Dacota sunflower

Road Safety Data, Collection, Transfer and Analysis

Deliverable 4.3 Functional Specification of
Data Browsing Tool and Country Overviews

Please refer to this report as follows:
Reurings, M.C.B., Papadimitriou, E., Vis, M.A. & Yannis, G. (2010). Functional
Specification of Data Browsing Tool and Country Overviews, Deliverable 4.3 of the
EC FP7 project DaCoTA.

Grant agreement No TREN / FP7 / TR / 233659 /"DaCoTA"
Theme: Sustainable Surface Transport: Collaborative project
Project Coordinator:
Professor Pete Thomas, Vehicle Safety Research Centre, ESRI
Loughborough University, Ashby Road, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK

Project Start date: 01/01/2010 Duration 30 months

Organisation name of lead contractor for this deliverable:
IBSR

Report Author(s):
Reurings, M.C.B., Vis, M.A. (SWOV), Yannis, G. (NTUA)

Due date of deliverable dd/mm/yyyy Submission date: dd/mm/yyyy

Project co-funded by the European Commission within the Seventh Framework Programme

Dissemination Level

PU Public

Project co-financed by the European Commission, Directorate-General Transport and Energy

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive summary................................................................................................4
1. Introduction..........................................................................................................5
1.1. Background.................................................................................................................. 5
1.2. Data Browser Tool....................................................................................................... 5
1.3. Country Overviews....................................................................................................... 6
1.4. What is a functional specification?..............................................................................6
1.5. Report outline.............................................................................................................. 7
2. Available data.......................................................................................................8
2.1. Crash data................................................................................................................... 8
2.2. Exposure data.............................................................................................................. 9
2.3. Data on SPIs.............................................................................................................. 10
3. Data browser tool..............................................................................................12
3.1. Objectives.................................................................................................................. 12
3.2. Target groups............................................................................................................. 12
3.3. Specifications............................................................................................................. 12
3.3.1. Easy access........................................................................................................ 12
3.3.2. Interactive data.................................................................................................... 13
3.3.3. Meta-data............................................................................................................ 13
3.4. Tool set up................................................................................................................. 13
3.5. Available technology.................................................................................................. 14
3.5.1. Contents management system: Wiki...................................................................14
3.5.2. Cognos Powerplay on the web............................................................................15
3.5.3. The PC-Axis family.............................................................................................. 16
4. Country overviews.............................................................................................18
4.1. Objectives.................................................................................................................. 18
4.2. Structure of the country overviews: the SUNflower methodology..............................18
4.3. Detailed outline and contents....................................................................................20
4.3.1. Structure and Culture......................................................................................... 20
4.3.2. Programmes and measures...............................................................................21
4.3.3. Road Safety Performance Indicators...................................................................22
4.3.4. Road safety outcomes......................................................................................... 22
4.3.5. Social Costs......................................................................................................... 24
4.3.6. Synthesis............................................................................................................. 24
4.4. Templates and format...............................................................................................25
4.5. Prototype of country overview and next steps...........................................................25

5. Next steps.......................................................................................................... 27
References............................................................................................................ 28
Annex A. Specifications for country overviews..................................................29
A.1 Structure and Culture................................................................................................. 29
A.2 Programmes and measures.......................................................................................29
A.3 Road Safety Performance Indicators..........................................................................29
A.4 Outcomes................................................................................................................... 30
A.5 Social Cost................................................................................................................. 31
A.6 Synthesis.................................................................................................................... 31
Annex B. Example of Country Overview for Greece...........................................32

D4.3 Functional Specification of Data Browsing Tool and Country Overviews

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

dacotasunflower-130121074743-phpapp01.doc
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1.INTRODUCTION

1.1.Background
The DaCoTA project aims at further developing the data and information resources of
the European Road Safety Observatory (ERSO) to support road and vehicle safety
policy-making. New approaches will be developed and implemented to gather,
structure and apply policy-related safety data that can be incorporated within the
Observatory. The data gathering is mainly the task of WP3 of the project. It is namely
this work package in which a road safety data warehouse will be developed, as a
comprehensive and integrated system, making available all the existing data and
information, necessary for the support of the decision making.
The aim of WP4 is to bridge the gap between research and policy by bringing
together policy makers' needs and tangible tools. Using information available in other
work packages (including the Data Warehouse of WP3) tools will be realised to
support decision making. These tools are:
• Data Browser Tool for data from WP3;
• SUNflower country comparison and analysis tool (Country Overviews);
• (updates of the) topical webtexts in the ERSO website.

