Abstract
The reduction in the annual number of road deaths in the Netherlands has been stagnating for some years. According to the policy goals of the Dutch government, the number of road deaths in 2010 should be reduced by 50% compared with 1986. However, this will not be achieved, if no extra investments are made in road safety. The question is twofold: (1) whether the goals are set too high; and (2) whether there are possibilities in the short or long term which might lead to the achievement of the goals. In other words: can a road traffic be imagined characterised by a considerably lower number of victims than now?