The condition for attaining the greatest possible level of road safety on urban road networks is that road users behave in a manner that reduces the risk of accidents. Road users' understanding of risks is culturally conditioned and is related to their respect and consideration for other people. Depending on road users' understanding of risks, it is the road designer's job to design a road network that gives to the road user clear signals on the behaviour that promotes traffic safety. Regardless of this, the designer should take care that the traffic picture is comprehensible and simple, in order to minimise the cognitive loading. Due to differences in traffic culture it is not appropriate to offer umambiguous instructions on the correct design. This paper concentrates therefore on describing certain fundamental physical conditions for the development of good design. Section 2, however, offers recommendations that are based on general European experience of designing for road safety.
Samenvatting