In EU 97% of all transport fatalities occur in the road sector. Road unsafety costs amount to €250 billion, which means that 97% of all socio-economic costs for transport accidents are made in road transport. In spite of this, and as seen in the previous deliverable D4.1, accident investigation in road transport does not have the same kind of legal status as accident investigation in other transport modes. This is a result of dissimilarities between transport modes. These dissimilarities also mean that the issue of independence generally does not have the same acuteness for road accident investigation as it has for accident investigation in other transport modes. While a clearer legal status would certainly be beneficial to it, the transparency of the investigation processes and their results (e.g. databases) is of greater immediate importance than the independence of the investigation body, investigation and investigators. Transparency means that it is possible to assess the limitations and advantages of investigation processes and the quality of any subsequent data, whatever the use - research, policy, safety enhancement – it is put to. Therefore, transparency is a key element in the formulation of well thought-out conclusions. (Author/publisher)
Abstract