6. Method and Procedure
The traffic safety approach of Turkey;
States a structure, where all stakeholders do their share of tasks on infrastructure, vehicle, education, control, post-accident aid, care, and treatment with a superior sense of responsibility, and in cooperation as part of the Safe System Approach, in which the safety of life is at the centre with the approach “If the human life is in question, even 1 loss of life in traffic is more.”.
The Classical Traffic Safety Approach, casting the blame of all flaws of the road traffic system on people and ignoring the road, road perimeter, vehicle, and post-accident interventions being the other road traffic safety elements by highlighting the understanding that traffic accidents are preventable and traffic safety can be completely ensured in case people act in specific normative forms, have been abandoned in the recent years, instead, new approaches that design the entire system to protect humans have started to become prominent by placing them at the core of the system. Regarding the understanding that “Traffic accidents are preventable public health problems and are solvable with the Safe System Approach”, 43 new systemic approaches have been developed to eliminate all elements causing human factor, being the main unit constituting the system, to have an accident.
Within this framework, works focusing on Vision Zero will be performed as part of the Safe System Approach in terms of all road traffic safety elements in Action Plans to be prepared based on the keyframe the 2021-2030 Traffic Safety Strategy Paper and this paper draws.
The Safe System Approach, the task on the protection of human, being fragile and having the potential to make a mistake in traffic, was included in the system, with reference to the fact that humans may make mistakes and are fragile, and that the role of the government is to ensure the safety of people. This approach was based on the idea that although the mistakes are inevitable, loss of lives and serious injuries are preventable. According to the safe system approach, the road system should be designed in such a way that the mistake made by humans don’t cause serious or fatal results.
The vision zero approach states that safety should be the priority amongst all processes and one should focus on the change in the system rather than putting the blame solely on human errors in traffic accidents, and implement the measures required to be taken to achieve these objectives with clearly identified ones to prevent the loss of lives and injuries of humans in traffic.
In conclusion, a new strategy and action plan, based on the “Safe System Approach”, accepting that the road users may make mistakes, and regarding the road safety as the joint responsibility of all actors in the traffic system, and aiming at “Zero Loss of Live”, was adopted from 2021 to 2030.
OUR TRAFFIC SAFETY APPROACH
According to the classical transport and traffic safety approach;
Improving the human (road users) behaviours with education, information, and practices, the strict follow-up (control) on whether they comply with the rules regulating the traffic, and the method on penalizing the traffic violations firmly and severely are accepted as the only ways to ensure traffic safety and prevent traffic accidents.44
According to the classical transport and traffic safety approach, stated as developing the road infrastructure in a way to meet the vehicle traffic demands and gradually abandoned in the world, the solution of traffic congestion and traffic accidents was observed to be the putting forward methods such as new roads, road expansions, and stack interchanges, ensuring the full compliance of road users to the traffic rules and putting the entire blame on road users, but when understanding that the aforesaid approach fell short in terms of the development of transport systems and the solution of traffic safety problems in the long-term, new approaches were sought in time.45
Figure 6.1; Lack of Solution Cycle of the Classical Transport and the Traffic Safety Approach
Source: Prepared according to the Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications, “Failure of Classical Traffic Flow Theories; Stochastic Highway Capacity And Automatic Driving”.
Human Factor in Traffic Safety and the Vision Zero Approach with the Safe System Approach
In the efforts made by the international organizations on traffic safety, the cycle of the activities on ensuring and the development of traffic safety is reviewed in 5 stages, in the post-1950 period, when the traffic problems were felt significantly:
Figure: Chronological Development of Traffic Safety Approaches46
As stated above, the human factor has been one of the main focuses in each period of traffic safety efforts, sometimes as the source of problems, and sometimes as the core values to be protected.
The human factor accepted as the “general actor” in periods when the classical approaches were ruling over traffic safety, has come forward as an important, yet the “victim” rather than the actor within the relation of casualty of traffic accidents in the Safe System Approach.
