Abstract
Safety inspectorates have been established for all modes of transport in Norway. This paper explores whether establishing a safety inspectorate is related to safety performance. Long-term trends in safety in aviation and rail were compared before and after safety inspectorates were established for these modes of transport. In aviation, there have been no passenger fatalities after the safety inspectorate was established. The number of (non-fatal) accidents in scheduled and charter flights has been between zero and five per year, which is higher than predicted according to the long-term trend in the period before the safety inspectorate was created. In rail, both the number of accidents and the number of passenger fatalities have been lower after the creation of the safety inspectorate than predicted according to long-term trends in the before-period. The paper shows statistical relationships indicating that safety performance has improved, at least in rail transport. A causal interpretation of these relationships is not possible on the basis of the analyses in this paper. Establishing safety inspectorates may improve transport safety, but showing this rigorously is extremely difficult.
Highlights
Safety management in transport has changed substantially in the past 15–20 years
The NSB was in charge of everything that had to do with railways
The objective of this paper is to assess whether the creation of independent safety inspectorates in Norway, in particular in aviation and rail, is associated with changes in the long-term trends in safety in these modes of transport
Summary
Safety management in transport has changed substantially in the past 15–20 years. The organization of transport policy agencies has changed in many countries, in particular by establishing separate organizations for: (1) the development and maintenance of infrastructure; (2) regulation of transport operators; (3) safety management. The mainline railways in Norway used to be operated as a vertically integrated state monopoly (Norwegian State Railways, abbreviated NSB in Norwegian). In 1996, the NSB was split into three organizations: The National Rail Administration, which manages infrastructure (tracks, signals, stations) and issues permissions to operate trains. Independent safety inspectorates in transport are a comparatively recent phenomenon in Norway.
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