Summary - Effects of Swedish Traffic Safety Research 1971 - 2004

Traffic accidents pose a significant social problem. Costs for people killed and injured in 2005 have been estimated to exceed 29 billions Swedish crowns. To this number should be added considerable human pain. However, the ongoing development as regards traffic safety is positive. During the period 1970-2004, the number of fatalities per year has been reduced to one third, from 1307 to 440 per year, despite the fact that the amount of traffic has more than doubled in this period. This positive development includes unprotected road-users as well as drivers and passengers in vehicles. Furthermore, it is assumed that this positive development will continue. The present impact analysis demonstrates that research on traffic safety has had a great impact on the increase of traffic safety. Full report available: http://www.vinnova.se/upload/EPiStorePDF/va-07-10.pdf Language: en