This research project was able to identify cost-effective measures for the prevention of accident blackspots. In close cooperation with accident commissions, these measures were compiled, analysed and categorized. Contact was first established with accident commissions across Germany, where data was collected for the outset of the investigation. The data differed significantly in quality. Therefore, in order to ensure data comparability, the compiled measures were carefully categorized and tested for plausibility, leaving a total of 1,812 measures available for continued evaluation. These were organized into 82 categories, which grouped the measures according to (approximate) similarity. Of these categories, 35 were suitable for further analysis. Priority was placed on the measure categories for which there was little or insufficient current scientific knowledge. Two approaches were used to assess the 35 selected measure categories: For the first approach, members of the accident commissions evaluated the selected measure categories, using a standardized set of questions. The goal was to evaluate the measures for effectiveness and feasibility in a practical setting. This provided insight into the conditions under which a measure could be considered “low-cost” and “efficient”. The second approach comprised the analysis of accident data gathered from the selected measures. The average effect of the selected measures (effectiveness) was determined by comparing the accident events within a set before-and-after timeframe. The (investment) costs were taken into account, thus ascertaining the economic efficiency (efficiency) of each measure. This is referred to as the cost-benefit ratio. On the basis of these results, the measures were then comprehensively assessed. As a result, ten measure categories were classified as “recommendable”. The deduction of (particularly) suitable, cost-effective measures was based on the findings of the measure-category evaluations and on the analysis of the accident events. These measures categories were characterized by high efficiency, high cost-benefit ratios, and homogeneous impact within the collected samples. Nine suitable cost-effective measure categories were identified. The recommendations for action, developed from this project, provide accident commissions with tools for locating and selecting suitable low-cost measures for the remediation of accident blackspots. These recommendations adhere, thematically and structurally, to the format of the current recommendations and literature for accident blackspot management. The results of this project will be supplied as fact sheets for the investigated measures, the description of low-cost measures and the recommendations for action and application. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting