This report illustrates why risk and exposure data are critical for guiding effective transport policy making at local, national, and European Union (EU) levels. EU Member States devote considerable efforts to collecting information about transport crashes and the number of fatalities and injuries in them. To understand best how to improve safety, information is needed about travel volume, which can be compared with existing accident statistics. The different ways of measuring travel volume are called `exposure data', because they measure travellers' exposure to risks of injury and death. Such data in varying detail are needed for risk assessments and comparisons of different transport modes in the EU. These risk assessments can be applied to improve safety and determine public health priorities, and assist aspects of transport planning such as investment in new roads or railways. Despite its importance in policy making, few EU countries give enough priority to collecting exposure data. The report compares the risks of death in the EU in : (1) transport activities compared with other activities; (2) different travel modes; and (3) trips using different combinations of travel modes. Several conclusions are drawn, and twelve recommendations are made.
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