TRAFFIC SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT – Conflict or Integration – B. E. HORN, A. HH.

JANSSON

TRAFFIC SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT

− Conflict or Integration −
Burkhard E. HORN A. HH. JANSSON
Professor, International University of Japan Environment R&D Co-ordinator
Niigata, Japan Finnish National Road Administration, Finland

(Received December 10, 1999)

Our transport system is not on a sustainable path. Achievements in terms of mobility have come at some considerable environmental, eco-
nomic and social cost.Sustainability is a long-term concept, also demanding attention to its social dimension. For transport, this underscores a need
to link considerations of the environment and traffic safety together. An integrated strategy implies systematic translation of a broad field of goals into
a set of mutually reinforcing packages of measures. The focus is on improving the manner in which different actors recognise the need for co-opera-
tion and their readiness to implement it. The starting point is in improving communication. There are clear benefits in integration, in regard of both the
synergy of actions as well as improved optimisation, but integration may also bring problems.
This article is based on an international survey of an expert group formed by the OECD to review the issues and opportunities of integrating
environmental and traffic safety strategies. The group assessed case studies from 12 countries and the European Union, using a classification scheme
focusing on the decision contexts and life stages represented by the cases. The group’s full report was published in 1997. In its conclusions, the
group presents a pragmatic way ahead, and identifies some basic research needs. There are some important persisting questions: how to influence
transport demand, how to increase the role of non-motorised traffic and public transport, how to find packages of measures relevant for entire regions
surrounding large urban areas, and how to respond to the process of rapid motorisation in developing countries. There are as yet few measures
dealing effectively with these issues, or taking them up with a concern for both safety and environment. While the approaches that have shown some
success underline the importance of tailoring policies and strategies to the concrete situation of each country, they also demonstrate the importance
of the international exchange of know-how.

Key Words: Safety, Environment, Sustainable, Planning

path. Achievements in terms of mobility have come at

1. SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT−
some considerable environmental, social and economic
SUSTAINABLE SAFETY cost. There is a challenge to find ways of meeting trans-
port needs that are environmentally sound, socially eq-
The worldwide concern for the environment and the uitable and economically viable 2, 3.
energy crises of the 70’s have underscored the vision of Today, transport plans and projects generally take
sustainable development and a “sustainable” transport account of both traffic safety and environmental concerns,
system. Sustainability is a long-term concept. However, but each factor is normally dealt with individually. Sepa-
a generally accepted and functional definition of rate strategies may result in conflicting measures and ad-
sustainability is still lacking in the transport sector. A ministrative competition. Many actors may be involved
qualitative definition is that the system should provide1: in improving or affecting road safety and environmental
protection. Political decisions may go one day in one di-
Transport that does not endanger public health or rection, and the other day in another direction4, 5. (see Box
ecosystems and meets mobility needs consistent with: 1).
To advance policies and strategies in this complex
• use of renewable resources at below their rates of re- sector of public concern, an international group of experts
generation, from fifteen countries was formed by the OECD to re-
• use of non-renewable resources at below the rates of view issues and opportunities. More specifically, the
development of renewable substitutes. group was mandated to study how evaluation methods and
planning tools can be designed and used to give equal and
Transport being a people centred activity sector, the co-ordinated consideration to the safety and environmental
social dimension must be built into the concept of effects of road transport. The group’s report, “Integrated
sustainability. This includes a sustainable environment, strategies for safety and environment” was published in
but also sustainable safety. 19976. This article is based on the group’s survey and as-
The current transport system is not on a sustainable sessment, in which both authors were involved.

IATSS Research Vol.24 No.1, 2000 • 21

TRANSPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

2.2 Many measures – multiple impacts

Box 1 : Speed limits in the U.S. : choice between
Vehicle design standards act at source to reduce
mobility, safety and environment
emissions and they focus on crash protection. Compli-
Speed limits reduce simultaneously the number of
ance with the standards does not usually result in con-
road fatalities and the amounts of pollutants emit-
flicting measures. But there are problem cases where
ted. Implemented as a fuel-saving measure after the
special consideration is needed, for instance improved
1974 oil embargo, the national 55 mph speed limit
occupant protection of a heavier car versus increased fuel
in the U.S. was generally credited with a reduction
use or more severe impacts on other road users. Or, con-
in road accident trauma. However in 1987, to favour
versely, vehicle weight reduction to save energy result-
mobility, limits on rural freeways could be raised to
ing in lesser impact resistance. On the other hand
65 mph by the States and, more recently, federally
enhanced regulation of vehicle use, vehicle inspection and
mandated speed limits were altogether removed,
driver training support both safety and environmental ob-
when the 55 mph speed limit had been introduced
jectives.
on the Interstate system in order to save energy and
Laws define general objectives and basic means of
reduce the number of road fatalities. The discussion
action. At the national level, sectoral policies, such as
in the late nineties on reducing greenhouse gas emis-
road policy, road safety policy and policies relating to
sions, closely related to fuel consumption, has refu-
other sectors, for instance regional planning, can be
eled the speed limit debate.
linked. Taxation, pricing of infrastructures and the level
of service offered affect users in their choice of transport
mode.
2. WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL There is currently a general tendency to revise road
standards, design, layout and operation. This is probably
FOR INTEGRATION ? the area in which there are the greatest number of possible
conflicts and convergences between safety and environ-
2.1 Constraints and directions mental aspects, i.e conflicts concerning roadside trees,
The frameworks of environmental and safety mea- noise barriers or de-icing salt use, or convergence in the
sures are constrained by economic requirements, cultural use of landscaping measures. Table 1 lists measures and
factors and commitments made on a global level. The tools together with their impacts on safety, environment and
possibilities of integration depend on how policies are energy.
developed and how the relationships of policies apply- At the local level, many traffic management
ing to specific sectors are managed. It is also difficult to schemes have been introduced. If the objective is solely
superimpose an integrated process on a fragmented to reduce congestion, the effects on the environment and
organisational structure. safety are not always positive. Limiting speeds, traffic
Considering the relationships of traffic accidents and parking has positive consequences, but may increase
and pollution, as exemplified by modelling, it is appar- risks outside the area concerned.
ent that some variables are shared: traffic flow, speed, Urban structure is affected by several processes in-
the composition and fluidity of traffic. On the individual creasing travel demand. These are, to some extent,
level, there are common characteristics of vehicles, driv- caused by the development of the transport system, es-
ers, roads and traffic. The strategies which aim to pre- pecially the role of the passenger car. But travel and traf-
vent accidents and pollution and to reduce damage are fic conditions are not uniform, and the overall trends are
based on similar principles of action: only partially indicative of the actual changes in trans-
port behaviour. Change is a characteristic of vital cities
• reducing the need to make a trip and its length and towns, and no strategy can provide a permanently
• improving the safety and environmental performance beautiful or healthy city, but there are means and mea-
of vehicles, sures to influence the processes of change. For urban
• providing a safer road system, travel, the measures available are those of co-ordinated
• promoting the use of modes which perform better with land use planning and transport policy.
respect to safety and environmental protection and,
• encouraging safe and environmentally friendly atti-
tudes and behaviour.

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TRAFFIC SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT – Conflict or Integration – B. E. HORN, A. HH. JANSSON

Table 1 Methods to achieve road safety and selected environmental protection objectives (×= Major impact)

