Adopting Recommendations of a Road Safety Management Capacity Review: addressing a tragic decade of road safety in Romania

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 85-97
Author(s):  
Raphael Grzebieta ◽  
Radoslaw Czapski ◽  
Florentina Alina Burlacu ◽  
Chika Sakashita ◽  
R.F. Soames Job ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Annual Number ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Speed Limits ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
Road Fatality ◽  
Traffic Law Enforcement ◽  
Speed Enforcement

This article outlines a capacity review of Romania’s national road infrastructure and road safety in general. Romania’s road fatality rate per 100,000 population has improved overall from a 2008 high of around 15 to the current 2019 value of 9.6. However, the rate has flat-lined with no real improvement for the last decade, stalling at around 9.7 over the period 2011- 2019 and around double the EU rate. Moreover, Romania’s total annual number of road deaths has remained at an average of around 1900 fatalities per annum over this period. Romania has been the worst performing country in the European Union (EU) in recent years, and one of the worst performing countries compared to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations in terms of road safety. The review performed in 2016 found inadequate political leadership and commitment to effective actions to reduce road fatalities, fragmented government road safety activities across a number of regulatory entities, speed limits set at levels that exceed internationally accepted survivable limits, weak traffic law enforcement including a lack of speed enforcement cameras resulting in a failure of drivers to comply with speed limits, and a lack of structured programs to implement human error tolerant road infrastructure constructed according to Safe System principles. A series of recommendations from the capacity review were adopted (as described here) since 2016, although much remains to improve road safety in Romania.

scholarly journals Inclusive road infrastructure safety management in the settlement: An approach to improving the safety of vulnerable road users

Tehnika ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 777-781
Author(s):  
Milenko Čabarkapa
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Road Safety ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
Death Toll ◽  
Road Users ◽  
Vulnerable Road Users

In the last ten years, there has been a stabilization of traffic fatalities on the roads of the world. At the same time, the death toll of persons in the armor of vehicles was reduced, and the death toll of persons outside the armor of vehicles-vulnerable road users continued to grow. The most endangered are motorcyclists, then pedestrians and finally cyclists, both in developed countries of the European Union and in underdeveloped and developing countries. Lagging behind in reducing the fatalities of vulnerable road users requires innovation in research and the creation and implementation of new road safety management policies. In this aspect, inclusive road infrastructure safety management in the settlement can be a paradigm for the introduction and implementation of protection of vulnerable road users, persons with reduced mobility and persons with disabilities, through procedures to control road safety in the settlement, at all stages of the road life cycle: planning, design, construction and exploitation. The content of inclusive road infrastructure safety management in the settlement should include all areas of activity and all elements of the roads of the settlement, the improvement of which can raise the level of traffic safety of all users, so that the roads of the settlement are equally safe for all road users. At the same time, the risk of fatal traffic accidents on the roads of the settlement is indirectly exponentially related to the scope of the content of inclusive road infrastructure safety management in the settlement.

scholarly journals Road Safety Assessment Considering the Expected Fatal Accident Density

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-48
Author(s):  
Vilma Jasiūnienė ◽  
Rasa Vaiškūnaitė
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Safety Assessment ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Road Accident ◽  
Fatal Accident ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
The Road ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
Accident Data ◽  
Wide Road

Network-wide road safety assessment throughout the whole network is one of the four road infrastructure safety management procedures regulated by Directive 2019/1936/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 Аmending Directive 2008/96/EC on Road Infrastructure Safety Management and one of the methods for determining the direction of investment in road safety. So far, the implementation of the procedure has been lightly regulated and adapted using various road safety indicators. The paper describes the evaluation of road accident data that is one of the criteria for conducting a network-wide road safety assessment. Taking into consideration that networkwide road safety assessment is a proactive road safety activity, the paper proposes to conduct road safety assessment considering the expected fatal accident density. Such assessment makes it possible to assess the severity of accidents, and the use of the predicted road accident data on calculating the introduced road accident rate contributing to the prevention of accidents. The paper describes both the empirical Bayes method for predicting road accidents and the application of one of the road safety indicators – the expected fatal accident density – to determine five road safety categories across the road network. The paper demonstrates the application of the proposals submitted to Lithuanian highways using road accident and traffic data for the period 2014–2018.

scholarly journals STPA-Based Analysis of the Process Involved in Enforcing Road Safety in Austria

Safety ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Marianne Kraut ◽  
Ioana Victoria Koglbauer
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
System Approach ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Process Analysis ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Strategic Action ◽  
The Road

