The report «Zero fatalities and serious injuries on the roads, leading a paradigm shift towards a safe system» presents the steps under way in several countries to improve road safety in the long term.
Cerema, together with researchers from IFSTTAR, was a member of the French delegation in the working group that resulted in the production of this report.
The report is available in English version. The French version is in preparation.
The safe system is based on the following 4 principles:
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with the exception of a minority of people who deliberately take risks, the majority of humans make mistakes when moving; this leads to accidents; this is why it is important to act to limit the consequences of these unintentional errors,
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the human body is unable to withstand the high kinetic energies generated during impacts; it is therefore necessary to set suitable speeds (for example 30 km/h when there are pedestrians or cyclists, 50 km/h in the event of a possible side collision between two cars, 70 km/h if there is a possibility of collision between two front-facing cars, 100 km/h with separation);
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the responsibility shared between all participants in the system without removing the responsibility of the users in movement;
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the need to mobilise all stakeholders.
Appendix below: