In 1997, the Council of State set a target for the reduction in the number of annual traffic fatalities in Finland, declaring that in 2005 this figure must be below 250. Due to the lack of improvement in the fatality statistics in the last few years (in 1998 there were 400 traffic fatalities, and the figure for 1999 was 431), more effective measures are needed. The National Traffic Safety Programme for 20O1-2005 sets out the measures with which progress can be made towards the target. This paper describes the identification of the possible safety measures involving technology elements, the prioritisation of the measures, and consultations with the other expert groups to reveal missing ideas, to select the final measures and to deal with possible overlaps. The assessment of the impacts of the measures in terms of fatalities and serious injuries reduced will be presented for some specific measures. A forecast prepared by the Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT shows that the target is most likely to be achieved if the estimated overall impact of the specific measures proposed for 2001-2005 is a reduction of 150 fatalities. Achievement of the target also requires the continuation of normal road safety work. Implementation of the entire programme is estimated to produce a reduction of 120 traffic fatalities and about 1300 personal injury accidents, with the late 1990s as the base. The programme includes a total of about 50 measures. For the covering abstract see ITRD E122795.
Abstract