Road safety is one of the highest priorities for highway
and public realm professionals. Even though the number of
accidents is decreasing, more than 2,500 people were killed
on the roads in 2009.
| The aims are: |
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Road safety for all users. |
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Reducing the number and severity of accidents. |
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Ensuring drivers travel with care and attention suitable
for the road environment they find. |
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Balancing the need for speed cameras, road design,
road signs and lines with cost and effectiveness. |
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| Designing for safe highways and all public
realm |
| 70% of all accidents are the result of
driver error. If the road is perfectly safe for the majority
of drivers, could anything be done to the design of the
road to make it safe for everyone. |
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| Are safe looking roads, unsafe? |
| Safe looking roads may encourage drivers
to relax, stop thinking and so take more risks. |
There are also many examples of
highway junctions that look dangerous but have good safety
records.
People may take more care when they consider the road
to be dangerous. They make constant judgements about
the situation rather than assuming they will be safe. |
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| Road safety equipment clutter the
highway and public realm and confuse the driver. |
| Excessive amounts of road safety features
can create a confusing highway and ambiguity for the
driver. |
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| Managing the process for safe
highway design & assessing risk |
Safety Audits are used to assess
the likely safety risk of highway design. Quality audits,
advocated by Manual for Streets, balance safety audits
with a respect for the quality of place.
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| Wider contextual issues
affect highway safety |
| Behavioural, cultural and physical environment
affect the safety of roads. Psychological traffic calming
can manage safety, improve streetscapes and create a
balance between all road users |
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