Thinking about the history of road safety research: Past achievements and future challenges

• We considered the history of road safety thinking and road safety research.
• More recently the emphasis shifted from single area focus towards a system’s view.
• Urbanisation and travel mode changes impose new challenges for road safety research.
• Growing need in assessing safety impacts of new vehicle technologies is indicated.
• Higher interest in behaviour indicators and behaviour adaptation research is foreseen.

This paper surveys the developments in road safety thinking and road safety research over the last century. It details the general evolution of safety thinking as it applied to road user behaviour, vehicle and road design. More recently, emphasis has shifted towards a system’s approach, both in road safety activities and in road safety research. In terms of the future, more likely scenarios for the near future, a few decades from now, are explored and the implications for future road safety research are discussed. In particular, increasing urban density forces changes in travel modes, with a shift to public transport, more cycling and walking, and, thus, imposes new challenges for road safety research. In terms of vehicle technology, more automation and driver assistance systems are envisaged with an accompanying emphasis on evaluation and research, including the issue of behaviour adaptation. Speeding and population ageing will remain major research areas. Increased interest in techniques for exploring large databases, behaviour indicators and randomised experimentation is expected.