Instruments Impacts
Accident Noise Air pollution Energy/CO2
1. Regulations
Vehicle standards
• Active/passive safety ×
• Size/weight/power × ×
• Emission (pollutants, noise) × ×
• Energy efficiency ×
Town and country planning standards
• Density, zoning × ×
• Construction ×
Infrastructure standards
• Safety improvements ×
• Noise ×
Vehicle checks × × ×
Speed limits (type of road/zone) × × ×
Protective equipment ×
Control of drunk driving ×
Working conditions of truck drivers ×
Driving license ×
Certification of transport undertaking ×
Restrictions × × ×
Penalties for traffic offences ×
2. Public investments
Roads, streets (design, surface, roadside) × ×
Cycle tracks ×
Roundabouts, squares ×
By-passes × × ×
Intermodal co-ordination
• Park&ride facilities × × ×
• Combined freight transport × × × ×
Traffic management system × ×
Public transport × ×
Emergency services ×
3. Economic incentives
Insurance premium ×
Fines ×
Vehicle purchase, annual road tax × ×
Fuel tax ×
Road tolls × × ×
Urban tolls × × ×
Parking charges × ×
Public transport subsidies × ×
4. Communication management
Education in schools ×
Driver training × × ×
Information campaigns × ×
Voluntary standards × × ×
Consultation ×
Co-ordination between sectors × × × ×

When suitable indicators have been developed, the indi-

3. CHOICE OF INDICATORS TO EVALUATE
cators of individual factors need to be combined, so that
ENVIRONMENT/SAFETY PROJECTS an overall effect, of a project or policy, can be calculated
to assist decision making. However, it is rare for decisions
Indicators are needed to measure the incidence of to be made in this way, and evaluation frameworks gen-
problems as well as their impact on people’s lives. Table erally only guide or advise decision makers. There is no
2 presents the main indicators of particular relevance. universal set of indicators, but rather several sets to meet

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TRANSPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Table 2 Key indicators for integrating safety and • speed of cars at non-separated crossings;
environmental aspects • proportion of transport not dependent on use of fossil
fuels;
Group of
Indicator • proportion of pedestrians separated from car traffic.
indicators
Road and Total vehicle-kilometers
Traffic Walking and cycling are especially sensitive to the
Volume of road traffic per unit of GDP or per
capita environmental quality and safety of the route, mass tran-
Person-kilometers and ton-kilometers sit to how efficiently stops and terminals serve their
Average speed catchment areas, how regular and frequent the service is,
Annual average daily traffic etc. Some groups, such as children and older people, can
Length and density of the road network be more sensitive to the effects of traffic than others, and
Modal split should be given special consideration.
Risk and Casualties
Safety Severity
Monetary cost 4. LEARNING FROM CASE STUDIES
Accidents per million vehicle-kilometers
Public perception
4.1 Decision context and first experiences
Target achievement
The objective of the group’s case review was to re-
Environmental Noise
Impact
flect the nature and extent of the integration of safety and
Vibration
environmental considerations in contemporary road
Air pollution
transport planning. A large number of examples could
Energy consumption
be found to illustrate the state of practice with respect
Barrier effect and community severance to either safety or environmental issues taken alone, but
Visual intrusion these cases were excluded by definition from the review.
Disruption during construction The cases from 12 countries and the European
Water pollution Union were extremely varied in nature, scope and geo-
Biological diversity, flora and fauna graphical coverage. The review set out to identify the di-
Cultural heritage and landscape values versity of case experience using a classification scheme.
Other environmental impacts From a preliminary review of the cases received, it was
Economics Taxation and subsidies observed that cases could best be classified using a ma-
Price structure - fuel use, road use trix composed of two dimensions (see Table 3):
Process and Degree of co-operation between different
Management ctors
• First dimension, decision contexts: The form and geo-
Quality and number of local integrated safety/
graphical extent of the cases could best be distin-
environmental programs
guished by the institutional context. Three categories
Competence levels and motivational aspects
on this dimension concerned the management of road
transport facilities, while the fourth was added to cover
experience with safety and environmental regulation
the needs of specific conceptual frameworks and purposes. affecting vehicles and road users.
The key indicators most reflective of the sustainability • Second dimension, the “life-stage” of case experience:
of the transport system are modal split, motor vehicle Cases can consist of the establishment of policy and
mileage and energy use. However, such global indicators of evaluation methodology, “talking and planning”, to
are insufficient to evaluate the efficiency of measures to use the stages identified in a Canadian report on ur-
reduce for instance dependency on motor vehicles: de- ban travel and sustainable development, as well as ex-
tailed indicators are needed which take into account the amples of implemented practice, “acting and
societal benefits and productivity of motorized travel, accomplishing”. An intermediate stage is represented
which are not constant on a vehicle-kilometer basis. Ex- by the evaluation frameworks used to assess policies.
amples of indicators useful in such a system are:
In only a few cases was there a conscious effort to

