The Workshop

In the area of road safety there is a growing interest in policy-related research. The complex nature of this type of research combined with the observation that scientific journals pay limited attention to this type of research is the basis for SWOV to organise a workshop on Scientific Research on Road Safety Management and to publish the results of this workshop in a special issue of the peer reviewed journal Safety Science.

The need for scientific research on policymaking
We can observe a growing interest in, and an increasing wealth of information coming from, road safety research globally in recent decades. Road safety research mostly concentrates on rather specific, sometimes narrow themes, even more so when we see articles in several scientific journals. Many journals give space to publishing empirical research or to report on the results of pilot studies, small-scale experiments, etc. This research does indeed increase our knowledge and understanding and is certainly needed. However, additional work is required to translate these findings into effective policymaking.

A deep understanding of the research designs and the results is needed to establish working ingredients of (composite) interventions before deciding how these results can be applied in other conditions and settings, or before applying the findings to policymaking in other countries or jurisdictions.

Sound methods for ex-post and ex-ante evaluations
The design and evaluation of road safety programmes does not seem to be popular amongst researchers. This also applies to research which supports policymaking directly, suggesting that also designers of road safety policies make limited or no use of such studies. This can be illustrated by the fact that in many highly motorised countries significant improvements in road safety have been achieved although most countries have a limited understanding of the real reasons behind this progress, let alone a comprehensive insight into the impacts of implemented policies.

For several reasons this type of research is very complicated in nature. It is not easy to assess the safety impacts of policies using standard methodologies and which also meet the exacting requirements needed for scientific research. But, at the same time we welcome positive interests from policy makers and designers of road safety programmes in so-called ex-ante and ex-post evaluation. One of the reasons behind this is that a growing number of countries are using quantitative targets for policymaking, and as a consequence, have an explicit wish to monitor their progress over the years.

This helps them understand why progress has been made or why there has been a lack of progress. From this, countries can determine whether it is realistic that road safety targets will be met or whether intensified efforts are required to meet these targets.

Practical information
SWOV is organizing a workshop in the Netherlands, which will start on Monday 16 November at 9 a.m. and will continue until 2 p.m. on the following day. Welcome and registration is on Sunday 15 November late afternoon/early evening. Participation is free of charge.

At the workshop there will be around 10 presentations. These presentations will be based on written manuscripts and discussed by one or two referees. The workshop will be attended by invited delegates only. Around a maximum of 50 researchers and policymakers will attend this workshop. This quota allows us to have an active interaction between all participants and ensures high quality discussions.

The organisation of the workshop is in hands of a Scientific Committee, consisting of Richard Allsop, Shalom Hakkert and Andrew Hale as well as SWOV researchers Marjan Hagenzieker and Paul Wesemann, chaired by myself.  Based on the presentations and the workshop a special issue will be prepared for the scientific journal Safety Science. I shall act as editor in my capacity as associate editor.

Professor Fred Wegman