This reports focuses on the Data Browser Tool and the Country Overviews. It
discusses the functional specifications of both tools. In Section 1.4 it will be explained
what a functional specifications in general is. But first, the next two sections will give
some background on the Data Browser Tool and the Country Overviews.

1.2.Data Browser Tool
As the name indicates, the Data Browser Tool is a tool which makes it possible for
the end-user of the system to browse through all the collected data, preferably in a
way that is easily understood. It will be part of the Data Warehouse, developed in
WP3. This is a web-based system in which output of several work packages in
DaCoTA will be put. The Data Warehouse will consist of four parts, namely:
• Statistics (static data in the form of basic factsheets and annual statistical reports);
• i-Data (interactive data);
• Knowledge;
• Tools.
The i-Data is an interactive web-based system (and hence a Data Browser Tool)
allowing easy on-line combination of various data contained in the Data
Warehouse. These data consist of numbers (e.g. about crashes and exposure)
and meta-data (information on these numbers), but not of for example webtexts or
lists of measures. A schematic overview of the i-Data system is given in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. Schematic structure of the i-Data system, aka Data Browser Tool.

1.3.Country Overviews
A Country Overview is a short document containing the following information on the
road safety situation in a country:
• structure and culture (e.g. road safety programs, road safety authorities, user
education, attitudes towards risk taking, climate and conditions);
• programs and measures (e.g. national strategic plans and targets, speed
management, driver training, quality of road design standards);
• road safety performance indicators, as proposed and developed in SafetyNet;
• outcomes (e.g. number of fatalities, fatalities per vehicle type);
• social costs.
Also a synthesis of the results is included in each Country Overview, ideally providing
the links between levels that may result in a complete picture on the country's road
safety level and the main causes and future challenges.
By comparing these overviews, an end-user must immediately see on which levels
the countries differ.

1.4. What is a functional specification?
In short, a functional specification in systems engineering and software development
is the documentation that describes the requested behavior of a system, in our case
the Data Browser Tool or the Country Overviews. The documentation typically
describes what is needed by the system user as well as requested properties of
inputs and outputs (e.g. of the software system). A functional specification does not
define the inner workings of the proposed system and it does not include the
specification how the system function will be implemented.
A functional specification can be informal, in which case it can be considered as a
blueprint or user manual from a developer point of view, or formal, in which case it

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has a definite meaning defined in mathematical or programmatic terms. The
functional specifications in this report will be mostly informal.

1.5.Report outline
Before the functional specifications of the Data Browser Tool and the Country
Overviews can be developed, it should be clear which data are available for
browsing. This is the subject of Chapter 2. In Chapter 3 the Data Browser Tool will
be discussed and the Country Overviews are the subject of 4. The report ends
with a short description of the next steps to be taken.

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2.AVAILABLE DATA
In order to develop a suitable Data Browser Tool and to determine which information
should be contained in the Country Overviews, it must be known which data will be
available. Because the Data Warehouse of WP3 is the basis for both tools, this
chapter will give an overview of the data that will be contained in this warehouse (as
proposed at the moment).

2.1.Crash data
This section lists the proposed crash data by WP3-leader NTUA. Distinction is made
between the crash, the involved vehicles and the resulting victims.

Data about the crash:
• day of the week;
• hour;
• month;
• year;
• crahs severity;
• crash type;
• collision type;
• hit and run;
• country;
• region/province;
• area type
• junction or road segment;
• motorway;
• carriageway type;
• number of lanes;
• road markings;
• road surface conditions;
• speed limit;
• junction type;
• junction control;
• number of vehicles involved;
• number of persons involved;
• number of pedestrians involved;
• lighting conditions;
• natural light;
• street lights;
• weather.

Data about vehicles:
• vehicle group;
• vehicle type;

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• vehicle age;
• registration country;
• manoeuvre vehicle or driver;
• lighting;

Data about victims:
• age;
• gender;
• nationality;
• injury severity;
• person class;
• car passenger type;
• driving licence age;
• movement pedestrian;
• psychophysical circumstances;
• security equipment;
• alcohol test;
• alcohol level.

