News item | 15-11-2023 | 5:00 PM
During 2024, motorists will receive a digital warning if they drive near a school zone. A test shows that more than half of motorists say they adjust their behavior after such a warning. Crucial, since school-age children are among the most vulnerable group of road users.
A school zone is an area around a school that has been designated by the municipality. The digital notification is in addition to the road signs that have already been placed in the existing school zone.
Minister Harbers (Infrastructure and Water Management): “When schools start or end, every school is teeming with parents and children. By bike, on foot or on the way to the car. This can lead to unexpected situations, because children are still trying to understand situations in traffic. I think it is a very nice outcome that it now appears that data can help with this. If people adjust their driving behavior due to an alarm they receive in their car, they are extra sharp and the risk of accidents is reduced.”
Successful trial
From December 2022 to June 2023, experiments were conducted with the digital warning in five municipalities: Amsterdam, Helmond, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Meijerijstad and Rotterdam. Not only did these municipalities map the locations of their 190 school zones, but they also created a database with all information about school times and school holidays together with the PO council (the sector association for primary education).
When motorists drove near a school zone around the start and end of the school day, they received a signal during the test. They then received a voice message or a special warning text via the (navigation) app with the message: ‘You are approaching a school zone. Moderate your speed.’ ANWB, Be-Mobile, Tripservice and Locationnet shared the school zone information via their travel apps and GeoJunxion used the school zone data for customers in the logistics and automotive sector.
Of the 3,500 users who participated in the pilot surveys, more than two-thirds said they found the warning valuable. And more than half indicate that they are more alert and that they have adjusted their behavior by driving more slowly. This is good for road safety, which is why the trial is now being rolled out nationally.
National import
Over the course of 2024, the primary education council will collect data on school times, holidays and days off from all schools in the Netherlands. This database is shared with the National Road Traffic Data Portal (NDW), which has the task of combining that data with the location data of school zones. The NDW will then make this information accessible to all navigation apps and car manufacturers. This also includes the logistics sector.
This makes it possible throughout the Netherlands to receive a signal when you enter a school zone. This is a promising step towards a safer traffic environment for children around schools.