Graphic campaign highlights hazards of falling

Tripping on the curb or stumbling down the steps may seem trivial but such accidents cost Swiss insurance companies hundreds of millions of francs every year.

It’s no laughing matter, although the non-profit insurance company Suva has adopted a playful approach to spreading awareness about the problem in a campaign launched this week.

As part of the kickoff it commissioned celebrated British pavement artist Julian Beever to sketch a 3D drawing in Zurich's main train station to highlight the theme.

Beever's drawing shows a man falling backwards down a flight of stairs, with a dropped soft-drink can left suspended in mid-air.

The campaign includes posters, a website, a film featuring a talking running shoe and a television ad that shows a close up of a car, which turns out to be a toy that a woman steps on, sending her flying down a flight of stairs.

An off-camera voice for the TV spot says: “There are many car accidents in Switzerland but falls cause a lot more injuries.”

Posters for the campaign reinforce the message with images of shoes that resemble cars after road accidents.

Suva, which insures 110,000 companies and two million employees and unemployed people, has a vested interest in the campaign.

Every year it pays out 640 million francs because of falls, which cost the Swiss insurance industry as a whole 950 million francs annually.

The five-year safety campaign in Francophone Switzerland is called “trébucher.ch”, using the French word for “stumble”, with equivalent versions in German and Italian.

Jean-Luc Alt, spokesman for the campaign, said most of the 295,000 falling accidents that occur annually in Switzerland can be avoided.

“It has become common practice not to pay attention,” he told Swisster.

“And not all falls result in grazed knees," he said.

Suva registers 85,000 accidents related to falls and 40 percent of the individuals concerned receive a disability pension.”

Alt said the pensions are not always for life but are often “long-term”.

A competition on the campaign website entitles entrants to take part in a draw. Prizes include a wellness weekend for two and tickets to one of the Swiss team’s qualifying matches for Euro 2012.

Suva is also providing companies with a range of prevention tools, which include guides for in-house information sessions, an accident prevention checklist and a film.

The federal department of the interior awarded its annual Edi’ d’or award to Suva’s short four-part film, which combines humour with drama and stars a training shoe.

The first episode can be viewed on Suva’s website.

Alt said Suva set its target of decreasing fall-related accidents by five percent – or a total of 12,000 annually - on the results of past prevention campaigns.

“We won’t achieve a reduction of five percent in the first year,” he said. “But we’re hoping for two or three percent.”

Alt said the company hopes to save 82 million francs as a result.

“For Suva, it is very important to make these savings because we are a non-profit company with no shareholders:  if we cut our costs, we can – and must – lower our clients’ insurance premiums.”

Suva-insured companies that do not implement accident prevention schemes pay higher insurance premiums.

Alt said the public underestimates the number of accidents resulting from falls. Suva divides the causes of these accidents into three categories: technical, organisational and individual.

Technical causes include slippery floors, inappropriate footwear or insufficient lighting, while factors such as insufficient risk awareness, untidy workplaces and the absence of clear instructions are among “organisational” causes.

Sixty per cent of falling accidents are due to untidiness, uncleanliness and defective infrastructures, Suva says.

Making phone calls and sending text messages while walking, leaving objects lying around and general inattention are among the “individual” causes of falling and tripping.

The number of falls has increased in recent years but Alt believes that is due to rising population figures, particularly in the 20- to 65-year-old age group, rather than to individuals becoming more careless.