2.2.Exposure data
Exposure data are data which should be taken into account when comparing road
safety levels of e.g. countries, groups of people or roads. Exposure measures can
roughly be classified into two groups:
• Traffic estimates: road length, vehicle kilometres, fuel consumption, vehicle fleet;
• Persons at risk estimates: person kilometres, population, number of trips, time in
traffic, driver population.
This categorisation is somewhat arbitrary and some measures can well be
considered within the other category. For instance, often person kilometres are
preferred over vehicle kilometres when fatalities are to be compared, because
differences in vehicle occupancy rates may be captured by person kilometres (and
not by vehicle kilometres). However, when the subject of a study is the occupancy
rate, a comparison based on vehicle kilometres may be more reasonable.

Below the exposure data is listed, which is proposed to be part of the Data
Warehouse:
• vehicle kilometres per:
• vehicle type;
• road type;
• area type;
• year;
• vehicle fleet per:
• vehicle type;
• age;
• engine size;
• region;
• driver population per:

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• age;
• gender;
• nationality;
• population per:
• age;
• gender;
• road length data per:
• road type;
• area type;
• region;
• person kilometres per:
• age;
• gender;
• nationality;
• driving experiene.

2.3.Data on SPIs
Safety performance indicators are the measures (indicators), reflecting those
operational conditions of the road traffic system, which influence the system’s safety
performance (Hakkert, A.S, Gitelman, V. and Vis, M.A. (Eds.), 2007). The purpose of
safety performance indicators is
• to reflect the current safety conditions of a road traffic system;
• to measure the influence of various safety interventions, but not the stage or level
of application of particular measures,
• to compare between different road traffic systems (e.g. countries, regions, et
cetera).

Following the recommendations of the ETSC report "Transport Safety Performance
Indicators" (2001), seven problem areas were selected in SafetyNet (Hakkert, A.S,
Gitelman, V. and Vis, M.A. (Eds.), 2007). They are:
• alcohol and drug-use;
• speeds;
• protection systems;
• daytime running lights (DRL);
• vehicles;
• roads;
• trauma management.
These are also the problem areas for which SPIs will be included in the Data
Warehouse. The SPIs per area are stated below.

Alcohol and drug-use
• Proportion of drunk drivers in the traffic flow;
• Number of alcohol/drug controls, et cetera.

Speeds
• Percentage of the total traffic of vehicles exceeding speed limit;

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• Average speed, et cetera.

Protection systems
• Wearing rates of seat belts per population;
• Usage rates of helmet and protective clothes per vehicle fleet;
• Usage rates of child restraint systems per children population.

Daytime running lights
• Percentage of motor vehicles using head lights during daytime.

Vehicles
• Number of vehicles in the country's fleet per vehicle type, and if possible
information on make, model and year of registration.

Roads
• Network SPI: percentage of appropriate road category length per connection type;
• Road design SPI: distribution of stars (1-4) per road category.

Trauma Management
• EMS medical staff per 10.000 inhabitants.
• Number of road crash emergency calls per 10.000 inhabitants et cetera.

Attitudes
• Selected SARTRE Tables on attitudes data.

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3.DATA BROWSER TOOL

3.1.Objectives
The aim of the Data Bowser Tool is disclose any macroscopic data that is collected
or gathered within the DaCoTA project. This includes the data as specified in Chapter
2, and may include other data collected in DaCoTA.
Here, 'data' means 'numbers'. When disclosing numbers, however, it is important
also to provide information on issues like;
• the definitions behind the numbers;
• who collected the data;
• how the data was collected;
• the quality of the data;
• how to use the data.

Such information is termed 'meta-data'. The Data Browser Tool also aims to
provide the right amount of meta-data related to the data.

3.2.Target groups
In general, the Data Browser Tool is meant to serve any person who is interested in
the data that it discloses. More specifically, persons using the Data Browser Tool will
be those interested in road safety related data, interested in doing their own analysis
on basis of this data. This also means that a certain level of knowledgeability with
road safety data quality and with the performance of road safety data analyses is
required. It is therefore expected that the users of the Data Browser Tool will consist
of the following groups in order of descending likelihood:
• researchers;
• policy preparers;
• press.

