After a positive period 2000-2006, the most recent data about behaviours that are relevant for road safety (e.g. drink-driving, seatbelt use, red light running, and speeding on certain road types) have not shown further improvement in 2007. This may be a first indication of a stagnation of road safety improvement in the Netherlands. This is one of the conclusions the Institute for Road Safety Research SWOV draws in its report Road Safety in 2007: is a standstill a step backwards?
The notion of a standstill is confirmed by recent Ministry of Transport data about the development of the number of in-patients. The data for 2007 show an increase compared with the years 2004, 2005 and 2006.
The number of traffic casualties has been declining during the past decades. In 2004, a remarkable and sudden decline could be observed. During the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 the decline continued, be it slowly, to arrive at 791 fatalities. In 2005, 2006 en 2007, the crash rate showed a further decrease, particularly among car passengers. However, the crash rate for pedestrians, (light) moped riders, and motorcyclists did increase in 2007. No precise explanation for these developments can be given, but they are caused by changes in mobility, traffic behaviour, vehicle safety, infrastructural safety, enforcement, and other factors.
The relatively favourable developments in relation with the number of fatalities have prompted a lower policy target of a maximum of 500 road traffic fatalities in 2020. SWOV recommends an extra forceful implementation of road safety policy to make reaching this target possible. Here, the fields infrastructure and enforcement take very important positions.
Concerning infrastructure, there is no clear picture about the extent to which different measures have been introduced. SWOV emphasizes the importance of good information on this point and supports the Minister of Transports intention to make an inventory of the effects of measures. Concerning enforcement it is necessary this is kept at least the present level and to optimize it further wherever possible.
SWOV believes that the data about the above-mentioned most relevant traffic behaviours (based on data provided by regional enforcement teams) not showing an improvement, is due to the fact that barely any new measures were taken. In 2007 the increase in enforcement efforts has come to a standstill, or may have declined. There seems to be a standstill and in this case a standstill could mean a decline.
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