Is the Effect of Quantified Road Safety Targets Sustainable?

Recent studies have shown that the setting of road safety targets is associated with a substantial reduction in road fatalities in the short-term. Although such targets may not themselves be responsible for the reduction in fatalities, they serve as a useful measure of the intention and commitment of road authorities to formulate timely road safety measures that lead to the achievement of the target. A quantified target is regarded as one of the key components of a road safety strategy. However, few studies have examined the degree of commitment and attention of road authorities to such targets in the long-term. In this study, we revisit the effectiveness of the quantified road safety targets set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, but with a different method, time scale, and group of comparison countries. We not only evaluate the associations between quantified targets and road fatality levels, but also measure the changes in the time-series trends in road fatalities over the long-term. The results indicate that all seven treatment countries analyzed experienced desirable changes in the time-series trend in road fatalities during the period under study, which implies an increase in road safety improvement over time.

• Record URL:
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VF9-4Y718WM-3/2/91ee05a1eebc5a0e27209bbad1fa3ca1
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/09257535
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Wong, S C
  • Sze, N N
• Publication Date: 2010-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 1182-1188
• Serial:
  • Safety Science
  • Volume: 48
  • Issue Number: 9
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0925-7535
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09257535

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Before and after studies; Fatalities; Highway safety; Sustainable transportation; Traffic crashes; Transportation planning
• Identifier Terms: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01173095
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Sep 16 2010 12:42PM