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TRAFFIC SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT – Conflict or Integration – B. E. HORN, A. HH. JANSSON

treat safety and environmental objectives within an in- neighbourhood around a traffic calming scheme, the
tegrated framework. whole main road network when tolling or a new speed
A distinction must be made between the co-ordi- limit is introduced on a motorway, etc. The evaluation
nation and the integration of safety and environmental methods which work best encourage decision-makers to
questions. The former means that there is simultaneous weigh this wider evidence.
consideration of the two, usually employing different
methodologies. The latter implies that a trade-off be- 4.2 Enhancing the planning process
tween the two is made explicit to some degree, although There is much room for innovation and experimen-
not necessarily within a quantified framework. tation, in interventions but particularly in evaluation
Co-ordination is much more common than integra- frameworks and planning processes. Currently, interur-
tion. It is also, in general, less influential and less trans- ban road transport, notably through corridor manage-
parent. However, where either occurs, it can be said that ment, seems rather more amenable to innovation in
the outcome is typically positive in the sense that the de- planning processes than does urban transport. This may
cisions taken are perceived to be closer to the interests be because it has become normal to involve both trans-
of the whole community than the alternatives which port and environmental agencies and interests in plan-
might otherwise have prevailed. ning interurban transport.
A recurrent theme was that the evaluation of mul- The survey identified several key conclusions to
tiple payoffs must involve looking beyond the immedi- assure success of integrated road transport planning pro-
ate boundaries of the scheme or project — the whole cesses for safety and the environment (see Box 2). These

Table 3 Classification of case studies submitted

“LIFE STAGE” OF CASE EXPERIENCE

DECISION
CONTEXT Policy development Evaluation frameworks Implemented
⇓ projects/policies
Major N/ S/ FIN• Comparison of F • Major road and multi- GB • Twyford Down
infrastructure strategic roads modal motorway link
policies GB • Trunk roads
EU/ N.Am • Private financing, e.g. DK/ N • Highway investment
DFBO policies
Corridor CDN • Quebec main NL • Amsterdam-Utrecht EU • Main roads crossing
management highways with corridor towns
devolution N • Problem zones on FIN • Rantasalmi road
main roads redesign
EU/ N.Am • Telematics
Area transport H • Action programme CDN • BC highways social DK • Århus
and land-use N • Transport planning in costing in Greater CDN • Urban cases
planning 10 largest urban Vancouver A • Graz Tempo 30/50
areas CH • Zürich
FIN • Transportation EU/ N.Am • Car-sharing
systems planning in associations
urban regions
CDN • Greater Toronto study
F • 3 scenarios for Lyon
GB • Transport planning
packages for local
areas
State norms, US • MVSS, CAFE and air FIN • Winter roads US • 55 mph speed limit
regulations and quality
economic EU/ N.Am. • Vehicle inspection and
policies maintenance

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TRANSPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

