Twenty-five years ago, Sustainable Safety was introduced: a shared vision of governments and road safety professionals to tackle road hazards in the Netherlands. In 2005, a first update of the vision for the period up to 2020 followed, which, a few years later, was followed by an evaluation of the implementation and effectiveness of Sustainable Safety until then.
In recent decades the implementation of various Sustainable Safety measures has contributed to a considerable reduction in the number of road crash casualties in the Netherlands. However, there are still more than 600 road deaths and an estimated number of more than 20,000 serious road injuries per year. In addition, various societal developments have a direct or indirect effect on our traffic system. That is why, 25 years after the birth of Sustainable Safety – and 12.5 years after the first update – it is time to critically reassess the vision again. We have named this updated vision 'Sustainable Safety version 3'.
The basis of the vision update is presented in two background reports. The first report (Part 1) outlines the context for the update. Three topics have been studied: the current traffic (safety) situation, the societal trends that may have an effect on road safety, and the most important ideas for the future. The second report (Part 2) discusses the foundation and substantive elaboration of Sustainable Safety version 3 itself, more specifically on the basis of five (partially new) safety principles.
With this update of Sustainable Safety we look forward to the period 2018-2030. In doing so, we will follow various national and international developments, such as the Dutch Road Safety Manifesto signed by dozens of organizations in April 2017 and the OECD call for a safe system approach in road traffic. Sustainable Safety aims to provide a substantiated framework for the further development of national road safety policy such as this will takes shape later in 2018 in the Strategic Plan Road Safety 2030.
The substantive foundation of this 3rd version of Sustainable Safety has been formed by elaborating the various layers that the vision consists of:
The elaboration of these layers (especially the first three) results in, among others, five updated Sustainable Safety road safety principles. These will be summarized below. The first three principles build on the earlier design principles of Sustainable Safety: functionality of roads, the (bio)mechanical principles of homogeneity and physical forgivingness, and the psychological principles predictability of road design and state awareness. The other principles in this 3rd version – responsibility and learning and innovation – are new and are organization principles necessary to achieve, maintain and improve a sustainably safe road traffic. Each principle has room for both customization and phased solutions, with special emphasis on vulnerable road users (such as cyclists and the elderly).
The public space consists of residence areas and traffic space. Ideally, the road sections and intersections in the traffic space have only one traffic function for all modes of transport (monofunctionality): flow or exchange/access. These two functions cannot safely be combined. The residential area function can only be combined safely with the traffic function 'exchange'.
The traffic function is the basis for a safe road structure and the safe use of roads. Ideally, the road network has a hierarchical and efficient construction of traffic functions, and is formed by three types of roads: through roads, distributor roads and access roads.
Ideally, traffic flows and modes of transport are matched in speed, direction of travel, mass, size and degree of protection. This (bio)mechanical compatibility is supported by the road design and a forgiving environment, protection of the vehicle and, where necessary, additional protective devices. This means that in case of a flow function incompatible modes of transport are separated and obstacles are removed or shielded. In case of an exchange function the traffic speed is safely adapted to the most vulnerable road user group.
Cyclists deserve special attention by taking account of their specific characteristics in the road design with respect to a road surface that offers sufficient skid resistance and a road and environment without obstacles and elements that are disruptive for their balance. In addition, serious injury in this category of road users can be prevented by providing adequate protection for the cyclist.
To prevent errors of road users, the traffic system must be well-tuned to their natural skills, in particular those of older road users. This means that information provided by road design, environment, traffic signs and regulations, and information provided inside the vehicle is psychologically compatible by being perceptible, comprehensible, credible, relevant and feasible for elderly and thus for (nearly) all road users. In addition, the traffic system ideally has been designed in such a way that safe behavioural choices depend on individual choices of road users or their environment as little as possible.
Furthermore, road users are competent and capable of safely balancing their own task competence and the requirements of the traffic task. They are also capable as much as possible of adjusting their (behavioural) choices to their own task competence and task requirements on both strategic and tactical level of behaviour. To achieve this, road users must be adequately informed, educated and trained. Road users whose task competence is still in development – e.g. children and young people – or people who (temporarily) are not competent enough, are to take part in traffic under the supervision of competent adults, or under less demanding conditions. Ideally, road safety is made less dependent on the individual choices of road users or their social environment. Road users who are (temporarily) not competent, are supported in their behavioural choices by technological tools or they are kept out of traffic.
Responsibilities are assigned and institutionally anchored in such a way that maximum road safety for all road users is guaranteed. In principle, adult road users keep to the rules and are a good example for children and youths. At the same time, a forgiving layout of the system ensures that they will not be punished with serious injury for their errors and weaknesses.
In a sustainably safe road traffic system the Central Government is responsible for the system as a whole (system responsibility), and therefore responsible for the final result. The operational responsibility lies with the many organizations that (can) fulfill a role in the construction and maintenance of parts of a sustainably safe traffic system. The Government has this role mainly as a road authority, legislator, enforcer and information provider. In these roles, the Government ensures that all efforts are based on the human characteristics. Furthermore, the market has a role through the vehicle industry, but also through other products that may affect road safety. Ideally, employers offer safe working conditions and contribute to a safety culture. Societal organisations can encourage parties to take sufficient initiatives to protect or improve the road safety of their constituencies.
Improvement (= innovation) of the road traffic system is based on knowledge about the prevalence of risks and on what can be learned from the research of road safety indicators. Researchers find information about crash mechanisms through in-depth research of at least all fatal road crashes and linking various data sources. Policy makers and scientists define, investigate and monitor surrogate safety measures such as risk factors and conflicts, possibly also on the basis of signals from citizens. Better understanding of the occurrence of crashes and the factors and conditions that can affect road safety, makes it possible for traffic professionals to develop (Plan) and implement (Do) effective system innovations. Researchers evaluate whether and under what conditions these innovations are indeed effective (Check) and if necessary policy makers adapt policy based on these insights (Act).
In addition to a substantive improvement of knowledge, organizations also ensure that this knowledge closely meets their needs and possibilities, within the organization as well as between organizations. In this process Government, market and knowledge parties work together, with the cooperation being aimed at continuous professionalisation of traffic employees (education traffic professionals).
The updated Sustainable Safety principles must eventually be elaborated into concrete measures to reduce the number of crashes and casualties. In addition, it should be investigated which topics still require further study. These steps are the core of an elaboration programme with two main components: a Sustainable Safety Research and Knowledge Agenda and a Sustainable Safety Continued Programme, with accents that are particularly aimed at improving safety of vulnerable road users (cyclists, elderly).