This study is part of the `In-car Information' (IVIS) project. The aim of the study is to estimate the traffic safety effect brought about by drivers who change their routes as a reaction to the in-car traffic information they receive. The data used were already available from the Rijn-Corridor project. These data were gathered by means of logbooks that were kept for several weeks by a sample group of drivers. In their cars `Radio Data System - Traffic Message Channel' (RDS-TMC) terminals were installed. Traffic information-induced route changing is compared between the periods with and without RDS-TMC, assuming that congestion problems both occurred and were reported to the same extent. reported to the same extent. Essentially, the traffic safety effect as calculated is caused by changes in the number of vehicle kilometres driven and the average risk drivers were exposed to by choosing an alternative route along another motorway or turning off onto a main road. Results show an increase of about 1% in the number of serious traffic accidents. This effect is caused by the extra route changing, arising from the availability of RDS-TMC to the drivers and related to the increasing degree of traffic information they heard.
Samenvatting