Newsroom

Drivers pinged for driving slowly

No doubt it sounds strange when you read the headline, but drivers in the Netherlands are being pinged by radar guns outside schools for driving "under' the speed limit, and it's all good.

Yes, it is revenue raising all right, but for a good cause.

Every time a radar detects a driver doing the right thing, a donation is made to the school by the local authorities.

The speed display panel shows the drivers that their careful, attentive driving has contributed financially to the school.

The province of Brabants introduced the scheme as part of its Vision Zero road safety campaign.

It theorises that drivers will be more likely to drive at safe speeds near schools if they know that the school benefits financially.

The radar-funding approach moves from school to school every three weeks.

At the initial location, which has a 30 kmh zone, 64 per cent of cars were exceeding the speed limit prior to the new scheme.

It has not been running long enough to evaluate its success in reducing excessive speeds yet, but it certainly is doing its job at increasing investment in education.