The Netherlands is one of the safest countries when it comes to road traffic. Nevertheless, in 1990, the Dutch government set the following road safety targets: 50 % fewer fatalities and 40 % fewer hospital admissions resulting from road accidents by the year 2010 compared to 1986. It was expected that these targets would not be reached by only continuing or even intensifying current road safety policies. Therefore, a new concept called a `sustainably safe road traffic system' was developed. Compared to the traditional situation, this system is characterized by: (1) an infrastructure that, through proper design, is better adapted to the limitations of human capacities; (2) vehicles fitted with more devices to simplify the tasks of man, and better constructed to protect the vulnerable human being; and (3) road users who are more adequately educated, informed and, where necessary, controlled. The paper describes the main topics of the concept as it was presented in 1992. Subsequently, it reveals how the ideas have developed since and to which degree the concept was meanwhile accepted by relevant groups of people, such as policy makers, members of parliament, traffic engineers and interest groups. Some demonstration projects were started, but largescale infrastructural works have not yet been carried out. The experiences with these projects so far are reported. (A)
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