This paper, the keynote speech from the conference, concerns a strategy, Formula Zero, based on the assumption that deaths and injuries on the road are not inevitable. It was led by the need to make changes in Formula One motor racing following a series of bad accidents. There are three elements in increasing safety: the protection of the car; the road; and the driving. Technology to control speed in the car can be set alongside the adaptation of speed limits to the circumstances. The author recommends interchangeable electronics in cars which can be replaced when they become obsolete so that technology can be updated. The European Union budget for road safety is eight million euros, although the cost of death and injury on the roads is about one hundred billion euros. The author calls for the road safety target to be zero deaths and injuries; for a systematic attempt to use modern technology in the car to help the driver avoid accidents; for more expenditure on roads; and for a continuation of programmes like EuroNCAP to make the car safer.
Samenvatting