Safety of pedestrians is a vast area where I am afraid that strategies only to a small extent have been built on actual knowledge. Already in the 19th century pedestrians were killed in large numbers and ever since then the red thread through planning has been the balancing of pedestrian interests vs the interests of a steady growing population of car users. In principle authorities are in favour of increased safety for pedestrians but in action there is a lot of hesitation. It is most clearly visible when you come to speed management. Interviews with decision makers in Sweden showed that yes, they were in favour of low speeds, but it cannot go too far. The result in most cases is compromises; e.g. effective speed reducing measures like humps are designed in a way that they do not produce 'low enough' speeds, and they are located in a non-systematic way. The Vision Zero adopted by the Swedish Government claims that the speed of motor vehicles in interaction with vulnerable road users should be no higher than 30 km/h. Thirteen years after the introduction we have still a very long way to go. There are, however, other measures that are used in a more systematic way. That is small roundabouts that are growing in number every day, in Sweden and in many other countries. If design is correct, pedestrians may benefit a lot from them, and generally roundabouts contribute to a new way of looking at traffic in cities, where interaction to a large extent is built on 'man to man' decisions and not on regulations like traffic signals. Thanks to low speeds roundabouts can produce much more harmony in traffic with less noise, air pollution, improved safety and a considerably smoother interaction between motorized traffic and vulnerable road users. Engineering plays an important role in the task of controlling speeds. This is highly warranted in light of today's automobiles. These can easily make up to 250 km/h and are heavily promoted as being safe, comfortable, etc. Authorities have a very weak position when coming with their messages, like 'speed is killing', 'low speeds improve interaction', etc. At the same time low - and adapted - speeds become more and more important. We all know the very strong relation between speed and safety. It is also well documented today that speed and interaction is very important. Low speeds produce remarkable changes in drivers' give way behavior. This last result is extremely important in view of the strongest trend today, namely that going from safety for pedestrians as a single aspect the scope today is a holistic way of looking at 'the life of pedestrians'. Safety is then only one aspect; in addition we have feeling of safety, comfort, esthetical aspects, environmental aspects, etc. All this form the new traffic concept in cities with the aim of creating cities that are not only safe but also attractive and sustainable. This is a question of surviving for many cities that are fighting against the attractivity of external shopping malls and other activities easily available by car. (Author/publisher)
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