Safety and accident-prevention plan

Summary

The drafting of a safety and accident-prevention plan was a way of helping to coordinate road safety policies and activities among all municipal departments and social actors, and of contributing to the planning of road safety education.

Implementing sustainable mobility

The measure was implemented in response to the high accident rate in Burgos. There were 1,827 accidents in 2002, which resulted in 400 injuries and 12 fatalities. These numbers reflect the heavy traffic flows both within and through the city. Unsafe behaviour by drivers also contributes to accidents, particularly excessive speed, but so do rash actions on the part of pedestrians and cyclists when crossing the road at inappropriate places without looking carefully for oncoming traffic, crossing when traffic lights are red or between moving cars and not using the pavements.

The CARAVEL project addressed the need for improved road safety education among the public in order to reduce the number of accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists by modifying behaviour patterns associated with urban mobility.

Progress

Activities included road safety campaigns in schools and workplaces; data collection regarding the frequency and location of accidents; improvements to road signs; speed calming measures; and improvements to the timing of traffic lights at pedestrian crossings.

Accident incidence and locations were examined to develop a model to help improve pedestrian safety. Following on from this, the high-risk areas pinpointed were targeted for the development of road-safety campaigns, improved road signs at danger spots, traffic calming measures, and traffic lights with new software. In parallel, workshops on road safety for children were held to raise awareness of road safety issues among younger and older children.

Outcomes

Measure implementation led to a huge decrease in the number of injuries among children, to fewer than 200 per year. The improvement was achieved as a result of the workshops on road safety, which were attended by more than 2,000 children, and to improved conditions for pedestrians (traffic lights at pedestrian crossings, traffic calming measures).