How safe are cyclists on European roads?

Cyclists, while relatively small in proportion with respect to motorized vehicles, have a high level of vulnerability, creating a significant need to better understand the characteristics specific to this user group. A good insight into the problem provides an opportunity to improve the road safety of this cheap, convenient and environmentally friendly mode of transport. In 2013, more than 2.000 cyclists were killed in road traffic accidents in 27 EU countries, constituting almost 8% of all road accident fatalities for that year. Although a considerable decrease by 32% in the total number of bicycle fatalities in noted within the decade 2004 – 2013, it is still smaller than the respective reduction of the overall road fatalities by 45%.The objective of this research is the analysis of basic road safety parameters related to cyclists in European countries, by the use of the EU CARE database with disaggregate data on road accidents, as well as of other international data sources (OECD/IRTAD, Eurostat, etc.). Time-series data on road accidents involving cyclists from 27 EU countries over a period of 10 years (2004-2013) are correlated with basic safety parameters, such as road type, season of the year, age and gender. Data from the EU Injury Database are used to identify injury patterns and improve the assessment of injury severity, and additional insight into accident causation for cyclists is offered through the use of in-depth accident data from the EC SafetyNet project Accident Causation System. The results of the analysis allow for an overall assessment of the cyclists safety level in Europe in comparison to other modes of transport, thus providing useful support to decision makers working for the improvement of safety in the European road network

Characteristics and causes of heavy goods vehicles and buses accidents in Europe

While Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) and buses account for just a small proportion of the vehicle fleet or the total vehicle kms travelled in the EU, they are over-involved in severe road accidents, creating a significant need to better understand the characteristics specific to this vehicle group. In 2013, more than 4.500 persons were killed in road traffic accidents involving HGVs or bus/coach in EU, constituting almost 18% of all road accident fatalities for that year. The objective of this research is the analysis of basic road safety parameters related to HGV and buses/coaches in European countries, by the use of the EU CARE database with disaggregate data on road accidents, as well as of other international data sources. Time-series data on road accidents involving HGVs and buses/coaches for 27 EU countries over a period of 10 years are correlated with basic safety parameters, such as area type, season of the year, casualty age and gender, as well as the day of the week. Additional insight into accident causation is offered through analysis of a set of in-depth accident data from the EC SafetyNet project Accident Causation System. The results of the analysis allow for an overall assessment of the HGV and buses/coaches safety level in Europe in comparison to other modes of transport, thus providing useful support to decision makers working for the improvement of safety in the European road network

856 comparative analysis of road accidents by gender in Europe

856 comparative analysis of road accidents by gender in Europ

An overview of car occupant fatalities in the European countries

Car occupants have a high level of mortality in road accidents, since passenger cars are the prevalent mode of transport. In 2013, car occupant fatalities accounted for 45% of all road accident fatalities in the EU. The objective of this research is the analysis of basic road safety parameters related to car occupants in the European countries over a period of 10 years (2004-2013), through the exploitation of the EU CARE database with disaggregate data on road accidents. Data from the EU Injury Database for the period 2005 - 2008 are used to identify injury patterns, and additional insight into accident causation for car occupants is offered through the use of in-depth accident data from the EC SafetyNet project Accident Causation System (SNACS). The results of the analysis allow for a better understanding of the car occupants’ safety situation in Europe, thus providing useful support to decision makers working for the improvement of road safety level in Europe

Identification of road safety risk factors in Africa

The paper presents the results of the analysis of road safety data, collected within the research project "SaferAfrica - Innovating dialogue and problems appraisal for a safer Africa", aiming to support policy makers and stakeholders with evidence on critical risk factors, related actions and good practices drawn from high quality data and knowledge. The project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The overall objective is to identify key risk factors affecting road safety in African countries. More specifically, a data organisation and analysis system was developed for the data gathered in order to produce indicators and define critical areas and challenges per topic and region of Africa. The analysis of the data for identifying key risk factors was performed on 5 different topics and priority areas for road safety actions and interventions were highlighted

Survey results: Road safety data, data collection systems and definitions [SaferAfrica D4.1]

Africa is the worst performing continent in road safety. In order to improve road safety performance in African countries, many barriers need to be overcome. Among them stands the substantial lack of detailed knowledge on road casualties in terms of their number as well as associated factors leading to road accidents or affecting their consequences. There is a serious lack of road safety data in African countries, and even when data are available (e.g. through the reports of WHO, International Road Federation ‐ IRF, etc.), little is known about data collection systems, data definitions, etc. The objective of the present report is to outline the results of relevant surveys undertaken within the SaferAfrica project as well as existing road safety analysis documents in order to assess the current situation of Africa in terms of road safety data, data collection systems and definitions. In order to assess the needs of stakeholders involved in road safety in terms of knowledge and information tools and convey a clear view of current road safety practices followed in Africa, two‐fold surveys as well as existing road safety analysis documents were exploited. The surveys consisted of a brief questionnaire in order to point out the current status in each country in terms of basic road safety aspects and definitions, followed by an extensive one where, besides other concerns, detailed demands and views of road safety stakeholders, not necessarily directly involved in decision‐making, in each examined African country were recorded. Furthermore, existing road safety analysis documents were exploited; namely the Global Status Report on Road Safety (WHO, 2015) and the IRF World Road Statistics 2016 (IRF, 2016) reports. Finally, aiming to assess the effects of current data definitions and collection procedures a pilot study was delivered on certain countries which were selected based on specific criteria described in the relevant chapter. This first survey addressed an initial approach to identify per country the current status in terms of basic road safety management and data collection practices. Representatives from 20 African countries, mainly from the West, East and South regions of the African continent took part in this survey. Most of the respondents had a significant experience in the field of road safety (over 10 years), thus the information they provided is considered accurate and reliable. Experts from all countries stated emphatically the high importance of data and knowledge to support road safety activities. This is a clear indication of the urgent need for the improvement of data and information availability with regard to the improvement of road safety in African countries. The second survey included questions on road safety management and data collection practices, road safety resources and basic road safety data developed appropriately to reflect the conditions in Africa. This survey was filled‐in by 29 stakeholders from 21 African countries. The majority of the replies were received by governmental representatives. .....