News

Tylösandseminariet – short summary and key conclusions

Sep, 19 2017

The initiative for the Vision Zero was launched at Tylösandsseminariet in 1997. It is thus 20 years since the vision was adopted and there was a great focus on the seminar to evaluate the current situation and future strategies. This year, Tylösandsseminariet's road safety focus was threefold: Behavior - Technology - Society. SAFER's director Magnus Granström participated in the inspiring lectures. Below is a summary of some important presentations:

Lena Erixon, Director General – The Swedish Transport Administration

Lena presented how Vision Zero is a natural and fully integrated part of the work of the global strategy Agenda 2030. Between 2004-2017, the number of deaths has been halved in Sweden, despite a sharp increase in traffic. However, it The journey to zero is leveling out and new actions are needed. We see a sharp increase in accidents among unprotected road users. We want more people to take the bike or walk, but we have to work with safety for them. Some important reflections:

  • Center separation is important for roads with speeds 80 kph and up, that makes a difference!
  • 50% of road users do not keep the speed limits. Of those, 70% are theheavy traffic, action is required.
  • Secure safe passages for cyclists and pedestrians + operation and maintenance of cycle tracks are very important measures.
  • Sobriety and drug controls are important - extra controls in ports etc.
  • Several ongoing demp projects, e.g. Drive Me and Geofencing – more information about evaluation will come.


Maria Krafft - Target Strategy for Zero Vision, The Swedish Transport Administration
Maria presented four key points about safe speed:

  • Police work: The police has demonstrated that short action with speed monitoring (20 minutes in each place) are successful. Crime prevention linked to companies and road carriers that have drivers who often drive too fast or are drug-affected is another success recipe.
  • Business transports (Folksam report): Companies working with recycling, package transports and couriers, as well as construction companies, is unfortunately not always so good at keeping the speed limits. More than 50% drive too fast in areas at speeds up to 70 kmph.
  • In the city: devlopment of attractive, safe, efficient, emission-free, safe environment is in focus. Cameras in the city environment and Geofencing are under investigation.
  • More and more cars are equipped with auto brake, which is positive. Several companies have begun to have this as a requirement in their procurement, e.g. Lidl.


Brita Saxton - Trafikanalys (www.trafa.se)
Brita told about Trafikanalys's mission to investigate lowered base speed in urban areas. Prerequisites and consequences shall be reported on 20 October.

Mats-Åke Belin – Swedish Transport Administration
Mats presented how Sweden is benchmark for other countries - the zero vision is being exported. In the United States, their vision is called Towards Zero Deaths`. New York is first after Sweden with a zero vision. Sweden’s Vision Zero is watched closely by the UN, OECD, WHO, EU, US states, and different countries’ traffic administrations.

Rune Elvik - Tøi
Rune presented Norway's accident statistics, which is similar to Sweden's. The most important factor for improved road safety is, according to their analysis, safer vehicles. Interest for self-driving cars seems to be low in Norway so far.

"The reality of a courier company" – ÖGS-bolaget, Jan Andersson
Safety, environmental impact and reliability goes hand in hand. Eco driving reduces the stress of drivers and gives higher average speeds due to the avoidance of sharp changes in speed. Damage to property has also decreased.

Folksam - How safe is the car
Folksam presented its annual report "How safe is the car", based on National Accident Data (STRADA). The fatality risk is down 80% from the 80s and disability is down about 55%. What accidents will still happen when we approach zero? Assuming that in 2030 we have cars that are "best of the day" + addition of new technical features, we should halve from today about 150 fatalities to 75. Then the curve will then likely continue to level out to about 20 deaths per year (extreme violations, frontal crash with heavy vehicles, diseases, crossings with trains). Interestingly, the scrapping of older cars could save over 300 lives by 2030.

Children in cars – Isabell Stockman, Volvo Cars
Volvo Cars presented an interesting FFI project that have analyzed real children in real cars. The booster cushion is about to be banned due to new legislation. However, the decision has been based on crash test dummies, not real children. The side protection in child seat does not have the same effect on real children as with dummies. The car's safety system is more important than previously thought. 20% of children older than 4 years but less than 135 cm do not use any restraints (which is a legal requirement). Easy-to-use protection systems that are either integrated or easy to carry are needed!

Chalmers University of Technology - MariAnne Karlsson
MariAnne held an inspiring presentation on the topic: ’Does humans understand the new technology?’ The answer is that there is a big difference between different drivers. 8 out of 10 Swedish drivers are positive to active safety systems. It also distinguishes between different countries, for example, the number of positive drivers are lower in Germany. In order to create understanding, it is important to work with advertising and marketing, education, interfaces and, of course, to build and disseminate experience and knowledge.

National cycling strategy - Lena Kling - Ministry of Enterprise and Industry
Lena gave a clear overview of what was recently presented in the National cycling strategy. https://www.trafikverket.se/om-oss/var-verksamhet/sa-har-jobbar-vi-med/nationell-strategi-for-okad-och-saker-cykeltrafik/

Fatal accidents with cyclists and pedestrians in the countryside, Anders Kullgren
More work has been done in the municipal road network than the infrastructure owned by the state. About 1/3 of bicyclist and pedestrian accidents occur on state roads. Roads, bicycle helmets and safety systems in vehicles are the most important parameters to avoid fatalaties. Special roads for cyclists and pedestrians that are separated from road are one of the most efficent solutions, but this solution is also expensive.

Local Policy Responsibility - How does zero vision affect the policy in big and smaller cities - Daniel Helldén (MP), Stockholm, Johan Nyhus (S), Gothenburg

  • Stockholm: Capacity, environment and safety cost money but must be prioritized. Works a lot with separation of cars and bikes as well as reduced base speed.
  • Gothenburg: strong business with great interest in safety issues. Legislation is not always up-to-date. Separation of speeds, rather than traffic is recommended. NGOs are active, and important for the development.
  • Falkenberg: Growing municipality. The railway has been relocated, allowing for rebuilding in the city center, but also providing traffic to and from the station. Bike strategy with increased maintenance has been launched. Large countryside area with e.g. a lot of traffic to and from Ullared is challenging.


Motorcycles and speed - Anders Wiman
In 65% of all fatal accidents, the MC travels were over, or much above, the speed limit. Benchmark with the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland:

•The Netherlands: Most accidents at intersections and at high speeds. Focus on risk assessment training.
•Germany: most of the accidents occur at rural roads. Works a lot with technology matters, not so much focus on behavior. Some roads are closed for MC traffic at certain times.
•Switzerland: Very local / regional structure and there are no statistics available for the entire country. Uses social media. Combines owner and driver responsibility. Cameras that shoot both front and rear have been successful.

Conclusions:

  • Increased presence of police is a success factor
  • Developed education is important
  • New types of cameras are needed