3.3.Specifications
Based on the stated objectives and the target groups, the Data Browser Tool should
meet several specifications:
• the data should be easily accessible;
• the data should be interactive;
• if data are showed, the relevant meta-data should be showed as well.
Each of these specifications will be discussed below.

3.3.1. Easy access
It should be clear immediately which data are available in the Data Browser Tool.
This can, for example, be derived by giving a list of the available tables on the
entrance page of the tool. For each of these tables the available variables should be
listed. By just one click the user should go to the desired table (for example crash
data).

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3.3.2. Interactive data
Once the user arrived at the desired table (e.g. crash data), he should be able to
query the table. I.e., the user can choose which of the available variables in that table
he wants to see, for example the type of crash, the month, the number of involved
vehicles. It should be easy to change the selection of variables and also to go back to
the main page (list of available tables).

3.3.3. Meta-data
Once a table is shown, the meta-data must be shown as well. It is important that
users read more information about the data, in order to interpret them correctly. The
more detailed the showed data are, the more detailed the meta-data should be. It
should also be possible to go to meta-data on some number (for example the number
of killed male drivers in Italy), by clicking on that number in the table. This requires a
very ordered structure of the meta-data.

3.4.Tool set up
This section shows the set-up of the Data Browser Tool, inspired by the given
specifications in the preceding section. As mentioned, the Data Browser Tool will
disclose data and so-called 'meta-data'. Two main groups of data can be
distinguished:
• (Time-)series of multidimensional data;
• Short single or two-dimensional list of data.

The first group will be disclosed through a queryable database with a web-interface,
the second group through either web texts or simple ASCII text or Excel files. The
meta-data will be provided in the form of factsheets or web texts.

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Figure 2. Schematic representation of the set-up of the Data Browser Tool.

The general set-up is shown in Figure 2. A search for specific data would start in the
general data overview. This provides an overview of the available data types,
according to the New Zealand target hierarchy (LTSA, 2000), as adapted for the
SUNflower studies (Koornstra et al., 2002). By clicking one of the layers in the
hierarchy, the user is lead to a detailed overview of the data for the data type of that
level. From this detailed overview, the user can either go directly to the data (Tables)
or to the meta-data. Navigation between the data and the meta-data is also possible.

3.5.Available technology
In this section we will discuss which tools are already available which can be used to
built the Data Browser Tool. Because the Data Browser Tool does not only contain
data ('numbers'), but also texts (meta-data), and is developed and maintained by
multiple partners, it is logical to use a contents management system (CMS) for the
overall tool. This will be elaborated on in Section 3.5.1. In this CMS other tools can
be used to actually show the data. Two possibilities will be discussed: Cognos
Powerplay (Section 3.5.2) and PC Axis (Section 3.5.3).

3.5.1. Contents management system: Wiki
A content management system is a collection of procedures used to manage work
flow in a collaborative environment. The general criteria which a CMS should meet
are:
• A large number of people can contribute to and share stored data;
• Access to data is controlled, based on user roles, which define what information
each user can view or edit;
• The storage and retrieval of data is easy;
• Repetitive duplicate input is reduced;
• It improves the ease of report writing;
• It improves the communication between users.

A special and very popular type of a contents management system is a so called
wiki. A wiki is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of
interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a
WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often
used to create collaborative websites, such as the Data Warehouse.
The first wiki was developed by Ward Cunningham. He describes the characteristics
as of a wiki as follows (Cunningham & Leuf, 2001):
• It invites all users to edit any page or to create new pages within the wiki web site,
using only a plain-vanilla web browser without any extra add-ons;
• It promotes meaningful topic associations between different pages by making
page link creation almost intuitively easy and showing whether an intended target
page exists or not;
• A wiki is not a carefully crafted site for casual visitors. Instead, it seeks to involve
the visitor in an ongoing process of creation and collaboration that constantly
changes the Web site landscape.

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Especially the second characteristic is important for the Data Browser Tool,
containing data and meta-data.

Figure 3. Example of a wiki for displaying the meta data in the Data Browser Tool.

