This paper provides an overview of the most significant developments in the area of road (geometric) design practices and standards in the Netherlands over the past five years. It provides a summary of new initiatives and places a specific emphasis on the relationship between geometric design and road safety and elaborates on related developments in the area of traffic (safety) management and operations.
Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) has the responsibility for managing the national road and water networks. Together with her partners, RWS has in recent years made significant steps with respect to adopting a risk-based approach to road design. Supportive of the Safe Systems approach RWS has also adopted a proactive risk assessment evaluation tool (VIND) for inspecting and managing the quality of existing network.
Not only the national road authority is seeking for continual improvement in its work processes, outputs and outcomes but also the regional and local road authorities have been taking steps to improve road design and traffic management practices. Incorporating research into new standards and guidelines is facilitating the further development of the underlying road network and helping find solutions to the ever growing demand for safer and more efficient mobility given the limited space available for roads.
This paper provides an overview of the most significant developments in the area of geometric design and road safety and also discusses developments related to the organisation and management of the road design and management process in the Netherlands.