In this regard, detailed explanatory information on the Safe System Approach and Vision Zero Approach to be followed up with the 2021-2030 Traffic Safety Strategy Paper in terms of traffic safety are presented
Figure 6.1; Lack of Solution Cycle of the Classical Transport and the Traffic Safety Approach
Stage 1: Driver-Oriented (1950s and 1960s)
The institutions tried to generate strategies independent and separately of each other in this period, with reference to the idea that drivers at the basis of the traffic safety problem, activities to create a behavioural change in drivers and efforts for the constitution or rearrangement of the legislation on road traffic safety were given particular importance. The main feature of the period is the severe traffic penalties imposed and the follow-up of training and awareness-raising efforts for the road users.
Stage 2: System-Oriented (1970’s and 1980s)
Along with the adaptation of Haddon Matrix, brought in the science world in the beginnings of 1970s by the health care specialist Dr William Haddon, who approached the conditions before, during, and after the traffic accidents, to the traffic safety, external factors were also started to be analysed as the subject of traffic safety, and a comprehensive frame on traffic safety was tried to be formed. With reference to the fact that the human body cannot tolerate the kinetic energy originating from traffic accidents with the pre-accident prevention activities, efforts were made on the in-vehicle and environmental accident protection measures. The first steps were taken on the follow-up of a systematic approach during this period.
Stage 3: Leader Instutions and The Period of Challenge Priorities (Beginings of 1990’s)
With reference to the fact that traffic safety can only be ensured by an institutionally leader organization, and the thesis that traffic accidents can be decreased by controls traffic safety efforts were made. In this period, inter-govern mental and intersectoral cooperation was considered important, and the idea that the number of traffic accidents can be decreased with the infrastructure investments made in the road traffic systems in face of the increasing number of motor vehicles was concentrated on. Thanks to the investments made in the road infrastructure in the United Kingdom, the number of deaths in traffic accidents decreased in half. The priority areas causing traffic accidents were identified, and these areas were prioritized. Multisectoral struggle approach was also taken as an example by other countries and invested in, for it brought successful conclusions in countries such as Australia and New Zealand
Stage 4: Objective-oriented Strategies and Safe System Approach Period (the end of 1990s)
Efforts were made to achieve the objectives identified in traffic safety and institutional strategies were developed in this period. In this sense, the “Sustainable Traffic Safety” (the Netherlands), “Vision Zero” (Sweden), and “Safe System” (Australia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Switzerland) approaches adopted to ensure traffic safety drew the attention. The problematic areas, especially the speed management were examined as a priority, measures to protect human life was given predominance in road and vehicle design, and the idea that the traffic system was faulty, was adopted instead of blaming the victim in traffic accidents in these strategies.
Stage 5: Innovative Strategies Period (from 2000s until today)
Efforts on the responsibilities of all sectors in the field of traffic safety were made by emphasizing the efforts including the entire traffic system, and the development of strategies over objective-oriented efforts to decrease traffic accidents, effective institutions management, and the analysis of data gained importance. The distinctive feature of this period is the fact that innovative solutions were generated for problems related to traffic safety. The inclusion of Smart Transport Systems (STS) in the field of traffic safety and the appeal to Electronic Control Systems (ECS) in the efforts to decrease traffic accidents may be regarded foremost amongst these. Additionally, the innovation period has started in traffic safety along with the use of many technical equipment such as traffic control with drones, substance test kit type of technical devices, and smart plate systems in the field of traffic safety.
As stated above, the human factor has been one of the main focuses in each period of traffic safety efforts, sometimes as the source of problems, and sometimes as the core values to be protected. The human factor accepted as the “general actor” in periods when the classical approaches were ruling over traffic safety, has come forward as an important, yet the “victim” rather than the actor within the relation of casualty of traffic accidents in the Safe System Approach. In this regard, detailed explanatory information on the Safe System Approach and Vision Zero Approach to be followed up with the 2021-2030 Traffic Safety Strategy Paper in terms of traffic safety are presented.
The human factor plays an active role by performing traffic violations such as red-light violation at times, and inactively such as driving wearily and carelessly at others as part of traffic safety. The human factor in traffic safety is evaluated in a large spectrum of the vehicles using frequency, demographic features, psychomotor skills and personal skills, and all these factors are accepted as having a part in the happening of the traffic accidents.47
Safe System Approach indicates the transition from an approach that focuses on merely decreasing the traffic accidents to one focusing on preventing the loss of lives and injuries in traffic accidents. Well-structured safety principles support the Safe System Approach, and the Safe System Approach involves the orderly appearance of all road transport system, the relationship it has between its roads and perimeters, the speeds of vehicles, and the entire system by approaching the vehicles and all road users.
