Vulnerable road users
Vulnerable road users run a higher risk of being severely injured than other road users because they travel unprotected, at a slow speed, and have small mass. Of all modes of transport that do not have a protective shell, i.e. pedestrians, cyclists, moped and light-moped riders, and motorcyclists, pedestrians are the most vulnerable. Irrespective of their mode of transport, the over-75s have the highest risk of being killed.
The least sensitive to traffic injury are the occupants of motorized four-wheelers: cars, delivery vans, lorries, and buses. They are protected by their vehicle and, what is more, their vehicle has a large mass. Occupants of a heavier vehicle are usually at an advantage in a crash. Besides this, motorized four and two-wheelers have the power to move at a high speed. At speeds higher than 30 km/hour, they are a threat to unprotected road users. At a collision speed of 30 km/hour, 90% of the pedestrians survive a crash with a car, but a collision speed of 45 km/hour reduces their chances of survival to less than 50%.
A traffic system only deserves to be called 'sustainably safe' if the vulnerability of the various road users is as small as possible. This means that large differences in mass and speed should be avoided by separating the various modes of transport as much as possible.
For more details: Fact sheet Vulnerable road users (pdf)