As part of its road safety campaign, MAPFRE Middlesea has launched a campaign to finance the repainting of pedestrian crossings in several localities.

"The number of vehicles on the road is on the rise and so are road accidents. Drivers and pedestrians alike need to be made aware of safety measures.  Pedestrian crossings need to be visible and clearly signed - this is why we have decided to implement this initiative," MAPFRE Middlesea's CEO Felipe Navarro said.

The Insurance Company has reached agreements with three popular localities - Floriana, Sliema and St Julians and works on the pedestrian crossings have started, and are expected to continue throughout the year.  MAPFRE Middlesea has also decided to go a step further and include the 'Look Right' and 'Look Left' instruction on the pedestrian crossing - to prevent foreigners from being confused on which way to look when crossing the road.

"The St Julian's Local Council would like to show its gratitude towards MAPFRE Middlesea, for kindly offering to finance maintenance work on a number of zebra crossings found in the principle roads of St Julian's,"  Executive Secretary Paul Spiteri said.

This initiative forms part of a wider campaign which aims at raising awareness on road safety through various platforms.  This campaign includes Street Smart, which has been launched for the third consecutive year, this time broadcasting road safety awareness episode on a national television station.  In previous years, several workshops were held in over 60 schools, with a reach of over 4,000 primary school students.  The right use of pedestrian crossings was one of the topics highlighted during such workshops.

Such initiatives are in line with MAPFRE's zero accident campaign in various countries.