#Traffic Reduction

[keithcantu9673]

exploring the benefits of DYU mini e-bikes

the e-bike industry is booming, and DYU is at the forefront with its innovative mini e-bikes. these compact and lightweight electric bikes offer an exciting way to navigate urban environments while promoting a greener lifestyle.

DYU mini e-bikes are designed with convenience in mind, making them perfect for daily commutes or leisurely rides. their sleek design allows for easy storage and portability, so you can take your e-bike anywhere. plus, with impressive battery life and speed, you can enjoy longer rides without worrying about running out of power.

riding a DYU mini e-bike contributes to reducing traffic congestion and lowering carbon emissions, making it a fantastic choice for eco-conscious riders. whether you're a seasoned cyclist or new to e-bikes, DYU offers a range of models to suit your needs. get ready to embrace the freedom and joy of riding a mini e-bike from DYU!

[gpstudios]

Title: Car-Free Day: Embracing Sustainable Transportation and Cleaner Air

Celebrate Car-Free Day on September 22 by exploring alternative transportation options. Experience the benefits of cleaner air and reduced traffic while promoting a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.

Introduction Car-Free Day, celebrated on September 22, is a global initiative to promote sustainable transportation and reduce air pollution. This day encourages individuals to leave their cars behind and explore alternative modes of transport like walking, biking, or using public transit. Join the movement to experience the benefits of cleaner air, reduced traffic congestion, and a healthier…

[mjalford98]

Discouraging people from driving is popular for improving urban air quality, but it’s unfair and unhelpful without viable public transport alternatives. Read more in my latest Medium article!

[kuntege87s]

Exploring the Future of City Commutes: INMOTION's Electric Unicycles vs Scooters

In today's fast-paced urban environment, finding efficient and fun ways to commute is more important than ever. INMOTION is at the forefront of this revolution, offering innovative solutions like electric unicycles and scooters.

Electric unicycles provide a unique riding experience, allowing for nimble navigation through crowded streets. They are compact, lightweight, and perfect for those who want to stand out while commuting. On the other hand, electric scooters offer stability and comfort, making them a popular choice for longer distances.

Both options are eco-friendly and contribute to reducing traffic congestion and pollution. With INMOTION leading the charge, commuters now have exciting choices that cater to their personal preferences and commuting needs. Embrace the future of transportation and explore the benefits of both electric unicycles and scooters today!

[brianbentleyr]

Enroll in a state of Texas approved defensive driving course online designed to meet legal requirements and improve driving skills. This user-friendly course is tailored to help drivers dismiss traffic tickets, reduce insurance premiums, and enhance awareness on the road

[diagnozabam]

Accidentele rutiere grave în România au scăzut semnificativ în 2024: Un nou raport al Poliției

În 2024, România a înregistrat o scădere semnificativă a numărului de accidente rutiere grave, conform unui raport al Poliției Române. În perioada ianuarie – noiembrie 2024, s-au produs 3.862 de accidente grave, soldate cu 1.333 de decese și 2.980 de persoane grav rănite. Aceste cifre reprezintă o reducere cu 6% față de anul precedent. Reduceri importante comparativ cu 2019 Comparativ cu anul…

[just2bruce]

Rail freight inducements hope to drive new loads

Several national rail agencies are actively working to increase rail traffic, with a focus on reducing costs and emissions.

This interesting article ties together several efforts by national rail agencies to drum up more traffic. The countries range from Russia to the UK. When you have a national railroad, rather than private enterprise, you can make quick changes that will reduce costs for the kinds of shipments you want. The article focuses on Russia, which is losing lots of cargoes from the Far East headed for…

[townpostin]

Zonal IG Addresses Rising Crime Rates In Jamshedpur Meeting

Akhilesh Jha Expresses Concern Over Increase In Road Accidents And Thefts Police officials receive directives on crime reduction and traffic safety strategies. JAMSHEDPUR – Zonal IG Akhilesh Jha held a crucial meeting with district police officials on Thursday, addressing the city’s rising crime rates and road accident fatalities. "We’re concerned about the increase in crimes like robbery and…

[marioprobertson]

DMVgo.com and MYimprov.com Join Forces to Empower Users with Defensive Driving Solutions

DMVgo.com and MYimprov.com have partnered to revolutionize defensive driving and traffic court challenges. The collaboration simplifies the process with integrated defensive driving courses and offers exclusive discounts and promotions. Users can enhance their driving skills and resolve traffic issues seamlessly, benefiting from both platforms' expertise. This partnership transforms how individuals approach these challenges, providing a user-friendly solution for improved driving and court compliance.

