents occurring in our town centre, whether or not they result in injuries. This database will feature important information for subsequent study and processing.
   One of the main objectives of this database is to locate black spots and subsequently eliminate these, using the best techniques necessary. The type of vehicle, driver’s sex, day of the week and times of accidents will also be taken into account. The database should be up and running until December 2012 and beyond. Currently, approximately 300 accidents take place every year, involving some 700 vehicles.



3. Various campaigns: Bicycle Day, World Car-Free Day, Pedestrian Crossing Day. Awareness campaigns will be launched on the use and need for urban safety. Information leaflets will be printed (a minimum of 1,000), as well as billboards (a minimum of 500) and local radio spots, in addition to a monographic programme on the local television channel.



4. A local broadcaster will be used to broadcast various spots explaining user behaviour rules when it comes to road safety. A minimum of 30 spots a week will be broadcast during the school terms, and this number will be increased to a minimum of 60 spots during specific campaigns.