safety strategies for rural roads More than 75 000 people are killed each year on rural roads in OECD countries; this represents about 60 per cent of fatal road crashes. This loss ROAD TRANSPORT AND INTERMODAL RESEARCH of lives has an economic cost of around US$135 billion per year. The relative share of rural road fatalities in total road fatalities has risen from less than 55 per cent in 1980 to more than 60 per cent in 1996. While there has been a reduction in the total number of road fatalities in OECD countries during the past 20 years, it is clear that safety improvements on motorways and urban roads have been more successful than those on rural roads. Following an in-depth review of the characteristics of road crashes in rural areas, the book proposes a series of safety measures, focusing on infrastructure management, enforcement, innovative tools, such as intelligent transport systems, and trauma management. The book strives to raise the awareness of road users, decision makers and politicians of the importance of road safety in rural areas. It is a very useful handbook for local, regional or national authorities seeking to improve – sometimes at very low cost – safety on rural roads. safety strategies OECD for rural roads (77 1999 01 1 P) FF 240 9:HSTCQE=V\UZYY: ISBN 92-64-17054-5 -99 ROAD TRANSPORT AND INTERMODAL RESEARCH Safety Strategies for Rural Roads ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT Pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention signed in Paris on 14th December 1960, and which came into force on 30th September 1961, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shall promote policies designed: ± to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth and employment and a rising standard of living in Member countries, while maintaining ®nancial stability, and thus to contribute to the development of the world economy; ± to contribute to sound economic expansion in Member as well as non-member countries in the process of economic development; and ± to contribute to the expansion of world trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory basis in accordance with international obligations. The original Member countries of the OECD are Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The following countries became Members subsequently through accession at the dates indicated hereafter: Japan (28th April 1964), Finland (28th January 1969), Australia (7th June 1971), New Zealand (29th May 1973), Mexico (18th May 1994), the Czech Republic (21st December 1995), Hungary (7th May 1996), Poland (22nd November 1996) and Korea (12th Decem- ber 1996). The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD (Article 13 of the OECD Convention). PubliÂe en franËcais sous le titre : STRATEGIESÂ DE SECURITÂ EÂ ROUTIEREÁ EN RASE CAMPAGNE OECD 1999 Permission to reproduce a portion of this work for non-commercial purposes or classroom use should be obtained through the Centre franËcais d'exploitation du droit de copie (CFC), 20, rue des Grands-Augustins, 75006 Paris, France, Tel. (33-1) 44 07 47 70, Fax (33-1) 46 34 67 19, for every country except the United States. In the United States permission should be obtained through the Copyright Clearance Center, Customer Service, (508)750-8400, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA, or CCC Online: http://www.copyright.com/. All other applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or part of this book should be made to OECD Publications, 2, rue AndrÂe-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France. FOREWORD The Road Transport and Intermodal Linkages Research Programme (RTR) is a co-operative approach among Member countries to address technical, economic and policy issues relevant to safe and efficient road transport. The Programme, through its broader linkages to other modes, reflects a multimodal approach to common transport problems and represents a combined attempt to reduce the negative impact of transport on the environment. The Programme has two main fields of activity: • International research and policy assessments of road and road transport issues to provide analytical support for decisions by Member governments and international governmental organisations; • Technology transfer and information exchange through two databases -- the International Road Research Documentation (IRRD) scheme and the International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD). Its mission is to: • enhance innovative research through international co-operation and networking; • undertake joint policy analyses and prepare technology reviews of critical road transport issues; • promote the exchange of economic, scientific and technical information in the transport sector and contribute to road technology transfer in OECD Member and non-member countries; • promote the development of sound policies to achieve a safe and efficient transport sector that is responsive to the environment. The activities concern: • sustainable multimodal transport strategies; • economic performance, transport infrastructure and management; • transport safety and environment. 3 ABSTRACT IRRD NO 491006 Each year, more than 75 000 people are killed on rural roads in OECD Member countries. These deaths are accompanied by economic costs on the order of USD 135 billion per year. The relative importance of rural road fatalities in relation to total road fatalities has climbed from less than 55% in 1980 to more than 60% in 1996. Because OECD countries have experienced a reduction in the total number of road crash fatalities, it is clear that motorway and urban road safety improvements have been more successful than those on rural roads. The OECD therefore created an Expert Group composed of representatives from 13 countries to examine the problems and propose strategies for improving the situation. The report shows that as much as 80% of all accidents on rural roads fall into three categories: single vehicle accidents, head-on collisions and collisions at intersections. A main conclusion from this information is that the rural road system itself has inherent characteristics that significantly contribute to the high number of accidents and the high risks. It is therefore recommended that every OECD Member country should develop a rural road safety improvement strategy. It is also recommended that each country should develop short-, short-/medium- and long-term programmes. Such plans must pay special attention to raising awareness about rural road safety both within the general public and within the organisations of all key actors. Various safety measures that can improve rural road safety are suggested throughout the report. Although a network-wide approach is required and recommended in the report, it is understood that individual low-cost measures can contribute to the safety of the rural road network. The report recommends that safety should receive explicit attention at every level of the process, from the decision to build or rebuild, through planning, design and construction and during operation and maintenance. As there is currently insufficient information available on rural road safety problems to adequately support appropriate policy and investment decisions, the report recommends more systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of countermeasures. In addition to this, further research into rural road safety strategies and various individual safety measures is required to rapidly advance safety improvements on rural roads. Field Classification: accident studies, accidents and the road. Field Codes: 80, 82 Key Words: OECD, rural area, accident rate, fatality, accident prevention, policy, evaluation (assessment), danger, highway, improvement, efficiency. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 13 I.1 Defining rural roads.......................................................................................................... 13 I.2 Rural road safety............................................................................................................... 14 I.3 Safety on rural roads is declining ..................................................................................... 15 I.4 Safety policy for rural roads ............................................................................................. 16 I.5 Objectives of the study ..................................................................................................... 16 I.6 Structure of the report....................................................................................................... 17 Chapter II GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RURAL ROAD SAFETY ................................... 19 II.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 19 II.2 The rural road network and its use ................................................................................... 20 II.3 Speed limits and driving speeds ....................................................................................... 21 II.4 Accidents and fatalities....................................................................................................