In the deliverable D3.8 of the SafetyNet project, 'Road safety performance indicators manual', the practical procedure recommended in order to produce speed SPIs was described. In this deliverable, two pilot studies are presented that aim to apply the recommendations of the SafetyNet manual and evaluate their pertinence. The first pilot concerns Belgium where an annual survey focussing on speed behaviours over the Belgian road network has been implemented in 2003. It is carried out by the Belgian Road Safety Institute (IBSR) and its aim is to produce safety performance indicators. The methodology of the Belgian survey follows quite closely the guidelines that are included in the SafetyNet manual. Thanks to this survey, a large database of vehicle-by-vehicle speed data for 150 locations in Belgium is available for analysis by the IBSR. Based on the experience gained through the successive Belgian speed surveys, the pertinence of several recommendations of the SafetyNet manual was discussed in the Belgian Pilot. The second pilot concerns Spain. The Spanish pilot is only constituted by the first stages of a future free speed survey covering all Spain. For these first stages, the methodology recommended in the SafetyNet manual was followed very closely. The sample was designed carefully, taking into account the repartition of the different road types in each Spanish region. The measuring locations were chosen randomly on the basis of the road network database. Desktop verifications were done and in-situ verifications are planned in order to be sure that the measuring locations of the final sample comply with all the suitability criteria listed in the SafetyNet manual. Up to the current stage of evolution of the study, no major bottlenecks have been encountered in applying the SafetyNet methodology. However, the pilot shows that an important investment is needed when willing to select the measuring locations with the rigorous procedure displayed in the SafetyNet manual. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting