Risk assessment method for Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs)

The European ambition for traffic safety is getting as closely as possible to zero traffic deaths in 2050 as well as halving the number of deaths and serious injuries in traffic between 2021 and 2030. In the Netherlands we aim for zero traffic casualties in 2050 (Ministerie van IenW, 2018). In the meantime, we are looking for innovative ways to meet our mobility needs in a sustainable and durable way. This asks for explicit policy measures and the safe introduction of new vehicle types, such as light electrical vehicles and self-driving vehicles. To ensure that the introduction of new vehicles on the public road does not jeopardize our goals for traffic safety, knowledge on the (un)safety of these vehicles is required. This concerns the technical safety as well as traffic safety. Technical safety relates to the quality and performance of the materials and systems of which the vehicle consists, such as tire profiles and brakes. Possible risks in the interaction between the vehicle, the vehicle operator and the traffic environment define the vehicle’s traffic (un)safety. We will present a method based on which possible traffic safety risks can be assessed before a vehicle is introduced to the public road.