Behaviour in traffic; ESRA; Global survey; Road safety; Safety performance indicators; Traffic safety culture; Behavior in traffic; E-survey of road user' attitude; Risky behaviors; Road users; Safety performance; Traffic safety cultures; User attitudes; Transportation; Engineering (all); Safety Research; Urban Studies
Abstract :
[en] Monitoring of road safety performance is essential to effectively address the global road safety problem. Consistent and accurate monitoring allows policymakers to assess the effectiveness of current safety measures, identify emerging risk factors, and develop targeted interventions. Different key performance indicators can be used to monitor road safety performance. In addition to the traditional road safety indicators based on the number of fatalities or injured people in road traffic crashes, complementary road safety performance indicators can be used in relation to vehicles, infrastructure or road users' behaviour. The E-Survey of Road Users' Attitudes (ESRA) is an online survey that aims to collect and analyse comparable data on road safety performance and traffic safety culture across the world. In its three editions (from 2015 to 2023) ESRA has included data from more than 120,000 road users from a total of 68 different countries. This paper focuses on data from the third edition of the ESRA survey (ESRA3), which was conducted in 2023 across 39 countries and includes answers from over 37,000 road users. The objectives are to provide an overview of the ESRA3 survey methodology and to present results related to several road safety topics, such as drink-driving, speeding, or distraction, across different types of road users: car drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and moped riders/motorcyclists. It examines multiple dimensions of risky behaviours in traffic, including self-declared behaviours, personal acceptability of unsafe behaviours, and support for policy measures. Results show low acceptability of unsafe traffic behaviours like speeding, drink-driving, fatigued driving or using a mobile phone while driving a car – less than 5 % of respondents considered these behaviours acceptable. Notwithstanding the low acceptability, a high percentage of car drivers declared engaging in risky behaviours in traffic: speeding within built-up areas was declared by 37 % to 47 % of car drivers, using a mobile phone by 22 % to 32 %, fatigued driving by 18 % to 20 %, and driving under the influence of alcohol by 10 % to 14 %. As for vulnerable road users, distraction (reading messages/checking social media or listening to music through headphones) was the most declared risky behaviour by pedestrians, the non-use of helmet the most declared by cyclists, and speeding the most declared by moped riders and motorcyclists. Most respondents support policy measures to restrict risky behaviour. The ESRA survey offers a unique database and provides policy makers and researchers with valuable insights into public perception of road safety.
Disciplines :
Social & behavioral sciences, psychology: Multidisciplinary, general & others
Author, co-author :
Pires, Carlos; Portuguese Road Safety Association (PRP), Lisbon, Portugal ; Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Meesmann, Uta ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Urban and Environmental Engineering ; Vias institute, Brussels, Belgium
Areal, Alain; Portuguese Road Safety Association (PRP), Lisbon, Portugal
Wardenier, Naomi; Vias institute, Brussels, Belgium
Granié, Marie-Axelle; Univ Gustave Eiffel, Univ Lyon, AME-MODIS, Lyon, France
Furian, Gerald; Kuratorium für Verkehrssicherheit (KFV), Wien, Austria
Nikolaou, Dimitrios; National Technical University of Athens, Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering, Athens, Greece
Jankowska-Karpa, Dagmara; Motor Transport Institute, Warsaw, Poland
Lyon, Craig; Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), Ottawa, Canada
Møller, Mette; Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Division of Transportation Science, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Surges, Fabian; Federal Highway Research Institute Germany (BASt), Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
Nakamura, Hideki; of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Member of the International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences (IATSS), Tokyo, Japan
NTUA - National Technical University of Athens DTU - Danmarks Tekniske Universitet BASt - Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen Université Gustave Eiffel TIRF - The International Research Foundation for English Language Education
Funding text :
The authors would like to thank the following organizations and people for their much-appreciated contribution to this study: Vias institute (i.e. Uta Meesmann and Naomi Wardenier, Belgium) for the coordination of the ESRA initiative; All ESRA3 steering group partners: BASt (Germany), DTU (Denmark) IATSS (Japan), University Gustave Eiffel (France), ITS (Poland), KFV (Austria), NTUA (Greece), PRP (Portugal), SWOV (the Netherlands), TIRF (Canada) for helping to develop the ESRA3 survey and the common ESRA3 outputs; All 28 ESRA3 partners for supporting and financing the national ESRA3 surveys in 39 countries in 2023. ESRA is funded through the contributions of the partner organisations, either from their own resources or from sponsors. Part of the funding for Vias institute, who is coordinating the ESRA initiative, is provided by the Belgian Federal Public Service Mobility & Transport.
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