Citation

Silcock DT, Barrell J, Ghee C. Traffic Eng. Control 1991; 32(3): 9-.

Affiliation

Ross Silcock Partnership

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, Hemming Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Investigations were conducted into ways of expressing road safety for the purpose of setting policy targets and monitoring achievements. This paper summarises some of that work. The objective of the study was to inform and advise how best to quantify and express changes in road safety for the purpose of setting policy targets and monitoring achievement. Data indicate that the measurement of changes in road safety, can be made at a number of levels. At its simplest, as exemplified in the nation's casualty reduction targets, personal safety on the roads is reflected by the absolute numbers of casualties. This must remain the base indicator if only because it identifies the scale of the problem relative to other causes of death and injury. Absolute numbers alone, however, do not provide any understanding of why things are changing. Beneath the absolute totals it is necessary to try and attribute changes in total numbers to the way in which both propensity for accidents (the underlying risk) an exposure (the opportunity for accidents to occur) are changing. Policy and physical measures aimed at improving road safety may well be aimed at both of these aspects.

Language: en