Through an exciting pilot project, Safedrive and K160UTR hope to develop emergency vehicle notification – a new solution that can increase safety for both emergency services and other road users.
Klemet Klemetsen is a retired police officer after nearly 40 years at the Kautokeino Sheriff's Office. He expresses strong concern about the government's proposal to ban alert services like Safedrive – and believes "UP is on a wild path."
Klemet Klemetsen, former police officer and county council representative for the Center Party, expresses concern over the government's proposal to ban alert services like Safedrive. Photo: Private.
– With my background in the police, I know that there is an overall requirement to have good numerical documentation of reactions in the form of fines, penalties, confiscation of driver's licenses, etc., which is the goal of the police. The idea of banning Safedrive is only a desire on the part of the police to avoid "losing" the numerical basis for drivers who occasionally commit traffic violations.
This is what Klemet Klemetsen, a former police officer and county council representative for the Center Party, says in a debate article in the newspaper Ságat .
The government's bill, which is currently under consultation, aims to ban alert services that notify drivers of police checks. The justification for this is that such services weaken the effectiveness of UP's checks and can lead to increased risk behavior on the roads. Klemetsen, however, believes that the ban could have the opposite effect – both for traffic safety and animal welfare.
– For me, animal welfare is very important. Animals being hit and left to suffer until they die is the last thing I want to experience. Safedrive is the common safety system for motorists. Everyone should have this in their cars and it should have been pre-installed in all new cars. It provides safety for both animals and people.
Klemet Klemetsen believes a ban could have serious consequences for traffic safety.
The statement from Klemet Klemetsen is supported by the CEO of Safedrive, Magnus Wester.
– We contribute to the safety of over 700,000 road trips every day. If this ban is introduced, an important road safety service could disappear.
– We fear that the proposal will weaken the Storting's goal of zero serious injuries and deaths in traffic. The proposal will be counterproductive, and we assume that the government has not documented that a ban will make the roads safer – something we believe should be a prerequisite for such a drastic decision, he says.
An indispensable service for people in rural areas: The car is not a choice, but a necessity to make everyday life easier.
Wester points out that services like Safedrive are of great benefit to Norwegians living in rural areas, who travel a lot on the road. It is precisely in the rural areas that most animal collisions occur.
– Figures from our own customer survey show that a full 85% say they have avoided accidents thanks to notifications on their Safedrive. This corresponds to over 100,000 potentially dangerous incidents. A large majority of these users live in rural areas.
For Klemet Klemetsen, it goes without saying that services like Safedrive must be able to continue to exist.
– Safedrive saves the lives of both animals and people, by giving me, as a driver, information well in advance if a dangerous obstacle is on the road. Safedrive prevents and prevents animal suffering, pain and death.
– Here in Northern Norway, where driving is absolutely necessary, Safedrive is a safe and secure preventive measure in the car. Ultimately, Safedrive is also an economically important system, which helps to ensure that society is not burdened with, for example, health expenses for injury treatment in hospitals and other institutions, he says.
– Here, UP is on "wild roads" . When they want to ban Safedrive, it is, after all, about safety for both people and animals in traffic. Safedrive is a "navigation system" that prevents animal collisions and which in the long term is also a socio-economic system.
– The fact that the police want to ban Safedrive, with the intention of being able to catch "all" traffic offenders, without thinking about animal welfare, is completely incomprehensible and unacceptable, concludes Klemetsen.
