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Chapter 3 Making the v<strong>is</strong>ion come true Road safety <strong>is</strong> becoming increasingly complex. New results from research on new initiatives continue to arrive, and the most effective among the best-known solutions have already been fully exploited. For example, the traditional efforts at ‘black spots’ are very different today from when the Road Safety Comm<strong>is</strong>sion publ<strong>is</strong>hed its last action plan in 1988. The main road network has been systematically combed to eliminate the worst black spots, and the same applies to many major municipal roads. Today, black spots normally have more complex accident patterns, and even though the benefits from efforts continue to be significant, the effects are no longer as pronounced as they were 10 - 15 years ago. Th<strong>is</strong> greater complexity <strong>is</strong> also evident in the fact that the number of initiatives recommended by the Road Safety Comm<strong>is</strong>sion today <strong>is</strong> approximately twice the corresponding 1988 figure. Th<strong>is</strong> does not mean that all solutions should be carried out as individual, autonomous projects. The Road Safety Comm<strong>is</strong>sion recommends that the stakeholders and players within road safety should join forces and create hol<strong>is</strong>tic solutions where individual projects and activities offer mutual support. For example, there should be cohesion between road design, information for road users, and police initiatives. 62 initiatives to improve road safety The Road Safety Comm<strong>is</strong>sion proposes a total of 62 initiatives to reach the final objective. The Comm<strong>is</strong>sion finds that all of these initiatives can help bring about the desired reduction in the number of deaths and injuries on Dan<strong>is</strong>h roads. At the same time, the Comm<strong>is</strong>sion <strong>is</strong> aware that the <strong>is</strong>sue of implementation of individual initiatives must be considered in a wider political and socioeconomic context. For example, a number of these initiatives require substantial increases in present funding levels. Based on ex<strong>is</strong>ting knowledge on road safety, complete implementation of all 62 initiatives during the next twelve years will make it possible to achieve the Road Safety Comm<strong>is</strong>sion’s objective and to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries by at least 40 per cent. Socioeconomic costs Calculations of the economic consequences of the Road Safety Comm<strong>is</strong>sion’s new objectives can be carried out in several different ways. Looking at the socio-economic costs <strong>is</strong> the method most frequently used in connection with large-scale public investments. With th<strong>is</strong> method, the money saved by reducing the number of road accidents <strong>is</strong> calculated when making investments in road safety. The Dan<strong>is</strong>h Road Directorate has calculated the socioeconomic costs of road accidents at DKK 11.3 billion - not including additional welfare expenditure. The costs per reg<strong>is</strong>tered personal injury are as follows: • Injuryrelated costs (treatment, care, etc.) DKK 493,000 • Material damage DKK 594,000 • Total (not including welfare loss) DKK 1,087,000 At the launch of th<strong>is</strong> plan, the number of personal injuries and deaths on Dan<strong>is</strong>h roads per year <strong>is</strong> 9,674 (1998). With a projected growth in general traffic of approximately 1.6 per cent a year, th<strong>is</strong> figure will grow to approximately 11,000 in 2012 unless preventive road safety efforts are carried out. If all the initiatives proposed by the Road Safety Comm<strong>is</strong>sion are implemented, the number of deaths and injuries will drop to 5,800. During the total twelve year period from 2001 to 2012, implementation of the total plan prepared by the Road Safety Comm<strong>is</strong>sion will reduce the number of personal injuries by approximately 31,000. Th<strong>is</strong> equals a DKK 34 billion reduction in expenditure on treatment, care, and material damage. Additional savings amounting to DKK 11 billion in welfare loss bring the total savings up to DKK 45 billion. Investment and operation of the initiatives proposed will cost approximately DKK 12 billion for the entire period. Public expenditure caused by road accidents A different approach to the economic consequences of the action plan <strong>is</strong> to specifically address the costs and revenues for local authorities, counties, and the state. The Dan<strong>is</strong>h Road Directorate has calculated that public expenditure on road accidents and their consequences <strong>is</strong> DKK 2.14 billion. Th<strong>is</strong> expenditure <strong>is</strong> d<strong>is</strong>tributed as follows: Local authorities Counties Central Government Total: DKK 846 million DKK 962 million DKK 330 million DKK 2,140 million 17