are critical prerequisites, but do not cover all stages of described as “four paradigms in a century”7. Paralleling
the planning process. this, one can speak of similar developments in environ-
mental concerns, and foresee a fifth paradigm for an en-
Box 2 : Practical advice for an integrated planning vironmentally sustainable and intrinsically safe transport
and evaluation process system (Table 4). But this paradigm implies that the op-
1. Asking leading questions about safety and envi- timal result will not be found in the transport system
ronmental goals at the conceptual stage of inter- alone. It demands integration of aspects, institutions, the
ventions. activities of different administrative levels and in differ-
2. A choice of public involvement which is appro- ent geographical areas.
priate to the scale and timing of the problems. The different approaches of traffic safety and en-
3. Detection of instabilities: effects which will be- vironmental aspects are linked to the development of car
come political icons, symbolic fights, etc., to use and traffic problems. The need for integration begins
avoid or to use. to be most strongly felt when both aspects are taken up
4. Allowing for the logical paradoxes in what people as parts of a national transport policy, with a focus on
will accept. risk exposure and managing transport modes. The role
5. Due consideration for “points of no return”. of the road environment in accidents is emphasised, as
6. Articulating possible comprehensive “packages” is the role of the road as part of the whole environment.
of transportation system qualities. The change from looking at separate nuisances to a com-
7. Recognising who wins and who loses as a result plex environmental system demands an increasing so-
of a particular decision. phistication in the methods and frameworks used, as well
8. Making it possible to learn from past failures as as clear and operational targets.
well as successes. In the foreseeable future, it is unlikely that tech-
nological change will eliminate the problems connected
with transport and traffic. Developing functional inte-
grated strategies may be an inescapable requirement.
5. PARADIGMS AND TRENDS Such travel demand factors as social, economic and cul-
tural circumstances are only indirectly influenced by gov-
The development of road safety concerns has been ernment or administrative action, through economic and

Table 4 Change in paradigms : safety and environment

Paradigms
I II III IV V

1900-1925/35 1925/35-1965/70 1965/70-1980/85 1980/85-present Present-2010/20

Aspects
The car The situation The traffic system The transport system The transport system
within the environment

Car availability Less than 25 per 1000 Between 25 and 250 Between 250 and 500 Over 500 Different cars for
inhabitants different tasks

Disciplines Law enforcement Car and road engineer- Traffic engineering Advanced technology Holistic systems
ing Traffic medicine Systems analysis approach
Psychology Advanced statistics Sociology Anthropology
Communications

Unwanted effects Collision Accident Crash and casualty Suffering and costs System malfunction

Research Statistics: “what” The cause of accident: The means: “how” Multidimensional Cooperate and
“why” integrate

Organizational Separate efforts based Coordinated effort on Programmed efforts, Decentralization, local Towards supranational
form on trial and error voluntary basis authorized politically management targeted actions and
incentives for local,
regional levels

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social policies, but among those clearly influenced by These conflicts cannot be avoided, even by using sophis-
public action, the transport system in its land use con- ticated prioritisation methods. Such methods only change
text is a central one. the goal conflicts into conflicts about how the weights
or money values should be assigned. Conflict resolution
means accepting that perfect or total solutions can never
be achieved in the real world. It means developing prac-
6. TOWARDS INTEGRATED STRATEGIES
tical measures that serve conflicting goals as well as pos-
sible.
6.1 Benefits, but also problems The definition points out that it is especially im-
Based on the survey and the assessment of perfor- portant that the actors in the field understand the need
mance, the working group emphasized two major advan- for co-operation, and also that co-operation demands
tages of an integrated process: skills and training. It is not realistic to expect that all ac-
tors share the same goals. In the form of alternative sce-
• An increase of the benefits if an action serves both the narios, visions of the future clarify the different aims of
reduction of accidents and of environmental distur- the actors involved. But co-operation demands that the
bance. Actions can also gain better public acceptance, actors do have a common view of the present, and of
if they can be shown in a larger context. what the problems are.
• A better optimisation if an action is positive for one The measures proposed should form mutually re-
sector but negative for the other. As the framework inforcing packages. Each measure, as such, needs to be
of the decision is enlarged, it is possible to detect ac- practicable, and understandable, but to be efficient these
tions which damage the whole system instead of im- measures must be combined into packages. This is of
proving it. course a basic kind of strategy: advancing step by step,
package by package. There is also a risk in this type of
But there are also problems. The sphere of action strategy, that the steps never reach the goals. That is why
grows and so does the number of criteria. The decision it is important that the broad field of goals and strong
process is more complicated and one must look at a visions of the future should be always present in mak-
broader scale of impacts. Long-term effects are intro- ing and implementing the strategy and that the process
duced and the question of process interaction needs to is truly systematic.
be dealt with on a more sophisticated level as the sys-
tem expands. 6.3 Different operational levels and time horizons
The contents of strategy are different on the na-
6.2 The thrust of an integrated strategy tional, regional and local level. These levels should in-
The working group gave its own definition of what teract, but not be bound too tightly together. In a very
an integrated strategy means (see Box 3): centralised system, the national level goals and
organisations are so strong that regional and local ini-
Box 3 : Integrated strategy – defining some key fea- tiative cannot develop, and this means that the measures
tures proposed will not be as effective as would be needed.
In an integrated strategy, a broad field of goals is Again, in a very decentralised system, the large scale as-
systematically translated into a set of mutually re- pects, for instance the use of economic incentives, are
inforcing packages of measures. very difficult to handle.
The focus is on improving the manner in which dif- For all levels, the common need is a firm connec-
ferent actors recognise the need for co-operation and tion to land use planning. In many countries, this con-
their readiness to implement it. nection is actually rather weak. But the role of land use
The starting point is in improving communication. planning is essential, because it creates the conditions in
which the transport system operates. A practical prob-
The definition is fairly general, but it points to lem is that strategies and land use plans usually have very
some important aspects of integration. Integration does different time tables and organisations.
not mean adding different strategies together into one re- Long-term strategy demands a high level of inte-
port. Integration is a translation process. Many kinds of gration. Its focus is political, dealing with society as a
goals are set, some support each other, others conflict. whole and the goals set for its future. When the strategy