Safe System Approach aims at taking on the responsibility from the road users and allocate them to the ones designing the roads.
It is a systematic approach aiming at forming a safe transport network by integrating the basic management elements and area of activities. Under the safe system approach, measures were developed by taking into account the result of scientific researches conducted on the physical power the human body can endure. The human body wasn’t designed to tolerate the force it will be exposed to temperamentally. Therefore, measures suggested in the Safe System Approach aim at preventing the human body being exposed to more force than it can endure.
The Safe System Approach is based upon the following fundamental principles:
- Humans may be mistaken or make mistakes.
- is based on “forgiving” human errors rather than “blaming the victim”.
- The human body is fragile, it wasn’t designed in a way to be resistant to force.
- Improving road safety responsibility should be shared amongst all stakeholders, it shouldn’t be under the responsibility of only one institution.
Another important aspect of the Safe System Approach is that it takes into account that humans may make mistakes in their plans and practices.
Humans may make mistakes, and despite the best attempts to obviate human error, it is not possible to eliminate the aforesaid errors entirely. Therefore, the Safe System Approach suggests establishing a road safety system clearly designed to “forgive” the errors and failures of humans. The road network is handled as a whole, in the Safe System Approach. For this reason, one can ensure that the roads are safer by improving the new infrastructure and roads with the approach brought along with the Safe System Approach and taking some other measures.
There are four main components in safe system approach:48
- Safer roads: According to the safe system approach, the roads need to be designed in a way to minimize the accidents risks and will minimize the severity of injuries when an accident happens. Safety features should be included in the road design from the very beginning.
- Safer speed: The speed limits in safety systems should be determined to prevent accidents and in line with the highest limit the human body can endure in case an accident happens. A vehicle having an accident over 20 km/hrs carries a fatal risk for a vulnerable pedestrian. The available vehicles were designed in a way to protect the humans within if moving below 50 km/hrs when a side-on collision happened, and if moving below 65 km/hrs when a head-on collision happened.
- Safer vehicles: Vehicles should be designed in a way to minimize the occurring of accidents and their results. Technology and roadworthiness should be the main criteria in the production of safer vehicles. Collision avoidance systems, (half) autonomous vehicles, stabilization control, vehicle to vehicle communication, automatic brake, airbag technology, alcolocks, and speed limiters are available for programme cars amongst the active safety measures assisting in preventing collisions. Three-point seatbelts, cushioned vehicle dashboard, and airbags being passive safety measures should be available in all vehicles as a standard.
- Safer use of roads: All governments must ensure that everyone using the roads participate in the traffic making sure they are safe and without hesitation. What is essential here is the proportional share of responsibility. According to the reports published by such international organizations as WHO and the OECD, the following principles should be adapted to the traffic safety management as a priority:49,50,51
- To consider in advance in the efforts made on traffic safety that humans may make mistakes and the result of human errors shouldn’t be death,
- To bear in mind that human’s body is open to injuries by nature and its physical structure has limits,
- To strengthen the accountability of the system,
- To develop ethical values in traffic safety,
- To improve social values.
The safe system approach has several benefits in terms of the sensitive areas of road traffic safety such as vulnerable road users, two or three-wheeled motor vehicles and especially the pedestrians, and safe speed management, and to sum up these benefits:
- Risk assessment: All factors posing risk such as vehicle speed, poor road design, insufficient traffic rules and regulations should be evaluated to ensure road traffic safety. The safe system approach prevents the constricted focus of the research on a single or a couple of risk factors.
- Gathering comprehensive interventions: It enables the holistic approach of all respects such as vehicle design, road infrastructure, and the control of traffic rules and regulations on ensuring speed limits.
- Taking lessons from the previous practices: It enables the information sharing for the limited low and middle-income countries to abstain from repeating the mistakes, such as the prioritization of road constructions where only the motor vehicles can be driven, according to the past experiences of developed countries along with the safe system approach.
- Inter-institutional cooperation: All subcomponents of road traffic require a comprehensive and multidimensional perspective along with the decision-makers, results, and solutions. In this respect, the cooperation between various organizations and sectors forms the keystone of the Safe System Approach.