[reasonsforhope]

"The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 3.6% in 2024 as coal use dropped to the lowest level since 1666, the year of the Great Fire of London, according to new Carbon Brief analysis.

Major contributions came from the closure of the UK’s last coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire and one of its last blast furnaces at the Port Talbot steelworks in Wales.

Other factors include a nearly 40% rise in the number of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road, above-average temperatures and the UK’s electricity being the “cleanest ever” in 2024.

Carbon Brief’s analysis, based on preliminary government energy data, shows emissions fell to just 371m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2024, the lowest level since 1872.

Other key findings from the analysis include:

The UK’s emissions are now 54% below 1990 levels, while GDP has grown by 84%.

About half of the drop in emissions in 2024 was due to a 54% reduction in UK coal demand, which fell to just 2m tonnes – the lowest level since 1666.

Another third of the drop in 2024 emissions was due to falling demand for oil and gas, with the remainder down to ongoing reductions in non-CO2 greenhouse gases.

UK coal demand fell at power stations (one-third of the reduction overall) and at industrial sites (two-thirds). In 2024, the UK closed its last coal-fired power station, as well as the final blast furnace at the Port Talbot steelworks. Furnaces at Scunthorpe paused operations. Both sites are due to convert to electric-arc furnaces that do not rely on coal.

Oil demand fell 1.4% despite increased road traffic, largely due to the rise in the number of EVs. The UK’s 1.4m EVs, 0.8m plug-in hybrids and 76,000 electric vans cut oil-related emissions by at least 5.9MtCO2e, Carbon Brief analysis finds, only slightly offset by around 0.5MtCO2e from higher electricity demand.

The UK’s EV motorists each saved around £800, on average, in 2024 – some £1.7bn in total – relative to the cost of driving petrol or diesel vehicles.

Gas demand for heating increased, despite warmer average temperatures than in 2023, as prices eased from the peaks seen after the global energy crisis.

However, gas demand fell overall due to lower gas-fired electricity generation, thanks to higher electricity imports and increased output from low-carbon sources.

The UK would need to cut its emissions by a larger amount each year than it did in 2024, to reach its international climate goal for 2035, as well as its national target to reach net-zero by 2050...

Lowest since 1872

...

Apart from brief rebounds after the global financial crisis and the Covid-19 lockdowns, UK emissions have fallen every year for the past two decades."

-via CarbonBrief, March 12, 2025

[greater-than-the-sword]

Legislative agenda:

Limit car headlight brightness to an amount recommended by eye doctors and traffic safety experts

Replace all prison lights with light posts that have caps

Cap all stadium lighting

Replace all public streetlights with warm colored lights

Limit brightness of all outdoor LED's (likely to a similar amount of lumens as the car headlights were limited to)

Create biannual event where city owned lights, including streetlights, and all businesses over 50 employees MUST turn their lights off for a dark sky night

maybe: Require all unoccupied parking lots turn off their lights 10PM-5AM

Proposed benefits:

Tourism

Education

Boost interest in the sciences and arts

Mental health

Physical health (eye disorders and reduction of sleep disorders)

Increased productivity of workers due to reduction of sleep disorders

The human experience

Eco friendly (Benefits animals)

Eco friendly (saves energy)

Cons:

Criminals target dark parking lots

Rebuttal:

Criminals can't target dark parking lots if they're all equally dark

[mindblowingscience]

Over two three-month periods, researchers sampled air quality at five sites along metro Atlanta interstates and highways. When compared to similar sites without vegetation, the researchers found a 37% reduction in soot and a 7% reduction in ultrafine particles at sites with natural or ornamental vegetation. The findings appear in the journal PLOS ONE. “Trees and bushes near roadways don’t solve the problem of air pollution caused by motor vehicles, but they can help reduce the severity of the problem,” says lead author Roby Greenwald, associate professor in the Georgia State University School of Public Health.

Continue Reading.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Sam Gustin at The Nation:

President Trump’s suggestion last month that the tragic Potomac air crash was somehow the fault of disabled federal air traffic controllers was appalling—but it should have come as no surprise. Trump’s contempt for people with disabilities has been well documented, and it’s that animus, combined with the accelerating MAGA assault on diversity throughout the United States, that has disability rights advocates preparing to defend decades worth of hard-won protections. One month into his presidency, Trump has unleashed a government-wide attack on people with disabilities, from anti-diversity executive orders to proposed special-education rollbacks to threats to slash programs like Medicaid that are lifelines for disabled people across the country. If successful, these actions could have catastrophic consequences for millions of Americans, according to disability rights experts. “This is a crisis for the disability community, and the threat is extremely serious,” Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, told The Nation. “These changes have the potential to erode decades of progress that the disability community has fought tooth and nail to achieve.”

Within 48 hours of taking office, Trump signed two executive orders targeting what he called “illegal” diversity programs—commonly referred to as DEI or DEIA—in both the federal government and the private sector. Trump and his MAGA minions claim that these programs, which promote the worthy goals of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility throughout American society, discriminate against, well, them, and so they should be abolished. At a time when Elon Musk and his DOGE henchmen are racing to “delete” entire federal agencies and fire thousands of government workers, diversity programs have become a convenient target for the drastic budget reductions that Trump seeks—under the bogus guise of “waste, fraud, and abuse”—in order to cut more taxes for rich people and corporations. Hence the MAGA/DOGE crusade to demonize and scapegoat diversity programs for all kinds of calamities, from plane crashes to wildfires to train derailments. Thus far, most of the focus on Trump’s diversity rollback has been on “DEI,” but it’s the “A”—for “accessibility”—that has alarmed disability rights advocates.

“The hard-fought-for acceptance of people with disabilities in society is compromised every time Trump uses DEIA as a bogeyman for everything that’s wrong in society,” said Michael Rembis, a professor of history at the University of Buffalo and director of its Center for Disability Studies. “This purge of federal employees is in part designed to remove people who are perceived to be unproductive for both racist and ableist reasons from the federal government.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. Trump’s anti-diversity executive orders roll back more than three decades of US policy since then——including executive orders signed by Clinton, Obama, George W. Bush and Biden—aimed at bringing more people with disabilities into the federal workforce and the private sector. From hiring and job training to career development and workplace accommodation, these policies have given many disabled people new opportunities to thrive, and a new sense of dignity after generations of mistreatment in American society, from ostracization to institutionalization to forced sterilization. Those advances are now at risk, and the impacts are already being felt nationwide, as funding cuts loom for community organizations that provide crucial services and support systems for disabled people, from home modification to job coaching to transportation and personal attendant services. “We’ve heard from many organizations across the country that are having to think about cutting their staff, reducing their services, or even closing their doors,” said Town. Disability rights advocates warn that Trump’s anti-diversity executive orders are just a prelude to even more draconian attacks. For example, Trump’s avowed goal to eliminate the Department of Education could jeopardize special-education programs for roughly 7.5 million students—15 percent of the US student population. Trump’s plan to cut billions in grants issued by the National Institutes of Health threatens long-term research and development focused on life-saving—and life-improving—treatments for millions of Americans. And, of course, any cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and particularly Medicaid—and let’s face it, the GOP wants to eliminate or privatize these programs altogether—will disproportionately affect millions of disabled people who rely on the programs to survive.

[...] The Trump administration’s assault on government policies and programs that benefit disabled people is not just a scheme hatched in the bowels of The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 anti-government boiler room—although it is that, too. It’s also the natural evolution of Trump’s long-standing prejudice against people with disabilities. Trump’s disdain for disabled people is well known, from mocking reporter Serge Kovaleski and insulting wounded veterans to reportedly telling a relative with a disabled son that “maybe those kinds of people should just die.”

[...] It’s no secret that Trump is obsessed with genetics, as demonstrated by his preoccupation with bloodlines and frequent comments about “good” genes, “bad” genes, “low IQ individuals,” immigrants “poisoning the blood” of America, and other bigoted remarks. In 1988, Trump famously told Oprah Winfrey that people must have “the right genes” to become rich. Since then, he has repeatedly compared his family to purebred “racehorses.” In 2020, Trump again invoked the “racehorse” theory to assure a mostly white Midwestern audience that “you have good genes in Minnesota.” And just last year, he intimated—outrageously—that immigrants commit murder because “it’s in their genes.”

[...] It’s worth noting that disabled people were among the earliest victims of the Holocaust, condemned to death by a Nazi program called Aktion T4, which involved the systematic murder of some 300,000 people in psychiatric hospitals in Germany, Austria, and elsewhere in Europe. Stramondo doesn’t expect anything remotely like that to happen in the United States, but he pointed out that sterilization and murder aren’t the only ways to advance eugenic goals. “You can practice and enforce eugenic ideologies that result in lots of people suffering and even dying just by doing something like eliminating Medicaid,” he said.

The Nation reports on Donald Trump’s attacks on DEIA polices and its impact on persons with disabilities, which goes along with his long record of ableism.

[probablyasocialecologist]

In a counterfactual exercise estimating CO2 emissions with and without subways, we find they have reduced population-related CO2 emissions by about 50 % for the 192 cities and about 11 % globally. Extending the analysis to future subways for other cities, we estimate the magnitude and social value of CO2 emissions reductions with conservative assumptions about population and income growth and a range of values for the social cost of carbon and investment costs. Even under pessimistic assumptions for these costs, we find that hundreds of cities realize a significant climate co-benefit, along with benefits from reduced traffic congestion and local air pollution, which have traditionally motivated subway construction. Under more moderate assumptions, we find that, on climate grounds alone, hundreds of cities realize high enough social rates of return to warrant subway construction.

[mariacallous]

Elon Musk has pledged that the work of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, would be “maximally transparent.” DOGE’s website is proof of that, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, and now White House adviser, has repeatedly said. There, the group maintains a list of slashed grants and budgets, a running tally of its work.

But in recent weeks, The New York Times reported that DOGE has not only posted major mistakes to the website—crediting DOGE, for example, with saving $8 billion when the contract canceled was for $8 million and had already paid out $2.5 million—but also worked to obfuscate those mistakes after the fact, deleting identifying details about DOGE’s cuts from the website, and later even from its code, that made them easy for the public to verify and track.

For road-safety researchers who have been following Musk for years, the modus operandi feels familiar. DOGE “put out some numbers, they didn’t smell good, they switched things around,” alleges Noah Goodall, an independent transportation researcher. “That screamed Tesla. You get the feeling they’re not really interested in the truth.”

For nearly a decade, Goodall and others have been tracking Tesla’s public releases on its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features, advanced driver-assistance systems designed to make driving less stressful and more safe. Over the years, researchers claim, Tesla has released safety statistics without proper context; promoted numbers that are impossible for outside experts to verify; touted favorable safety statistics that were later proved misleading; and even changed already-released safety statistics retroactively. The numbers have been so inconsistent that Tesla Full Self-Driving fans have taken to crowdsourcing performance data themselves.

Instead of public data releases, “what we have is these little snippets that, when researchers look into them in context, seem really suspicious,” alleges Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor and engineer who studies autonomous vehicles at the University of South Carolina.

Government-Aided Whoopsie

Tesla’s first and most public number mix-up came in 2018, when it released its first Autopilot safety figures after the first known death of a driver using Autopilot. Immediately, researchers noted that while the numbers seemed to show that drivers using Autopilot were much less likely to crash than other Americans on the road, the figures lacked critical context.

At the time, Autopilot combined adaptive cruise control, which maintains a set distance between the Tesla and the vehicle in front of it, and steering assistance, which keeps the car centered between lane markings. But the comparison didn’t control for type of car (luxury vehicles, the only kind Tesla made at the time, are less likely to crash than others), the person driving the car (Tesla owners were more likely to be affluent and older, and thus less likely to crash), or the types of roads where Teslas were driving (Autopilot operated only on divided highways, but crashes are more likely to occur on rural roads, and especially connector and local ones).

The confusion didn’t stop there. In response to the fatal Autopilot crash, Tesla did hand over some safety numbers to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the nation’s road safety regulator. Using those figures, the NHTSA published a report indicating that Autopilot led to a 40 percent reduction in crashes. Tesla promoted the favorable statistic, even citing it when, in 2018, another person died while using Autopilot.

But by spring of 2018, the NHTSA had copped to the number being off. The agency did not wholly evaluate the effectiveness of the technology in comparison to Teslas not using the feature—using, for example, air bag deployment as an inexact proxy for crash rates. (The airbags did not deploy in the 2018 Autopilot death.)

Because Tesla does not release Autopilot or Full Self-Driving safety data to independent, third-party researchers, it’s difficult to tell exactly how safe the features are. (Independent crash tests by the NHTSA and other auto regulators have found that Tesla cars are very safe, but these don’t evaluate driver assistance tech.) Researchers contrast this approach with the self-driving vehicle developer Waymo, which often publishes peer-reviewed papers on its technology’s performance.

Still, the unknown safety numbers did not prevent Musk from criticizing anyone who questioned Autopilot’s safety record. “It's really incredibly irresponsible of any journalists with integrity to write an article that would lead people to believe that autonomy is less safe,” he said in 2018, around the time the NHTSA figure publicly fell apart. “Because people might actually turn it off, and then die.”

Number Questions

More recently, Tesla has continued to shift its Autopilot safety figures, leading to further questions about its methods. Without explanation, the automaker stopped putting out quarterly Autopilot safety reports in the fall of 2022. Then, in January 2023, it revised all of its safety numbers.

Tesla said it had belatedly discovered that it had erroneously included in its crash numbers events where no airbags nor active restraints were deployed and that it had found that some events were counted more than once. Now, instead of dividing its crash rates into three categories, "Autopilot engaged,” “without Autopilot but with our active safety features,” and “without Autopilot and without our active safety features,” it would report just two: with and without Autopilot. It applied those new categories, retroactively, to its old safety numbers and said it would use them going forward.

That discrepancy allowed Goodall, the researcher, to peer more closely into the specifics of Tesla’s crash reporting. He noticed something in the data. He expected the “without Autopilot” number to just be an average of the two old “without Auptilot” categories. It wasn’t. Instead, the new figure looked much more like the old “without Autopilot and without our active safety features” number. That’s weird, he thought. It’s not easy—or, according to studies that also include other car makes, common—for drivers to turn off all their active safety features, which include lane departure and forward collision warnings and automatic emergency braking.

Goodall calculated that even if Tesla drivers were going through the burdensome and complicated steps of turning off their EV’s safety features, they’d need to drive way more miles than other Tesla drivers to create a sensible baseline. The upshot: Goodall wonders if Tesla is allegedly making its non-Autopilot crash rate look higher than it is—and so the Autopilot crash rate allegedly looks much better by comparison.

The discrepancy is still puzzling to the researcher, who published a peer-reviewed note on the topic last summer. Tesla “put out this data that looks questionable on first glance—and then you look at it, and it is questionable,” he claims. “Instead of taking it down and acknowledging it, they change the numbers to something that is even weirder and flawed in a more complicated way. I feel like I’m doing their homework at this point.” The researcher calls for more transparency. So far, Tesla has not put out more specific safety figures.

Tesla, which disbanded its public relations team in 2021, did not reply to WIRED’s questions about the study or its other public safety data.

