Sweden
 Road Safety Vision, Plans, and Targets
A central theme in the Swedish road safety vision is the Vision Zero concept. Historically, road safety work has been comparatively successful in Sweden, making it one of the safest countries in the world. Nevertheless, fatalities and serious injuries are regarded to be unacceptable. In 1997, Swedish Parliament approved this policy goal and the Vision Zero Programme. The Vision Zero can be described as follows: "Nobody should be killed or seriously injured within the road transport system. The road transport systems' structure and function should be brought into line with the demands that this goal entails." The Vision Zero goal is indeed a vision. It is unlikely that all fatalities and serious casualties can be avoided. The main change instigated by Vision Zero is the new way of dividing responsibilities for road safety.
Vision Zero strategic principles
- The traffic system has to adapt to take better account of the needs, mistakes and vulnerabilities of road users.
- The level of violence that the human body can tolerate without being killed or seriously injured forms the basic parameter in the design of the road transport system.
- Vehicle speed is the most important regulating factor for safe road traffic. It should be determined by the technical standard of both roads and vehicle so as not to exceed the level of violence that the human body can tolerate.
The approach is:
- To create a road environment that minimises the risk of road users making mistakes and that prevents serious human injury when designing, operating and maintaining the state road network.
- To set an example in the Swedish National Road Administration (SNRA) own operations through the quality assurance (from a road safety perspective) of journeys and transports in all areas of activity, both those undertaken in-house and those contracted.
- To analyse accidents that have resulted in death or serious injury in traffic and, where feasible, initiate suitable measures so as to avoid the repetition of such accidents.
- To stimulate all players within the road transport system to work resolutely towards achieving mutually targeted objectives conduct the work on road safety in close co-operation with all players within the road transport system.
- To take advantage of and further develop the commitment of the general public to safer traffic.
In 1999, an 11-point programme was devised, covering:
- Special safety measures for the most dangerous roads.
- Better road safety in urban areas.
- Emphasis on road-user responsibility.
- Safer conditions for cyclists.
- Quality assurance for transport services.
- Compulsory use of (studded) winter tyres.
- Better utilisation of Swedish technology.
- Greater responsibility placed on road traffic systems designers.
- Handling of traffic offences.
- The role of voluntary organisations.
- Alternative forms of financing new roads.
The target for the year 2000 was to reduce fatalities by 25% (base year 1996 (537 fatalities), with a maximum of 400 fatalities). The actual figure of 591 reveals that this target was not met. The target for 2007 is a reduction by 50%.
Road Safety Priorities
Various road safety priority measures have been identified under the Vision Zero concept:
- Safer traffic in built-up areas.
- Roundabouts.
- Safer vehicles. To increase passive vehicle safety (crashworthiness) standards. The Swedish National Road Administration is a member of EuroNCAP.
- Cable guard rails.
- Safer motorways.
- Right speed. Review of speed limits on national roads, in order to adjust the speed limit to the safety standard of the road. Sweden is very advanced with research into Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA), with currently thousands of equipped vehicles.
- Seat belt reminders.
- Cycle helmets.
- "Knights of the road".
- Speed surveillance. Enforcement of speed limits by speed cameras.
- Safe transports. Safer commercial vehicle operations.
- Travel policy in companies.
Road Safety Management Organisation
The Swedish Road Administration (SRA) sets road safety targets. The national government and municipalities fund safety work benefiting road users and road infrastructure. In late 1999, a committee of inquiry was appointed to examine the responsibility of the public and industrial sectors for safe road traffic. Taking Vision Zero as a starting point, this committee is to analyse what is missing from current legislation in terms of the responsibility of systems designers for a safe road transport system. Systems designers are those responsible for the design and functioning of the road transport system. The committee report will set out in detail the safety regulations that apply to products and services found within other modes of transport and in the working environment. Based on these findings, the committee will recommend rules suited to the road transport system. In its report, the committee will propose new or revised regulations, sanctions and systems of inspection emanating from the recommendations. The committee will also inquire into the establishment of an independent road traffic inspectorate, including proposals as to how such a body should be organised, its tasks and power of authority, and how it should be financed.
Road safety research backup is provided by the Swedish National Road and Transport Institute (VTI), and by various universities, covering areas such as mobility and safety, road design safety standards, vehicle crashworthiness, telematics, and traffic analysis.
Road Safety Programme Monitoring
The Swedish Road Administration (SRA) and the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute are the agencies responsible for evaluation. Annual evaluations are being carried out based on a detailed programme with many sub-areas, each with specific targets. Main aim is to extract crash, casualty and fatality prediction curves.
Road user behaviour that is monitored, includes: drink-driving, excess speeds, other violations, use of safety equipment in cars (e.g. seatbelts and child restraint systems), visibility of pedestrians and cyclists, and the use of helmets.
Other items that are being monitored, cover: vehicle crashworthiness, emergency services rescue times, safety opinions of the general public, and surveys to evaluate if roads are built to safe standards.
Links
CTR, http://www.infra.kth.se/ctr/eng/ the Centre for Traffic Simulation, was founded in 1995 by the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI). CTR is located at the Infrastructure department of KTH in Stockholm, Sweden.
http://www.its-sweden.com Swedish organisation of industries and authorities working on developing ITS activities in Sweden
Intelligent Speed Adaptation, http://www.isa.vv.se/index.en.htm The world’s largest trial involving ”Intelligent Speed Adaptation”, called ISA, was conducted in four Swedish cities. Several thousand cars were equipped with intelligent technology to help drivers keep the right speed. It is conceivable that ISA could become standard in the smart, safe cars of the future.
NTF - The National Society for Road Safety http://www.ntf.se/ is a non-governmental organisation that works to improve road safety. NTF believe that:
- The car industry should be instructed to give car buyers information based on facts about the different safety levels of different car models.
- Industry and authorities should have more responsibility for improving safety.
- Car manufacturers should offer technical support systems that make it easier for drivers not to exceed speed limits.
- Devices that register speed prior to accidents should be standard in new vehicles.
- Economic means of control measures to promote safer cars should be introduced.
The Traffic and Road divisions are part of the Department of Technology and Society, Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University
http://www.tft.lth.se/tar.htm
http://www.trafikkontoret.goteborg.se/gotic/ Gotic Research is an R&D project in which research and practical trials in the information sector – specific to public transportation – are conducted in association with researchers and suppliers involved in the sector. The overall object is to improve the quality and efficiency of public transportation in the interest of economy, the environment and road safety, as well as the wellbeing of the travelling public.
Transport Research Institute http://www.tfk.se/en/index.asp.
As the Swedish finances now are booming, the demand for public and freight transports will increase. The traffic departments and the industries have all reasons to think of how the traffic system of the future will look like. The increasing demand creates more and more crowding in the streets and railways, at the same time the demands for punctuality and mobility are increasing. Not only the transport supplies in the cities but also the boarder crossing transports will lead to problems. Therefore it is important to use the existing infrastructure in a rational way. Here ITS, that is to say, Intelligent Transport Systems, give positive contributions, and within TFK´s traffic area the possibilities of the information technology are studied to handle the apparently impossible equation – increased mobility and trade in a society mean with transports. The organisation of TFK´s office in Borlänge has also resulted in strategic planning models within the traffic research work, where TFK co-operates with among others the National Road Administration, the Rail Administration and SIKA (Swedish Institute for transport and Communications Analysis).
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