The mobility needs of pedestrians, cyclists and motorised two-wheelers, are not integrated automatically in the planning for traffic and transport in Europe. As a consequence, safety policies often have a curative approach, which may restrict the mobility of these vulnerable road users. Or even stronger, the promotion of e.g. cycling is explicitly not recommended as long as certain safety measures have not been implemented. The PROMISING project aimed at developing measures that reduce the risk of injury to vulnerable and young road users as much as possible in a non-restrictive way. That is to say that safety and mobility must be improved together; the improvement of safety should not take place at the cost of reduced mobility. The potential for problem reduction was specified for four target groups of vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists, motorised two-wheelers (i.e. motorcyclists and riders of mopeds) and young car drivers. The common approach for these groups was to analyse safety problems, to combine mobility and safety needs, to evaluate the measures on their effectiveness, and to calculate the costs and benefits of a selection of measures. However, the safety and mobility needs of one mode may conflict with the needs of other modes. In the 20th century, car transport was given priority over other modes in transport planning. Because of the growing negative impact of motorised transport on society (pollution, noise, space requirements), a reduced need for travelling large distances, and a reduction of the share of car use have become important. Therefore, the PROMISING report did not regard travelling as a goal in itself, but as a means for participating in society (going to work, shopping, visiting friends, et cetera). Although the opportunities and benefits of non-motorised transport are receiving an increasing amount of interest, there is no balance in planning and design between motorised and non-motorised transport. In the PROMISING project, planning and design principles have been reviewed critically. The framework for the recommended safety measures for walking and cycling is to regard walking and cycling as modes of transport. The framework for the recommended safety measures for motorised two-wheelers is to integrate the needs in the design of measures for motorised vehicles, because these needs may conflict with the need of cars and heavy vehicles. The framework for the recommended safety measures for young car drivers is a graduated system for becoming a car driver and to limit the use of a car. This way, safety of the four groups can be increased significantly, and at the same time people may far easier choose between different mode options to satisfy their mobility needs. The main consequences for road design are: segregation of motorised traffic with a flow or distribution function from non-motorised traffic, creation of a network of main traffic routes for pedestrians and cyclists, a fair balance between motorised and non-motorised traffic for priority facilities at crossings, speed limitation of motorised traffic on roads where it shares the road with non-motorised traffic. The technique and application of cost-benefit analysis has been described, and the costs and benefits of 20 measures have been calculated. For pedestrians and cyclists, there is a huge potential for improvement if safety needs are combined with mobility needs. For riders on motorised two-wheelers and young car drivers, important safety improvements cannot be realised without restrictions in mobility.
Samenvatting