The European Commission pursues a strategic action plan using the “Safe System” approach. The function, layout and design of roads shall be coordinated in such a way that human error is compensated, and possible accidents no longer cause fatalities or serious injuries. Four fields of action are defined: people, vehicles, roads and laws. This study aims to model the process involved in road safety management in Austria based on the System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) and to identify areas of improvement that also meet these goals. This is intended to create the basis for a method that can also be applied in practice to meet the “Safe System” approach. The traffic authorities or road owners are responsible for monitoring and enforcing road safety in Austria. Their main instrument is the Road Safety Inspection (RSI) that focuses primarily on road traffic planning aspects. This study proposes a method for including human-road-vehicle interactions in RSI. The STPA-based analysis showed how the road safety management and RSI can be improved to provide more comprehensive, accurate and relevant information about hazards at various levels of the safety management structure. The results can be used for improving the safety of all road users.

scholarly journals The use of GIS tools for road infrastructure safety management

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 00009
Author(s):  
Marcin Budzyński ◽  
Wojciech Kustra ◽  
Romanika Okraszewska ◽  
Kazimierz Jamroz ◽  
Jerzy Pyrchla
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Road Safety ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Horizontal Curve ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
Risk Ranking ◽  
Gis Tools ◽  
New Research ◽  
Vital Element

There are many factors that influence accidents and their severity. They can be grouped within the system of man, vehicle and environment. The article focuses on how GIS tools can be used to manage road infrastructure safety. To ensure a better understanding and identification of road factors, GIS tools help with the acquisition of road parameter data. Their other role is helping with a clear and effective presentation of risk ranking. GIS is key to identifying high-risk sections and supports the effective communication of safety levels. This makes it a vital element of safety management. The article describes the use of GIS for the collection and visualisation of road parameter data which are not available in any of the existing databases, i.e. horizontal curve parameters. As we know from research and statistics, they are important factors that determine the safety of road infrastructure. Finally, new research is proposed as well as the possibilities for applying GIS tools for the purposes of road safety inspection.

scholarly journals New EU requirements for road infrastructure development

2021 ◽  
pp. 221-227
Author(s):  
Alla Novikova ◽  
◽  
Olga Sabanska ◽  
Alla Gerasimenko ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Safety Management ◽  
Road Transport ◽  
Final Report ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
European Regulations ◽  
Funded Project ◽  
The Eu

The current situation is considered on the development of safe and secure parking areas for trucks in Europe. The reports of the International Road Transport Union were analyzed on the European Union-funded project on Safe and secure truck parking areas for trucks in Europe and a final report on the study of safe and secure places for truck parking in the EU. The analysis of European regulations is carried out on road infrastructure safety management, specification of truck parking zones, rules of working time and rest of the driver, as well as Ukrainian legislation on these issues. Recommendations for possible measures to improve the legislation of Ukraine are provided in terms of establishing the SSTPA in view of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

scholarly journals Road Infrastructure Analysis with Reference to Traffic Stream Characteristics and Accidents: An Application of Benchmarking Based Safety Analysis and Sustainable Decision-Making

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 2320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syyed Adnan Raheel Shah ◽  
Naveed Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
The Road ◽  
Funding Mechanism ◽  
Safety Improvement

Road infrastructure sustainability is directly associated with the safety of human beings. As a transportation engineer and policymaker, it is necessary to optimize the funding mechanism for road safety improvement by identifying problematic road segments. Infrastructure improvement is one of the key targets for efficient road safety management. In this study, data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique has been applied in combination with a geographical information system (GIS) to evaluate the risk level of problematic segments of a 100 km-long motorway (M-2) section. Secondly, the cross efficient method has been used to rank the risky segments for prioritization and distribution of funding to improve the road safety situation. This study will help in efficiently identifying the risky segments for safety improvement and budget allocation prioritization. GIS map will further improve the visualization and visibility of problematic segments to easily locate the riskiest segments of the motorway.

scholarly journals ANALYSIS OF PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS IN POLAND

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (50) ◽  
pp. 11-21
Author(s):  
DASZYKOWSKI M ◽  
◽  
SIEDLECKA S ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Technical Condition ◽  
Traffic Light ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
The Road ◽  
Average Value ◽  
Road Users ◽  
Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian crossings today are an indispensable element of the road infrastructure. There are more and more of them. The reason for this state of affairs is the constantly constant level of pedestrian intensity and the need to change the path of the footpath. Pedestrian accidents occur as a result of many factors related to weather conditions or the technical condition of the vehicle. However, in Poland, most often the event happens due to human error, then the driver of a car or a pedestrian. In addition, the high accident rate depends on poor road infrastructure. Unfortunately, a pedestrian is the victim of every third accident in our country. Pedestrians are among the group of vulnerable road users in which participation in an accident has very serious consequences. The importance of this problem can be demonstrated by the fact that 270,000 pedestrians are killed on the world's roads every year. Globally, almost 22% of all fatalities are from pedestrian accidents, and this is an average value, as there are countries where this percentage exceeds 66%. Pedestrian safety is a serious problem on Polish roads. In Poland, most pedestrian accidents occur at pedestrian crossings. This is where pedestrians and vehicles cross, creating a risk of collisions between these road users. These accidents are caused by insufficient visibility of the driver and pedestrians. The analysis of police statistics made it possible to assess the effectiveness of factors aimed at improving road safety at pedestrian crossings. The main one is traffic light. Thanks to him, pedestrian crossings are safer. A big problem, which is still significant, is the concentration of pedestrian’s attention on phone screens. To prevent collisions with pedestrians, they do not monitor their safety when crossing the road, there are special programs for phones, the use of advertising campaigns, the installation of LED strips or the use of 3D strips. KEYWORDS: PEDESTRIAN, PEDESTRIAN CROSSING, ROAD SAFETY, ROAD ACCIDENTS, CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS WITH PEDESTRIANS.

scholarly journals Safety management of the existing road network

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 083-090
Author(s):  
Marcin Budzyński ◽  
Kazimierz Jamroz
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Traffic Accident ◽  
Road Network ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Infrastructure Management ◽  
Road Infrastructure ◽  
And Control ◽  
Union Directive

The objective of road infrastructure safety management is to ensure that when roads are planned, designed, built and used traffic accident risks can be identified, assessed and mitigated. There is a number of approaches, methods and tools for road safety infrastructure management. European Union Directive 2008/96/EC regulates and proposes a list of tools for managing road infrastructure safety. The paper presents two of these tools - classification of dangerous sections and control of the infrastructure in the field of safety. The final section presents the necessary directions for further action, particularly scientific research, supporting the management of the existing road infrastructure.

scholarly journals A Comprehensive Approach Combining Regulatory Procedures and Accident Data Analysis for Road Safety Management Based on the European Directive 2019/1936/EC

Safety ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Rosolino Vaiana ◽  
Giusi Perri ◽  
Teresa Iuele ◽  
Vincenzo Gallelli
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Accident Risk ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Policy ◽  
Crash Frequency ◽  
European Directive ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
Accident Data

The European Union policy for road safety management is based on the European Directive 2019/1936/EC. Among the safety management procedures and strategies, road safety inspections (RSI) are an effective tool for preventing accident risk and reducing crash frequency and severity for existing road networks. The European Transport Safety Council encourages the extension of these measures to the main urban and rural roads by the 5th Road Safety Action Programme. In light of the above, in this study, a safety performance evaluation through the RSI approach is carried out for a high-risk rural road in Southern Italy in order to identify all the road infrastructure-related features with poor safety conditions. Afterwards, the relationship between infrastructure deficiencies and the frequency and severity of accidents is investigated; a significant relationship between accident density/total number of injured people and road markings gap is found. Furthermore, the results confirm that a high density of driveways strongly impacts crash frequency. The analysis of the contribution of multiple infrastructure-related variables on the crash occurrences is proposed by the identification of several mathematical models. A second-order AIC (Akaike’s information criterion) approach is carried out to compare the five fitted models investigated. Finally, a prediction calibrated model is proposed.

scholarly journals Operational and Safety Management at Intersections: Can the Turbo-Roundabout Be an Effective Alternative to Conventional Solutions?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5103
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Gallelli ◽  
Giusi Perri ◽  
Rosolino Vaiana
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Pollutant Emission ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Policy ◽  
Union Policy

The European Union policy strategies on the sustainability of the transport system pursue the goals of maximizing safety and environmental benefits and reducing the severity and frequency of crashes, congestion, and pollutant emission rates. A common issue is the planning of the most effective solution for operational and safety management at intersections. In this study, an egg turbo roundabout is proposed as the alternative solution to a conventional roundabout in Southern Italy which suffers from traffic congestion. A comparative analysis is carried out using microsimulation techniques to investigate the safety effects and operational improvements of converting a traditional priority intersection into standard roundabout or turbo roundabout layout. In particular, the VISSIM software is used to explore the most relevant operational performance measures: queue length, travel times and delays. The lowest values of these measurements are recorded for the simulated turbo roundabout, thus making this scheme more appropriate in terms of operational performances. With regard to safety analysis, the Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM) is used to collect information on the predicted number of conflicts, the probability, and severity of the potential collisions. The results suggest that, for the specific case study, the safety levels of the standard roundabout and the turbo roundabout are approximately comparable.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document