Direct Reports

Tesla is not a total outlier in the auto industry when it comes to clamming up about the performance of its advanced technology. Automakers are not required to make public many of their safety numbers. But where tech developers are required to submit public accounting on their crashes, Tesla is still less transparent than most. One prominent national data submission requirement, first instituted by the NHTSA in 2021, requires makers of both advanced driver assistance and automated driving tech to submit public data about its crashes. Tesla redacts nearly every detail about its Autopilot-related crashes in its public submissions.

“The specifics of all 2,819 crash reports have been redacted from publicly available data at Tesla's request,” says Philip Koopman, an engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University whose research includes self-driving-car safety. “No other company is so blatantly opaque about their crash data.”

The federal government likely has access to details on these crashes, but the public doesn’t. But even that is at risk. Late last year, Reuters reported that the crash-reporting requirement appeared to be a focus of the Trump transition team.

In many ways, Tesla—and perhaps DOGE—is distinctive. “Tesla also uniquely engages with the public and is such a cause célèbre that they don’t have to do their own marketing. I think that also entails some special responsibility. Lots of claims are made on behalf of Tesla,” says Walker Smith, the law professor. “I think it engages selectively and opportunistically and does not correct sufficiently.”

Proponents of DOGE, like those of Tesla, engage enthusiastically on Musk’s platform, X, applauded by Musk himself. The two entities have at least one other thing in common: ProPublica recently reported that there is a new employee at the US Department of Transportation—a former Tesla senior counsel.

[jokeroutsubs]

[📝 ENG Translation] Kris Guštin: Such a pace is unsustainable if you intoxicate yourself

Original article written by Katja Cah, published on 14.12.2024 in Nedelo. English translation by @kurooscoffee, review by drumbeat, proofread by @flowerlotus8

Full article below the cut 👇

For parents, there's nothing worse than the fact that you're gone.

Kris Guštin says that at home, both parents are equally prepared to jump in the car at any time and come pick him up, but in reality,it's most often done by his father, Miha Guštin — Gušti.

The guitarist of the band Joker Out is not among those musicians who walk on the edge, at least when it comes to drinking and getting intoxicated, in combination with driving a car. He shared with us how he and his father Miha Guštin — Gušti became ambassadors of the initiative 'Heroji furajo v pižamah' ('Heroes drive in pajamas').

The project 'Heroes drive in their pajamas' by Zavod Vozim is entering its eighth season. n this season, they wish to highlight the importance of strong relationships and trust between young people and their parents, and also to strengthen social responsibility when it comes to the reduction of driving under the influence of alcohol. The core message of the initiative is that the greatest heroes are sober individuals who come to pick up someone who's "merry", even in the middle of the night and in their pyjamas. Such help has been repeatedly received by 24-year-old chemical engineering graduate Kris Guštin.

What was the most decisive factor for you and your father Miha Guštin - Gušti, who's also a successful musician, guitarist and author, to step into the shoes of ambassadors? Who inspired whom?

Kris: I know the 'Heroes drive in pajamas' campaign because I was already impressed by it two years ago. Bojan¹ [Cvjetićanin, lead singer of Joker Out] was an ambassador then, and I was able to observe first-hand how it all worked. About two months ago, we got a call from Luna, the agency running the campaign. They invited me and my father to join the campaign as its main faces.

¹Bojan’s ad for the campaign ‘Heroji furajo v pižamah’ ('Heroes drive in pajamas') is available at this link.

Do you primarily mean that young people, if they've been drinking alcohol, should call their parents to come pick them up, provided their parents are sober?

Exactly. I think they chose the right father - son duo. (smile) We have a very good relationship, and we often automatically find ourselves at the same party.

Your mother, Chantal van Mourik Guštin, was, because your father was a member of the well-known rock band Big Foot Mama when she met him, always accustomed to the social gatherings that the rock 'n' roll world brings. In that world, it is somewhat taken for granted that something stronger is also drunk at a party. What kind of attitude towards alcohol exists in your house?

Alcohol is, whether we like it or not, often present not only in the Slovenian music scene but also in the global music scene. From a young age, I observed and accompanied my father on his professional journey, so I often saw people who consumed more or less alcohol at events. In contrast, my parents have always strictly insisted that there is no heavy drinking in our house, especially not in the presence of us children.

