Ingrid van Schagen

Age dependence of attitudes and knowledge in cyclists

A number of factors related to bicycle accidents were studied, namely, knowledge of priority rules, attitude and self-reported behavior regarding traffic rules, and general opinions about the safety of the traffic behavior of cyclists and drivers. In order to get an indication of the influence of these factors at different stages of the life span, subjects ranging from 9 to 83 years of age were represented in the study. The relationship between age and the various measures was found to be U-shaped in most cases. The older cyclists and the 9 to 11 year olds, the two groups that are most at risk, were deficient regarding knowledge while showing the most positive attitudes. Implications with respect to possible counter measures are discussed.

The European road safety decision support system on risks and measures

The European Road Safety Decision Support System (roadsafety-dss.eu) is an innovative system providing the available evidence on a broad range of road risks and possible countermeasures. This paper describes the scientific basis of the DSS. The structure underlying the DSS consists of (1) a taxonomy identifying risk factors and measures and linking them to each other, (2) a repository of studies, and (3) synopses summarizing the effects estimated in the literature for each risk factor and measure, and (4) an economic efficiency evaluation instrument (E3-calculator). The DSS is implemented in a modern web-based tool with a highly ergonomic interface, allowing users to get a quick overview or go deeper into the results of single studies according to their own needs.

Monitoring speed before and during a speed publicity campaign

Driving speeds were monitored during a period of 16 weeks encompassing different stages of an anti-speeding campaign in the Netherlands. This campaign targeted speed limit violations in built-up areas. The observation periods differed in terms of intensity and media used for the campaign. Small road-side radars, mounted in light poles, were used and registered the speeds on 20 locations in built-up areas. Speeds of over 10 million vehicles were measured. Ten locations had a posted speed limit of 50km/h; the other ten had a posted speed limit of 30km/h. Posters were placed at half of each group of locations to remind drivers of the speed limit. The average speed on the 50km/h roads was 46.2km/h, and 36.1km/h on the 30km/h roads. The average proportions of vehicles exceeding the speed limit were 33.3% and 70.1% respectively. For the 30km/h roads, the data shows differences in speed and speeding behaviour between the six distinguished observation periods, but overall these differences cannot be logically linked to the contents of the phases and, hence, cannot be explained as an effect of the campaign. The only exception was an effect of local speed limit reminders on the 30km/h roads. This effect, however, was temporary and had disappeared within a week.