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Project TWIST - Transport with Sense and Tact The present
state of events on the CR's roads testifies more than eloquently
the fact that by far not everything related to the drivers tuition,
and, further on, then, to supervision of the road traffic safety,
and, eventual efficient application of sanctions against infringers
(after the failure of prevention - if any), has been in order. Till
1989, former Czechoslovakia could boast of a low road accident incidence
within Europe (hence the whole developed world), and, at the same
time, our system of drivers tuition and training and eventual subsequent
additional training courses of some of their categories was generally
appreciated as one of the most elaborate. Today, this is not by
far the case. Within several past years, various amendments
to laws have been made. These related to driving schools operation
and performance of supervision of road traffic. The above efforts,
however, have not had the desired tangible effect. A long-term
absence of conceptuality of the approach to the above mentioned
issue has been a common denominator of failures, while
all sorts of groups and small groups of interested parties (and
their range is really wide indeed, for each of us is a road traffic
participant and a large part of population has become an active
driver) have been trying more or less spontaneously and in a non-coordinated
way to enforce their own ideas, while the outcome turned out to
be, regrettably, more and more disappointing.
Upon these grounds, on 1 January 2005, a three years' grant task
solution under the auspices of the Ministry of Transportation of
the Czech Republic has commenced with the aim of creating a stable
and complex system of drivers tuition and training, and, simultaneously,
setting up motivators of observation of traffic rules on surface
roads - focused on achieving road accident incidence on the CR's
roads and its consequences on the most successful EU countries'
level (the project has been called TWIST, therefore Transport
with Sense and Tact). It is necessary to say by way of
introduction that the whole issue shall be solved in a complex manner.
Consecutively, we shall analyse the long-term interrelationship
between the development of the road accident incidence and its consequences,
and, simultaneously, particular systems of motor car drivers tuition
and training, further on, then, general road traffic accident incidence
prevention and pre-school and school education aimed at traffic,
and, finally, respective sanction systems and precautionary measures
directed individually. The principal problem-solver shall be AZIN
CZ Prague Company, which has gained a long-term experience
in the field of research projects solution, while the team has grown
(on the basis of a twenty-years' practice in the field of the system
of driving schools and road transport), and, while all kinds of
specialists shall be involved continuosly in the project solution
with a view to achieve as complex outcome as possible, but where
we expect to accomplish also a proposal of a road traffic accident
incidence precautionary education system, stable in the long-run,
tuition, training and eventual motor car drivers periodical training,
and, finally, then, a sanction and precautionary system directed
individually (this shall include not only specialists in the field
of drivers tuition, training and examination, but also professionals
as regards legislation, statistics, culturology, sociology and psychology).
A thorough assessment of the whole issue shall be the principal
starting point and the initial step shall consist in the analysis
of the existing level of new drivers training within the
Czech Republic in context with the situation in EU countries,
as the system currently adopted does not respect by far contemporary
modern educational tendencies, which, among others, has led to formalism
in training, and, for example, non-compliance with the prescribed
workload of lessons in tuition and training required for obtaining
respective driving licence class. Operators' efforts to enrich themselves
at the expense of pupils only has not been by far the cause, but,
as a matter of fact, apparently the system itself- e. g. given the
fact that the prescribed numbers of compulsory lessons would be,
at present, an anachronism, the subjects given in instruction including
methods of their presentation are outdated, and, in a whole number
of cases, competences of teachers and driving schools operators
have not been up to the corresponding standards. One of the tasks
shall be to determine, who will test candidates for a driving
licence ( this is where the State has to be very strict,
because it shall be decided through an examination, whether the
candidate becomes a full-fledged driver or not- the examining body
virtually acts in this way on behalf of the State's interests- and
this should be performed at a high level of professionality) - the
whole matter has not been decided definitively till present day
and the solution has been postponed all the time somewhere into
an indefinable future. Most professional drivers pass through
a training course system each year, and, further on, then,
(at present, once every three years) a re-examination (the training
applies also to the so-called drivers-officers, in this case the
diction of the law has been more than vague though). It is necessary
to admit that the whole system has been already out-of-date for
some time and many training courses and final re-examinations have
taken place quite as a matter of form (if at all). Another contribution
of a successful project solution shall be the co-operation and co-partnership
in the creation of a purposeful system of drivers training, namely
in conformity with legislation and tendencies in the EU.
Creating a motivation system, where committing breaches
and including traffic crimes simply cannot be worth doing for the
drivers, shall be highly essential, and, upon creating
a quality system this, as a matter of fact, will include an appropriate
completion of the above mentioned actions - an outline of
principles of an integrated functional system, which would keep
up with European criteria, shall represent another Project TWIST
output.
Certainly, unbundling the above mentioned issue shall not be simple,
namely, among others, with regard to the fact that even EU countries
have not been able to agree on the solution of the whole issue till
these days, although all of them perceive that with the on-going
integration process this shall be absolutely indispensable. Nevertheless,
in a number of countries in Europe, further on, in the territories
of North America and Japan, one can get inspired even today with
a complete solution of the whole issue, and, thus, build a system,
which shall last for at least one generation (in other words for
20 years). In a responsible fulfilment of the above task
this will include a unique probe into the condition of
drivers training and eventual additional training, supervision of
road traffic and determination of precautionary measures (and eventual
sanctions), while the proper project shall set up well-founded,
and, simultaneously, specific solutions.
AZIN Team PHOTO
(taken at the meeting in Liberec on 19 July 2005)
From the left: Jiří Svoboba (member of the team), Danuše Bartůšková
(assistant), Petr Kohout (Head of the AZIN CZ company), Roman Budský
(Project Manager)
For the above reasons in the project solution we count with
consecutive involvement and participation of erudite experts, namely,
above all in the field of drivers tuition, training and re-examination,
further on, then, specialists in the field of traffic psychology,
traffic regulations and general law, statistics, culturology and
sociology, and, continuously, we shall also receive comments from
competent officials of the Ministry of Transportation of the Czech
Republic.
| CONTACTS |
AZIN CZ
Petr Kohout
(Head of the Company)
HANUSOVA 3
140 00 PRAHA 4
Czech Republic
www.azin.cz
e-mail: azin@azin.cz
tel. + fax: +420 267 054 644
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Project Manager
Roman Budský
e-mail: budsky.roman@volny.cz
mobile: +420 776 195 576
tel.: +420 486 204 480
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Project TWIST
Project TWIST - presentation
Final report - volume I