This paper gives the following description of how unsafe 80 km/h speed limit roads in the Netherlands are: (1) 35% of drivers drive too fast on 80 km/h speed limit roads; and (2) the majority of fatal accidents take place on these roads each year. One of the projects from which is a lot expected is the development of a `sustainably safe' traffic and transport system. The paper also describes a unique and successful pilot project started in 1991 and carried out in the province of Drenthe. In this project, the driving speed was forced down using a package of unorthodox but simple infrastructural measures which caused a reduction in the number of accidents. These measures were applied to four trial road sections. Over a period of just over two years, measurements were made on the trial roads and on properly comparable reference road surfaces not fitted with the package of measures. The most significant result was a permanently lower driving speed which caused a 45% reduction in victims. (A)
Abstract