 The
Facts
Every year, for every million inhabitants, 690 die on the roads in
Greece, as opposed to 120 in Sweden. The statistics differ widely by
country, particularly on account of drivers' attitudes. Some drive their
cars responsibly and politely, while others are aggressive and only
take their foot off the accelerator when they see the police, and will
change their habits only if they are obliged to dip into their wallets!
Action
To launch truly effective road safety measures and to 'convert' users
to other modes of transport effectively, there must be an understanding
of the context, and peoples' motivations and mentalities. A number of
European research projects are focusing on the conditions which must
be met if the solutions planned are to succeed, and on their degree
of acceptability according to different variables.
|
Strategies which work
How can local authorities encourage
inhabitants to abandon their cars and take up cycling or walking or
use public transport? The DANTE project has analysed the best practices
in eleven large towns in nine European countries and published a practical
guide for decision-makers summing up the different persuasive strategies.
Among the most readily feasible measures are better information on
available public transport, new forms of collective transport and
the organisation of car-pooling.
Questions of price
Will traffic flow better if a policy
to 'price' road use is applied?
A European project, EUROTOLL, tested various options among drivers
in order to assess whether they would - or would not - accept the
solutions proposed. Systems which use a high price as a deterrent
are more readily accepted by the public if they are straightforward.
Those with variables prices, such as motorway tolls that change according
to the time of day, are also generally better accepted.
|
