Sustainable Safety in the Netherlands

Abstract

This paper deals with prevention of human errors by proper road planning, road design, and improvement of existing roads within the framework of the Dutch Sustainable Safety vision. This vision focuses on three design principles for road networks and for roads and streets: functionality, homogeneity, and predictability. The ambition is to reduce considerably the number of crashes and casualties and maintain the Netherlands as one of the countries with the best road safety records. This vision was launched at the beginning of the 1990s and accepted as a formal part of Dutch policies in the mid-1990s. It resulted in a so-called Start-Up Program on Sustainable Safety, not only addressing the planning and design of road infrastructure but strongly emphasizing those aspects. Contents of the start-up program are described as the process leading to implementation. An overview presents different (road infrastructure) components of the start-up program and the estimated effects on road crashes. These components are functional road classification, 30-km/h zones and 60-km/h zones, safety of two-wheelers, and roundabouts. Evaluation studies suggest a 6% reduction in the number of fatalities and hospitalizations. Lessons learned will be used in defining the next phase. The start-up program has been used to draft new guidelines and recommendations for road planning and road design. An introduction of that is given. Finally, some thoughts are given about the next phase: how to proceed under circumstances in which fewer public funds will become available.