Every Accident is One Too Many Every Accident is One ... - UNECE

Chapter 4
100 %
80 %
60 %
40 %
20 %
Motorways in the countryside
In excess of the speed limit
Within the speed limit
Consequently, the Road Safety
Commission proposes that the current
collaboration between local road safety
committees and the Danish Road Safety
Council on a five-year campaign strategy
for initiatives regarding speeding should
be carefully observed. Such a long-term
campaign strategy should be expanded in
more detail in the target period to come.
0 %
Passenger
cars
Goods motor
vehicles
Goods motor
vehicles, heavy
Urban speeding
100 %
80 %
Expressways
In excess of the speed limit
Within the speed limit
The risk of accidents in urban areas is three times greater
than the corresponding risk on main roads and primary
roads outside cities. More than 80 per cent of all accidents
involving ‘soft’ road users happen in cities. This means that
there is great potential for reducing the number of
accidents involving ‘soft’ road users by addressing speed
levels in urban areas.
60 %
40 %
20 %
0 %
100 %
Passenger
cars
Goods motor
vehicles
Goods motor
vehicles, heavy
Urban roads 50 km/hr
In excess of the speed limit
A study made by the Danish Road Safety Council shows
that only one in three of all road users observe the speed
limits in urban areas. In the same study, one in four of all
road users state that driving 60 km/hr rather than 50 km/hr
has no impact on road safety.
This was one of the reasons behind the implementation of
the trial project on automated speed checks in 1999. The
objective is to reduce speeds in urban areas, thus
hopefully achieving a positive impact on accident
statistics.
Speeding on primary roads
80 %
60 %
40 %
20 %
0 %
All vehicles
Within the speed limit
Most accidents happen in urban areas, but the greatest
number of serious accidents happen on roads in the
countryside. In 1998, 499 people were killed on Danish
roads. Of these, 359 were killed outside of urban areas,
mainly on normal primary roads with a speed limit of 80
km/hr. Consequently, there is reason to address speed and
accident trends on countryside primary roads. Emphasis
should be placed on the following areas and efforts:
Source: The Danish Road Directorate
Figure 15: Speed studies on various road types
A wide range of methods and tools must be used to reduce
speeds, including police checks, redesign of road layouts,
and information/campaign activities. The objective is to
make those drivers who still think that speed limits are
discretionary change their behaviour and take their foot
off the accelerator.
Of course, information and knowledge are important tools,
but all our experience tells us that information cannot
stand alone. Good results have been achieved by
combining campaigns with intensified and highly visible
police checks. Local approaches to speed campaigns have
also proven effective.
• Accidents with oncoming traffic
• Road marking at dangerous curves
• Local reduction of speed limits in curves and junctions
• Nationwide information on the necessity of observing
speed limits on primary roads.
The physical and legislative measures to reduce the
number of accidents on primary roads are to be followed
up by target specific information and campaigns to create
acceptance of - and if possible support for - the legal
speed limits.
Local speed plans
A local speed plan for road safety presupposes a systematic
survey and assessment of all roads within a given
municipality in terms of their function and layout. For
example, it should be determined whether the various
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