The provincial authority of Friesland has commissioned the SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research to formulate a policy on speed for the provincial roads. The aim is to present a number of concrete project proposals regarding speed management which could be realized in 1994 and 1995. This will provide a direction for the policy of the province in the medium term. The problem consists of: (i) a safety problem; (ii) driving speed on these roads; and (iii) the structuring of the road network. The methods available for speed control in the short and medium term are: (1) infrastructural reconstructions such as: (a) roundabouts; and (b) narrowing the lane combined with profiled road markings as applied in the province applied in the province of Drenthe; (2) automatic warning using dynamic signs at dangerous locations or road stretches; (3) conventional and automatic enforcement; (4) average speed checks by measuring the speed at two locations; and (5) enforcement on a road network. Long-term measures that are necessary include: (i) structuring the road network according to function; and (ii) designing road requirements, according to "sustainable road safety principles". Restructuring the road in accordance with these design requirements and the application of advanced electronic systems will cause: (a) an optimal road network use; and (b) a "sustainable safe road traffic system".
Abstract