Even later in life, when I was legally allowed to drink alcohol, I didn't abuse it. I have always — and this still applies today — consumed alcohol only in the presence of people I trust. At the same time, I know I can call my parents anytime if I need their help. After all, when I was 13, my mum already said to me, just in case: "Nothing is ever so bad that you cannot tell me." That still applies today.

Do you have anyone in your close circle of family or friends who has had problems due to alcohol, including in connection with a traffic accident?

Fortunately, no.

Who in your household deserves the main title of heroic driver in pajamas?

It's a bit unfair to have to compare my parents. The fact is, they were always equally ready to jump in the car and come pick me up at any time. In reality, however, it was my father who did it more often, because he usually goes to bed later; for that reason, I always preferred to direct the first call to him.

How did your mum react to the news that she lives under the same roof as two ambassadors?

(smile) She was actually the first to forward me the email inquiry about whether we would be interested. After I suggested it to her, she said: “Of course!” and it seemed completely natural, logical; it seems like the entire campaign was tailor-made for me and my father. After my mum forwarded me the email, she probably already knew that my or our answer would be yes.

You also have a younger sister, Maja, and a brother, Maks. Would you dare to claim that everyone in the family who already has a driver’s licence is an exemplary 0.0 driver?

Regarding myself and other members of my family — besides me and my parents, my brother also has a licence — I can say that we always drive sober. I feel extremely uncomfortable just at the thought of getting behind the wheel even slightly intoxicated. It’s not just about legal obligations but also my guilty conscience. Of course, every now and then you can drink a deciliter of wine at the table after lunch. At that point, it's hard to talk about a perfect 0.0 drive, but it probably still falls within the field of what's allowed.

How did your siblings react to the new roles that you and your father have taken on?

The other day, we laughed at a family lunch about how quickly and effortlessly everything happened. The posters and campaign videos completely surprised us, which also attracted their attention.

What would you especially emphasise to your peers regarding a safe return from a party?

Certainly, first of all, they should rely on their parents if at all possible. This is sometimes easier said than done because relationships between parents and children are often complicated, and we sometimes feel that there are certain things we cannot tell them or ask of them. You have to remember that parents will never be as angry with you or as disappointed because you were drunk or under the influence of drugs and therefore couldn’t get home on your own, as they would be — God forbid — if they received a call saying that you’re gone. There's nothing worse than that.

In December, when musicians have the most performances, many people are “under the influence.” How much intoxication of any kind happens in the group Joker Out?

As far as consuming anything that can intoxicate you, we are very conservative. This has been the case since we started performing professionally and frequently; in practice, this meant about five performances per week. Such a tempo is not sustainable in the long run if you're drinking or getting intoxicated before or after events. That’s exactly why, especially in recent years, we have firmly pulled the handbrake. Backstage, instead of wine and beer, we prefer vitamin waters and ginger shots. (smile) We might indulge in alcohol as an exception after a concert on a Friday when we know that the next day we won’t have any obligations; besides, we always have our own driver at concerts.

It seems that, as an ambassador for the 'Heroes drive in their pajamas' initiative, you're not under extraordinary pressure, as this has long been your lifestyle anyway.

Of course. Honestly, the only thing that was different for me was that we dedicated one day to photographing and filming promotional ads for this campaign. Even that could have happened on any ordinary day when we have a concert.

When a life is cut short too soon because someone was driving drunk, it's extremely tragic and sad. Do you remember any case that particularly shocked you?

Yes, it happened about ten years ago. I know the brother of a teenage girl who, in Bežigrad, where we lived at the time, was hit and killed in the middle of the day by a driver who was under the influence of various substances, including alcohol. This deeply shook me, especially when I saw how terribly that event affected the entire family. It tore them apart.

Something like this can happen to anyone on any day if we're not careful and responsible enough.

Undoubtedly, that’s why it’s necessary to raise awareness about these things, because once the damage is done, it’s too late to fix it.

Kris’ and Miha’s ad for the campaign ‘Heroji furajo v pižamah’ ('Heroes drive in pajamas') is available at this link.