The high safety standards of road traffic in Sweden has over the last decades become a widely recognized fact. This paper discusses this and tries to find answers on the following questions. How could a relatively small country in a period of around three decades enter into this leading position ? Which were, for example, the preconditions of the Swedish society, the development of the road traffic, the organisation of the authorities, the priorities of the programmes, the monitoring of the results, the acceptance of the road users and the politicians etc to contribute to this situation. And will we find similarities to other traffic societies today ? The author considers which activities over these activities over these decades most influenced the traffic safety of Sweden, and mentions specifically the move in 1967 from left to right side driving and the creation of the Swedish Road Safety Office (TSV), now absorbed by the Swedish Road Administration and asks whether it is possible to point out more or less universal strategies to be followed by other societies.
Abstract