Evaluating public transport and road safety measures

Area of Science:

• Transportation Safety
• Risk Management
• Public Policy

Background:

• Current transport safety evaluations utilize diverse methodologies.
• Dominant approaches include cost-benefit analysis, industrial risk assessment, and accident elimination.
• These methods are applied within specific institutional contexts, particularly in Great Britain's road and rail sectors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically evaluate three primary approaches for assessing transport safety measures.
• To examine the institutional settings influencing the dominance of each evaluation approach.
• To propose an improved framework for transport safety evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of cost-benefit analysis, industrial risk assessment, and accident elimination.
• Application of these approaches to road and rail safety in Great Britain.
• Development of a hybrid framework integrating selected methodologies.

Main Results:

• The 'elimination of all avoidable accidents' approach is identified as resource-intensive and impractical.
• Cost-benefit analysis and industrial risk assessment are found to be more feasible evaluation tools.
• A framework combining cost-benefit analysis with tolerable individual risk limits is proposed.

Conclusions:

• The elimination of all avoidable accidents is not a viable strategy due to resource constraints.
• A balanced approach integrating economic evaluation with individual risk tolerance is recommended for transport safety.
• The proposed framework offers a more pragmatic and sustainable method for enhancing transport safety measures.