Celebrities on the Road: New road show aims to make Czech roads safer
Driving on Czech roads can be a nerve-racking experience. Speeding, drink-driving, inattention and road rage all contribute to the high number of accidents. And even on a good day, transgressions such as failing to keep a safe distance or break checking can wear down the patience of those sticking to the rules.
Despite the introduction last year of a tougher penalty points system aiming to enforce greater discipline on Czech roads, they still remain a big challenge for infrequent or foreign drivers.
In fact, according to the results of a survey by the Transport Research Centre, Czech drivers feel less safe on roads and highways in their own country than in other European states. Local roads received the lowest safety rating, with just 34.3% of Czech drivers feeling safe, far below the European average of 51.4%.
According to police statistics as many as 20,000 drivers commit serious traffic offences every year. One of the people struggling to change this on a daily basis is Pavel Greiner, a driving instructor with 15 years’ experience and owner of the Kral driving school. He says that in addition to the big transgressions like speeding, drink driving or driving under the influence of drugs, there are many smaller offences that make the lives of other drivers difficult.
“This country has long been learning the art of zipper merging or giving way to emergency vehicles. Some people don't know where to give right of way, or how to properly use turn signals, creating risky situations. But as I see it, the biggest problem is aggression on the road which involves a lot of risky behavior and the most common form of driver aggression is not keeping a safe distance. And the aggression on Czech roads can be quite brutal.”
Under a new amendment to the law, anyone caught break checking or exhibiting other forms of road rage now has to pay a hefty fine and undergo group therapy. Pavel Greiner says he thinks that this is the right way to go.
“I think the only way to get results in Czechia is to get tougher on drivers breaking the rules. Because it’s the Czech nature to try and skirt regulations, see what we can get away with. I can really see why Hašek was inspired to write The Good Soldier Švejk here. We traditionally have little respect for authority and for rules and this trait shows up in how people drive. Funnily enough, when Czech drivers cross the border they generally respect the very same traffic regulations in Germany or Austria because they know how high the fines are there. But not here. Try allowing drivers in Czechia a small amount of alcohol on the road. Unthinkable! We'll all be driving stoned! So I would go for an even tougher points system and more traffic police on the road. Because if you are driving according to the rules – why would you mind?”
Pavel Greiner says that driving schools could also be doing more to address the problem. In order to push prices down many take on more students that they should and subsequently have less time to devote to them. He says his aim is to provide high quality service even if it is at a higher price.
And in order to address those already on the road Greiner has launched a new road safety show on YouTube called Celebrities in Driving School. He takes celebrities on the road for a mock “driving test” and explains –not only to them but to viewers – what they are doing wrong and how they should do it right.
“I am not trying to poke fun of celebrities or show them up as bad drivers. Frankly, if I were really strict none of them would pass the test (laughs). But the idea is that through the celebrities and the entertainment factor I can better reach regular drivers on the road –their fans, who remember what it was that so-and-so does wrong and learn from it themselves. And it works like magic. People write to me, the celebrities have fun and learn something –and hopefully so do viewers. And if this show helps save two lives a year on the road –then it is worth it!
