MANAGING ROAD TRANSPORT RISKS

In the Netherlands, as in most other countries in the world, car mobility is increasing rapidly. The accident rates are decreasing, but the decrease is not large enough to compensate for the extra road traffic victims brought about by the increased mobility. Without strong, innovating efforts the number of road traffic victims will increase and the Dutch road safety targets (minus 50% fatalities and minus 40% serious injuries in 2010 compared to 1986) will be out of reach. Therefore, in the early nineties the concept of “sustainable safety” was introduced with the aim to give road safety a new impulse. In a sustainably-safe traffic environment, road infrastructure is, first and for all, designed in such a way that the chance of an accident occurring is very limited. Secondly, if an accident cannot be prevented, the chance of serious injury will be markedly reduced. A very important characteristic of a sustainably-safe traffic system is that all relevant characteristics of infrastructure, vehicle and traffic regulations are maximally tuned to the capabilities and limitations of the road users as well as their acceptance of the measures. The article discusses the sustainable safety principles and measures and the organisational and financial framework. It also provides an estimate of the expected benefits in terms of road traffic fatalities. It is estimated that a successful implementation of sustainable safety measures could indeed result in the targeted 50% reduction in road traffic fatalities, even when the number of vehicle kilometres double. The use of quantitative road safety targets is considered to have created a positive, open climate for these types of new and innovating policies.