Until now the Police have used one vehicle with white-and-blue police markings and eight unmarked vehicles fitted with the Provida video surveillance system for road policing on national roads and motorways in the Republic of Slovenia.
These vehicles were today (5 December 2007) joined by ten new white-and-blue Škoda Superb Comfort 2.8 V6 vehicles fitted with the Provida system. They were formally handed over to the Police Director-General Jože Romšek by the Minister of the Interior, Dragutin Mate, at the Logistics Office of the General Police Administration.
Mr Romšek handed the keys to traffic police officers and wished them happy and safe driving and success in their work.
These vehicles, fitted with a video surveillance system, are intended above all to police Slovenia's motorway cross, where the police hope that their regularly daily presence will influence the behaviour of road users and ensure greater safety for all users of the motorway cross.
Police work on the motorway network differs significantly from work on other roads. Specific characteristics of motorway work are as follows:
- raditional road policing is not possible on motorways. It is not possible to stop vehicles by the side of the road in the traditional way and this must be done using a vehicle or from a vehicle in motion;
- for the time being there are no dedicated areas for police checks, and therefore procedures are carried out at rest areas, petrol stations, etc.
- the speeds involved are very high, which means that police officers have to be extremely careful and cautious in all operations on motorways. They have to observe a series of safety rules, and for this reason only the most experienced offices from traffic police stations work on motorways;
- accidents on motorways also require a specific approach, since they often involve serious consequences and a large number of people and vehicles. Dealing with accidents requires the close and coordinated cooperation of all services (rescue, fire brigade, motorway maintenance, etc.)
The ceremony was also attended by the Minister of Transport Radovan Žerjav, who gave a brief address.
Traffic police officers will be on the lookout for all offences characteristic of motorway driving, i.e. overtaking, failure to respect the safety distance, breaking the speed limit, changing lanes, joining and leaving the motorway, use of safety belts, etc. They will not only be concerned with enforcing the speed limit but also with other road traffic offences they encounter in their work.
The new Škoda Superb Comfort 2,8 V6 vehicles are in the white-and-blue livery of the police and are fitted with police equipment including a siren and flashing lights. Warning signs fitted to the rear shelf allow police officers to display pre-programmed messages to drivers behind them, for example STOP POLICIJA (STOP POLICE), VOZITE ZA MENOJ (FOLLOW ME),etc. All the vehicles have a built-in road policing video surveillance system allowing indirect speed measurement on the basis of time and distance travelled. The system can also be used as evidence of other road traffic offences. The total price of the vehicles was EUR 286,978. Each police administration will from now on have at least one vehicle fitted with the Providavideo surveillance system.
Police measures in the road policing sphere from 1 January to 1 November 2007
Police officers:
- identified 430,469 (431,019) violations of road traffic regulations,
- identified 120,031 (106,704) cases of breaking the speed limit,
- issued 97,551 (110,000) warnings, a drop of 11%,
- ordered 318.274 (254.968) breath analysis tests, which is 25% more than last year, of which 23,193 (21,156) or 10% more were positive,
- ordered 2,140 (1,983) analyses (alcohol) or 8% more, of which 727 (800) or 9% fewer were positive,
- ordered 519 (487) ethylometer tests or 7% more than in the same period in 2006, where 41 (53) were positive in the case of road accidents, 135 (167) were positive in the case of road traffic offences, 11 (12) were negative in the case of road accidents and 4 (4) were negative in the case of road traffic offences, 16 (19) people refused the test in the case of road accidents and 217 (196) people refused the test in the case of road traffic offences,
- 4,954 (4,466) road traffic offenders had a blood alcohol level of more than 1.5 g/kg, which is an increase of 11%,
- 1,950 (2,020) causers of road accidents had a blood alcohol level of more than 1.1 g/kg, which is 3% less,
- ordered 429 (422) extraordinary technical inspections,
- temporarily suspended 18,403 (16,501) driving licences,
- impounded 119 (47) motorcycles or mopeds,
- brought 180 (262) people before a judge
- ordered 1,523 (1,372) drug tests, or 11% more than in the same period in 2006, where 87 (77) were positive in the case of road accidents, 175 (152) were positive in the case of road traffic offences, 161 (213) were negative in the case of road accidents and 14 (17) were negative in the case of road traffic offences, 40 (54) people refused the test in the case of road accidents and 893 (778) people refused the test in the case of road traffic offences.
In this period police officers dealt with:
- 225 (196) fatal road accidents, which is 15% more than in the same period last year,
- 9,563 (9,562) road accidents involving physical injuries,
- 15,705 (17,139) road accidents involving material damage, or 8% less.
In these accidents:
- 250 (213) people died, which is 17% more than in the same period last year,
- 1,087 (1,076) people were seriously injured, which is 1% more,
- 12,704 (12,839) people suffered minor injuries, which is 1% less,
- Number of deaths as at 5 December 2007: 272 (last year 232).
Most common factors in road accidents (by number of deaths):
- speed - 108 (86), which is 26% more than in the same period last year,
- driving on the wrong side of the road or in the wrong direction - 78 (44) or 77% more,
- failure to observe right of way - 37 (35),
- incorrect overtaking - 9 (22),
- pedestrians - 7 (7),
- incorrect manoeuvres - 4 (7),
- other causes - 12 (7).
Deaths in road accidents (by type of road user):
- car drivers - 97 (80),
- motorcyclists - 39 (42),
- moped riders - 11 (9),
- goods vehicle drivers - 4 (2),
- tractor drivers - 5 (1),
- passengers - 49 (42),
- pedestrians - 28 (22),
- cyclists - 14 (12),
- other road users - 3 (3).
Deaths in road accidents (by type of road):
- regional roads - 80 (64),
- main roads - 42 (51),
- local roads -21 (8),
- express roads -7 (5),
- tourist roads -2 (1),
- motorways - 23 (21),
- in settlements with named streets - 36 (22),
- in settlements without named streets - 39 (31),
Safety on Slovenia's motorways this year (up to 30 November 2007):
- there have been 1,562 accidents (last year 1,718),
- 25 have died in accidents (last year 23),
- 42 (57) people have been seriously injured and 634 (677) have been slightly injured,
- the police have detected 18,936 (20,436) violations of road traffic regulations on motorways, of which 10,532 (13,273) relate to exceeding the speed limit.