The essence of Safe System Approach: is the formation of all elements of the traffic system such as the road, vehicles, and legislative regulations according to the weaknesses and strengths of human, and humans acting according to the rules established and regulations made to protect them. For instance, the production and instalment of in-vehicle protection systems such as airbag and side panelling in a way to prevent people from getting harmed in case of an accident, and the human factor ensuring their own safety of life by fastening their seatbelts or preventing themselves or others from getting injured by not driving while under the influence of alcohol. The only aim of elements being part of the safe system approach is to prevent people from getting harmed. When evaluating the Safe System Approach with a holistic view, it can be summarized as follows:
Şekil: Güvenli Sistem Yaklaşımı
The Vision Zero Approach, forming an important basis for the 2021-2030 Road Traffic Safety Strategy Paper, is a traffic safety approach, started to be followed in Turkey concerning the idea “that the result of no mistake should be human life”52, and its key features are; bringing a comprehensive approach to the road traffic management, handling the problem with the system approach, putting forward ethical and humane values instead of cost-benefit analysis in traffic management, sharing the responsibility between all stakeholders by changing the classical approach in traffic safety and without passing the buck on the drivers, and developing the strategies based on these principles and putting them into effect. The “Vision Zero Approach” has brought a modern insight to the traffic safety with its aforesaid features.53
“Vision Zero” aims at zero loss of life in traffic accidents. This approach, implemented successfully in many countries, is followed up with the name “Towards Zero” in some others, and positive results are obtained. The “Vision Zero Approach” is based on four main principles. These principles, in brief:54
- Ethics: Human life and health come before everything, life and health have more priority than the other objectives of mobility and transport.
- Responsibility: Service providers and implementers in the road traffic system share the responsibilities on system safety jointly with the road users.
- Safety: Humans make mistakes. Therefore, road traffic systems should consider these mistakes and minimize the error probability and the damages these errors may cause when there is a mistake.
- Change Mechanisms: The service providers and controllers in the road transport system must exert themselves maximally for the safety of all citizens. Collaborative works should be carried out with the road users to ensure traffic safety, and all must be ready to change when necessary.
The “Vision Zero Approach” and the classical approaches of traffic safety differ in terms of the focus point and the understanding of the traffic problem, and both approaches give different answers to the same questions.
|
Question |
Classical Approach |
Vision Zero Approach |
|
What is the problem in traffic safety? |
The risk of an accident. |
Loss of lives and serious injuries. |
|
What is the cause of the traffic safety problem? |
The human factor. |
To not consider that humans may make mistakes and are vulnerable. |
|
Who is responsible for the assurance of traffic safety? |
Road users. |
The ones designing the system. |
|
Do people have any traffic safety demand? |
People don’t demand anything about traffic safety. |
People demand traffic safety. |
|
What is the objective of traffic safety? |
To decrease the number of loss of lives and serious injuries to an appropriate level. |
To eliminate the loss of lives and serious injuries completely. (To zeroize) |
To put into practice this vision requires us to review our habits up to now.
The objective to decrease the loss of lives and serious injuries due to traffic accidents by 50% by 2030, and to entirely set aside by 2050, to ensure traffic safety necessitates some changes. The commitment of everyone to the traffic safety objective and the declaration of mobilization as well as strong management of traffic safety are of crucial importance during this process.
Putting into effect the vision zero approaches necessitates focusing on the system change rather than casting the blame solely on human errors, and besides, the implementation of measures required to achieve these objectives with clearly identified objectives by accepting safety as the first priority in all traffic investments and decision-making processes. A vehicle, in which no person uses seatbelt, is not safe no matter what safety equipment it has in case of an accident. A road, where drivers overspeed and reckless drivers drive vehicles, howsoever sturdy and safe its infrastructure may be, is not adequately safe, either.
Therefore, ensuring traffic safety is not possible by improving only one element forming the system or through controlling only one part. With the main objective of protecting human along with all parts and elements forming the road system, it is possible to accomplish in case we drive with the proper cruising speed, people are truly protected with road and vehicle equipment, all road users act with the sense of responsibility, and the legal system and technology serve with the awareness to ensure traffic safety.