Safe System Approach - the expectations and challenges 09 May Ilona Buttler Motor Transport Institute (PL)

Transcription

1 Safe System Approach - the expectations and challenges 09 May 2014 Ilona Buttler Motor Transport Institute (PL)

2 Content: Short description of the Safe System Approach; Review of Ralf Risser s Looking back summary; Topics for discussion: traffic psychology challenges

3 Safe System Approach The Safe System Approach to road safety was adopted in principle in Australia in It had its first larger-scale presentation in 2006 in an OECD publication Towards Zero. Ambitious Road Safety Targets and the Safe System Approach. Safe System Approach is the basis of actions supported under the Global Decade of Action for Road Safety Plan and appears in the European Union documents, although still symbolically. The Safe System Approach and its predecessors, Vision Zero and Sustainable Safety, represent a substantial shift in how road safety problems and solutions are conceived. Source: Eric Howard (2009): Vision Zero and the Safe Systems Approach : An International Perspective. October 14,

4 Safe System Approach Source: Goverment of South Australia: Towards Zero Together South Australia s Road Safety Strategy

5 Safe System Principles Human Factors people make mistakes, we will not solve the road safety problem simply by improving road users and the road transport system needs to accommodate this; Human Frailty the finite capacity of the human body to withstand physical force before a serious injury or fatality can be expected is a core system design consideration; Forgiving Systems roads that we travel on, vehicles we travel in, speeds we travel at, and communities we live in need to be more forgiving of human error; Shared Responsibility everyone has a responsibility to use the road safely with organisations, businesses and communities taking responsibility for designing, managing and encouraging safe use of the road transport system

6 Evidence based interventions Safer Road Users informing and educating users about safe use of the road, and taking action against those who do not comply with the rules; Safer Roads designing, constructing and maintaining roads and roadsides to reduce the risk of crashes, and minimise the severity of injury if a crash occurs; Safer Vehicles designing and maintaining vehicles to minimise the risk of crashes, and the severity of injury to motor vehicle occupants, pedestrians, and cyclists if a crash occurs; Safer Speeds setting speed limits that take into account the level of risk on the road network and the benefits of lower speeds in minimising the incidence and severity of injury in the event of a crash

7 Results-focussed management Funding & resources allocation; Knowledge transfer; Research & development; Monitoring & evaluation; Legislation; Coordination; Promotion. + problems with securing political and public support and with involving the public in preventive actions

8 Traffic psychology Traffic Psychology, referred to by Rothengatter (1997) as: - the study of the behaviour of road users and the psychological processes underlying that behaviour, attempts to identify determinants of road user behaviour with the aim of developing effective accident countermeasures. Source: Rothengatter, T. (1997). Psychological aspects of road user behaviour. Applied Psychology: an International Review, 46(3),

9 Looking back (Berlin 2013) "Those who do not know their history will repeat it" Objectives and goals: Contribution towards halving road traffic fatalities within the EU; To encourage discussion & build bridges between international experts, organisations & institutions, and disciplines; To discuss requirements in which best possible way to give support for individual mobility in harmony with safety demands of society. Ralf Risser

10 Number of road accidents' fatalities Road safety trends in the EU rd Road Safety Action Plan Real numbers Road safety target 4th Road Safety Policy Orientation The causes: improved vehicle design and equipment (ITS), more effective police enforcement, to a lesser degree - better road infrastructure and economic crisis. Source: CARE (October 2013)

11 Build bridges between international experts, organisations & institutions, and disciplines

12 Problems with knowledge transfer Glendon (2011) identified 174 theories, conceptual frameworks, or models that had some identifiable psychological component or orgin. No single theoretical framework for traffic psychology research, but rather several competing models. Source: Glendon, A. I. (2011): Traffic Psychology, in IAAP Handbook of Applied Psychology (eds P. R. Martin, F. M. Cheung, M. C. Knowles, M. Kyrios, J. B. Overmier and J. M. Prieto), Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK

13 Problems with translating psychology research into workable solutions Road safety is the domain of politicians, engineers and practitioners. Everyone is seeking knowledge that they could use in the real world to effectively manage road safety problems. But they come from a different and very practical background where learning from experience is the main learning style. These individuals are faced with the challenge of implementing psychology-driven recommendations

14 Road infrastructure Our road network is still unsafe. Improving road infrastructure safety can be achieved by making roads self-explaining and forgiving. Traffic systems having self-explaining properties are designed in such a way that they are in line with the expectations of the road user. (Theeuwes J. Godthelp H; 1995). Source: Theeuwes J., Godthelp H. (1995): Self-explaining roads. Safety Science 19 (1995)

15 Road infrastructure The ERASER project (ERA net Road Program) focuses on self - explaining European roads and trying to bridge the gap between the fundamental knowledge of self explaining roads and the practical experience. self-explaining roads (SER) means different things to different people, no guidelines on how SER can be used Theeuwes and Godthelp s definition is largely theoretical and, where it is practically applied, it is based on road categorisation principles. Source: SWOV & et. (2010): SER and SER Approaches: State-of-art. Road ERA net project

16 Self-explaining roads In practice the term SERs has evolved to include many aspects of innovative highway engineering, the concepts of intuitive and understandable design, consistency, readability and traffic calming. Self-explaining road categorisation (Homogeneity within and heterogeneity between road categories) Source: SWOV & et. (2010): SER and SER Approaches: State-of-art. Road ERA net project

17 Vehicle to support or improve the execution of traffic tasks & provide crash protection. Shift from manual tasks towards a highly or even fully automated driving system (self-driving cars)

18 New vehicles new problems new driving tasks (some traditional driver tasks are picked up by in-vehicle equipment), freeing up the capacity for conducting other non-driving tasks while driving, distraction, overload and, behavioural adaptation, problems of older people with making an effective use of in-vehicle ITS, problems as a result of how drivers interact (different ways to drive due to different vehicle equipment), problems of data protection and liability for accidents, etc

19 Conclusions (1) Road safety is currently undergoing change: new philosophy: Safe System Approach, stronger pressure than before on implementing evidence-based and effective preventive measures, stronger pressure on implementing results focussed road safety management system

20 Conclusions (2) Concerning traffic psychology: knowledge should be transferred and promoted better, research findings must be translated into recommendations that can be used in practice; developing guidelines for psychological assessment of preventive measures from different fields; close collaboration of traffic psychologists with representatives of other disciplines when developing specific measures, implementing and evaluating them; research to include road safety management

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