On the road, in-depth and independent investigations of single accidents as conducted by the Transport Safety Boards generate added value. In this paper, a distinction has been made between the two characteristics 'independent' and 'in-depth'. It has been shown that, in any case, independence is especially of importance when very severe accidents are involved which generate public concern and when there is the possibility of interests which conflict with safety considerations. Furthermore, the watchdog function of safety boards is also important in terms of the transparency of society as a whole. The in-depth nature of independent investigations into single accidents means that, by contrast with statistical research, interesting insights can be generated into how accidents are caused. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see ITRD no 207828. The reprints are also available at the web - http://www.vti.se/pdf/reports/K18APart1.pdf; http://www.vti.se/pdf/reports/K18APart2.pdf and http://www.vti.se/pdf/reports/K18APart3.pdf.
Samenvatting