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TRANSPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT

is implemented in administrative action plans, the cross- account of the goals such constraints relate to. Espe-
connections between different actions and the needs for cially when large scale infrastructure schemes or
co-operation can be clearly identified. For co-operation, wide-ranging regulatory or economic action is pro-
the most important development need may be teaching posed, the risks of irreversible change should be care-
sector administrations to make their action plans together fully considered.
and bring in the public as well as business and other ac- 4. Some groups of measures show clearly different re-
tors into the work. lationships to the theme of integration. Measures such
Short-term action should be divided according to as speed reduction and improved enforcement lead to
the responsibilities of the actors involved and they should overall safety and environmental quality improve-
act in contact with each other, co-ordinating their mea- ment, regardless of the context of their development.
sures as necessary. Formal integration does not have very Others, such as traffic management and redistribution,
much to say at this stage; sector expertise and efficiency can cause conflicts, if they are implemented without
are the crucial factors. consideration of all aspects and also impacts on other
areas and parts of the transport network. But there are
also measures essential to either safety or environ-
mental quality with little impact on other aspects. For
7. A PRAGMATIC WAY AHEAD
safety, such are, for instance, measures against drink-
ing before driving, for environment, improvement of
From country to country, the differences on how vehicle fuel use and exhaust emissions. Resources to
to implement integration can be considerable, but some implement these measures need to be available re-
recommendations seem evident. gardless of the intents of integration.
5. As a first step, each organisation responsible for a sec-
1. In any policy and scheme development, transparency tor should undertake an impact evaluation study in the
towards all actors, institutions and citizens involved other sector. This implies a common set of indicators
is a prime concern. The consequences in regard of and an exchange of knowledge between the two sec-
safety and environment should always be taken into tors. At a later stage, the aim is designing an ecologi-
account. In developing environmental policy, the cal and safe system of transport instead of corrective
safety aspects should be made explicit; in safety actions. It demands a higher level of integration be-
policy, the environmental aspects. A common set of tween the parties and a new way to organise the pro-
indicators should be used. cess.
2. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has devel-
oped as a powerful tool to evaluate the environmen-
tal aspects of a project or policy at an early stage7,
while road safety audits are gaining increasing impor-
8. CONCERTED RESEARCH NEEDED
tance in assessing implementation of safety6. Carry-
ing EIA to implementation, i.e. ensuring that a There are still barriers between the sectors, which
sufficient range of environmental concerns are taken can only be reduced by a concerted research effort. A
into account in implementation, and carrying the special need is developing tools for testing and assess-
safety audit technique forward, i.e. developing its use ing policies, based on scientific knowledge regarding
to serve early stages of planning, may form an effi- safety, environmental pollution and noise. There is a role
cient way of bringing these concerns together in the for carefully designed pilot schemes, to examine both the
total process. implementation process and the technical effects of mea-
3. Project objectives should include the manner of deal- sures chosen.
ing with such matters as severance and visual intru- The models for predicting accidents, pollutant
sion in urban areas, risks to the cultural heritage, emissions and noise should have a common basis in ve-
fragmentation of natural areas, and water pollution. hicle and traffic flow data and be developed for use both
At present, these are generally seen as external con- on the micro level, in evaluating the impacts of changes
straints. This perception may lead to serious conflicts in a road or area, and on the macro level, in forecasting
in a late stage of planning, because the project can the long-term effects of changes in vehicle fleet compo-
not comply with the constraints, if it has not taken sition or traffic flows. Data bases as well as models

28 • IATSS Research Vol.24 No.1, 2000

TRAFFIC SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT – Conflict or Integration – B. E. HORN, A. HH. JANSSON

should take better account of all groups of pedestrians 3. OECD/ECMT (1995). Urban Travel and Sustainable Development.
OECD, Paris.
and bicyclists. Health effects, especially of atmospheric 4. BROWN, I.D. (1992). Conflicts between Mobility, Safety and Environ-
pollutants, need further research. Further research is mental Preservation Expressed as a Hierarchy of Social Dilemmas.
IATSS, 16, 2, 124-128. Tokyo.
needed on the environmental impacts of safety schemes 5. CAMPBELL, B.J. (1992). Safety versus Mobility. IATSS, 16.2. 149-
and on the safety impacts of environmental schemes. Pro- 156. IATSS, Tokyo.
fessional research is also needed into the social and so- 6. OECD. ROAD TRANSPORT RESEARCH (1997). Integrated Strate-
gies for Safety and Environment. OECD. Paris.
cietal impacts of such schemes. 7. OECD. ROAD TRANSPORT RESEARCH (1997). Road Safety Prin-
Considering the planning and design process, fur- ciples and Models. OECD, Paris.
8. OECD. ROAD TRANSPORT RESEARCH (1994). Environmental Im-
ther research is needed on process management, on pre- pact Assessment of Roads. OECD, Paris.
paring and making decisions, and to find new ways to 9. OECD. ROAD TRANSPORT RESEARCH (1994). Targeted Road
Safety Programmes. OECD, Paris.
order complex tasks into manageable components. Bet-
ter evaluation methodology and frameworks, allowing
the taking of multiple relevant dimensions or criteria into
account in a transparent manner, are also needed. Re-
search is also needed on efficient ways to influence the
members of the public to promote safe and environmen-
tally adapted choices in making travel decisions and
implementing them. This is an ethical aspect, which goes
beyond the scope of the transport process itself.

In regard of policies and measures, there are some

important persisting questions:

• How to influence transport demand,

• How to increase the role of non-motorised traffic and
public transport,
• Finding the packages of measures relevant for entire
regions surrounding large urban areas,
• Responding to the process of rapid motorisation in de-
veloping economies.

There are as yet few measures dealing successfully

with these four basic issues, or taking them up with a
concern for both safety and environment. While those
approaches that have shown some measure of success
underline the importance of tailoring policies and strat-
egies to the concrete situation of each country and lo-
cality, they also demonstrate the importance of the
international exchange of know-how concerning the
methods and measures which fit into a given situation.

REFERENCES
1. OECD. ENVIRONMENT DIRECTORATE (1997). Towards Sustain-
able Transportation, Proceedings of the International Conference,
organised by the OECD and hosted by the Government of Canada.
Vancouver, British Columbia, 24-27 March 1996. OECD, Paris.
2. ALLSOP, R.E. (1993). Agenda for Safe Access in a Stable Environ-
ment: Issues for decision-makers as identified at the International
Scientific Initiatives on Road Traffic Round Tables, 1989-1991. Inter-
national Association of Traffic and Safety Science (IATSS), Tokyo.

IATSS Research Vol.24 No.1, 2000 • 29