The Finnra's (Finnish National Road Administration) study presented here discusses the results of an analysis of different road maintenance and improvement strategies from the perspective of traffic safety. The objective of the project was to define a comprehensive set of strategies which aim at reducing fatal accidents. The project was executed in the form of a planning experiment between various social interest groups. In a preliminary study, representatives of 22 different social interest groups were interviewed and the groups they represented were classified into five categories - interest quarters - according to their traffic safety views. These categories were labelled "motoring", "alternatives", "equality", "traffic experts" and "industry". One group from the countryside was included in the design during the project. The opinions of the interest quarters were studied in six planning meetings, which consisted of three phases: problem setting, brain storming and planning session. Afterward, the results were evaluated from the perspective of road maintenance and improvement and then condensed into four different traffic security strategies. The safety effects of alternative road improvement and maintenance strategies were compared according to the measures they included. The main purpose was to find out the safety differences between the alternative strategies and the approximate magnitude of the safety benefits achieved. Clear differences in safety-effectiveness were observed between the alternative strategies. Safety-effectiveness can be increased by concentrating more than nowadays on measures in urban areas and on small traffic safety measures. Finally, the strategies were evaluated from the perspectives of traffic, road maintenance and some sociological aspects. (A)
Abstract