Since 1998, the Dutch State Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has been publishing periodical environmental inspection reports.These reports form the basis for Dutch long-term strategic environmental policy. In the process of compiling the reports much experience has been gained on matters such as: incorporating environmental knowledge into policy development, creating models, integrating the many information sources, reproducibility, and project organization. The aim of this article is to systematically describe all this experience and knowledge, and to suggest how it may be deployed to develop possible technological investigation in the traffic and transport sector. The article also considers specific recommendations concerning technological investigation for traffic and transport. The most important of these recommendations are: (1) It would be sensible to indicate, by means of conceptual models, how technology can influence the traffic system, and to develop, on this basis, models and data reserves; (2) Dutch knowledge on traffic and transport technology ought to be brought up to the required standard and kept up to standard; and (3) technological investigation into traffic and transport should connect with other future-oriented investigation in traffic and transport field.
Samenvatting