A wiki can be used as part of the front end of the Data Browser Tool to provide the
meta data information. Furthermore, it can be used to provide comprehensive
overviews of the available information on specific topics. Figure 3 shows an example
of such an application of a wiki.

3.5.2. Cognos Powerplay on the web
Cognos Powerplay is a tool which can be used for online analytical processing
(OLAP). It draws information from relational databases to model and build so-called
cubes. Cubes are data sets that can contain tens of millions of consolidated rows of
data and hundreds of thousands of categories (members). By easy clicking or
dragging it is possible to show the data for several variables. SWOV uses Cognos
Powerplay on its website to open up road safety data. Figure 4 shows a screenshot
of the SWOV website, showing Cognos Powerplay.

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Figure 4. Example of the Cognos Powerplay Data Browser Tool

3.5.3. The PC-Axis family
Another frequently used Data Browser Tool is part of the PC-Axis family. The PC-
Axis family consists of a number of programs for the Windows and Internet
environment used to present statistical information. It is mostly used by the statistical
offices in different countries to let their users retrieve statistics. PC-Axis is the base
program in the family. It can be extended with:
• PX-Map: a Windows program which allows you to view statistics on maps;
• PX-Make: helps you to create PC-Axis files, by entering metadata and adding
data from for instance an excel file;
• PX-Edit: a tool for editing, manipulating and generating PC-Axis files, aimed to
provide the maintainers of PC-Axis and PX-Web-based services with a fast easy-
to-use expert tool;
• PX-Web is a solution for the web, which works with PC-Axis files. PX-Web can
also be a part of a solution with connection to SQL databases.

These programs can be downloaded free of charge at http://www.pc-axis.scb.se/.
As an example, Figure 5 shows a screenshot of the website of the Observatory for
the Greek Information Society, which also uses programs of the PC-Axis family.

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Figure 5. Example of the PC-Axis family.

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4.COUNTRY OVERVIEWS

4.1.Objectives
The country overviews aim to create a representation of the road safety situation and
development over time in a country, to enable detailed country comparisons and to
allow benchmarking for several specific road safety indicators. More specifically, the
country overviews should give policy makers the opportunity to evaluate the road
safety situation in their country with respect to different key areas:
• The outcomes of the road safety system i.e. the road accidents, the related
casualties and the resulting social costs;
• The behaviors that are considered to play an essential role in the creation of
unsafe traffic situations (e.g. speeding, drink-driving, use of safety equipment et
cetera), as well as other elements affecting the level of road safety in the country
(e.g., quality of the road infrastructure, the vehicle fleet et cetera);
• The road safety policies and measures implemented in the country, as well as the
general context in which these measures have been established.

Eventually, the country overviews should allow linking the actions taken or not taken
by policy makers, to the operational level of road safety in the country, which in turn
defines the magnitude of the road safety problem in the country, in terms of
accidents, casualties and social costs.
For that purpose, an appropriate framework for the analysis and integration of the
various elements of the country overviews is selected, namely the footprint
methodology of the SUNflower projects. This methodology provides a well-specified,
complete and concise structure for analyzing and linking the various components of
the road safety system in a country. Within this structure, a detailed outline of the
contents of the country overviews is provided, in terms of data and information
required, the related national and international sources and the specific indicators to
be presented and analyzed. Furthermore, an appropriate format is proposed for the
country overviews, through the creation of a related template. The processes for the
development of the country overviews are specified, as well as the necessary data
collection processes. Finally, a prototype of the country overviews has been
produced for Greece, to be used as a basis for the discussion for the finalization of
the country overview template.

4.2.Structure of the country overviews: the
SUNflower methodology
The assessment of road safety status in a country requires fundamental
understanding of traffic safety processes at different levels in the hierarchy of causes
and effects. A safety pyramid model that describes a target hierarchy starting from
'structure and culture' towards 'social costs' was proved to be very efficient and may
serve as basis for this goal. It was developed in the first phase of the SUNflower
project (Koornstra et al., 2002) and further elaborated in the SUNflower+6 project
(Wegman et al., 2005).

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The idea was to develop a framework, where a country's performance is reflected by
a multiple score of standardized key indicators, expressed as a snapshot in time or
as a past picture over time. Moreover, the framework should include not only a full
picture of all impacts of road crashes, but also their most relevant underlying
elements and processes for which causal relationships can be identified and
understood. The understanding of causal relationships between indicators on the
different levels involved in the problem may eventually allow to classify causes and
effects in terms of social cost of road accidents.

Social
costs

Number of killed
and injured

Safety performance indicators

Safety measures and programmes

Structure and culture

Figure 6. The SUNflower pyramid.

The SUNflower pyramid comprises five distinct levels (see Figure 6). Each country’s
performance is indicative of local mentality (structure and culture - policy input) at the
bottom level, as well as common practice (safety measures and programs - policy
output), as result at level 2. Such a comparative analysis is facilitated by a group of
intermediate outcomes, illustrated by road safety performance indicators (RSPI) in
issues like speeding, drinking and driving, et cetera at level 3; it also requires a
concise depiction of the road network and the main features of the vehicle fleet.
These elements express the operational level of road safety in the country. Final
outcomes expressed in terms of road accident casualties are then necessary to
understand the scale of the examined issue. This type of information is found at level
4, and is largely related to the indicators that describe the three components of a
road network (infrastructure, vehicle, road user). Ideally, the top of the pyramid
should include a sound estimate of the total social cost of road accidents in any area.
It should in the end be possible to track a specific road safety aspect through all
levels of the pyramid. For example it should be possible to track high social costs of a
particular safety aspect down to casualty numbers, via operational conditions of
traffic, to a measure that has or has not yet been taken, and the social, political and
cultural environment that it originates from. The other way around is valid as well. For
example, a country that has implemented many safety measures should perform
relatively well on the safety aspects that are related to these measures. Or, if this is
not the case, the reasons should be clear and also be reflected in the indicators. For
example, it might be expected that in a country where a rather high BAC is permitted
or where the police do not perform alcohol controls frequently, the percentage of
drivers under influence of alcohol will be high, and associated with a high proportion
of fatal crashes (Wegman et al., 2005).

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Consequently, the SUNflower pyramid provides a framework for the analysis of a
country's performance, allowing not only to examine all aspects of the road safety
problem, either at global or at detailed level, but also to link these aspects in the
identification of road safety causes and effects. For these reasons, the SUNflower
pyramid hierarchy is selected as a general structure for the DaCoTA country
overviews.
In the next section, the various levels of the pyramid are further analyzed in terms of
data and information required and indicators to be presented. Particular emphasis is
given in the final synthesis of the results, which serves as an integration of the
information presented in the five levels, and allows not only for an overall
assessment of country's performance, but also for the identification of specific road
safety problems and a series of respective countermeasures.

4.3. Detailed outline and contents
In this section, the proposed specifications for country overviews are presented, as a
detailed outline of the structure and contents of the country overviews. This detailed
outline aims to serve as an overall guide for the development of the country
overviews. It is underlined however that country-specific adjustments may be
necessary, or even recommended. On the one hand, the implementation of this
outline largely depends on data availability, so that specific elements of the outline
can not be presented for a specific country. On the other hand, it would be most
useful to focus on particular interesting aspects of the road safety problem of each
country, so that any available additional elements may be presented as well.

4.3.1. Structure and Culture

As mentioned above, the first level of the SUNflower pyramid concerns 'structure and
culture'. This will be the first part of the country overview and would mainly include
text of estimated length of about 1-2 pages. The particular topics to be presented in
this part concern:
• Road safety authorities: the authorities involved in road safety management in the
country are presented, and the specific responsibilities of each authority are
mentioned.
• User education: information about driver training and licensing is presented, as
well as information about traffic education, road user information et cetera.
• Attitudes towards risk taking: information on road safety attitudes, compliance and
behaviours is presented, in order to assess the overall road safety culture in the
country.
• Climate and conditions: specific features of the climate and overall conditions in
the country, that may affect the level of road safety, are mentioned.
• Any other issue may have an impact to the road safety structure and culture of the
country.

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The main sources of information for this section of the country overviews will be
DaCoTA WP1 and WP3. In particular, information on road safety management and
related structures are to be collected within DaCoTA WP1 - Policy, whereas
information on attitudes, behaviours, education et cetera will be made available
through DaCoTA WP3 - Data Warehouse. As regards attitudinal and behavioural
data, the results of the SARTRE 2 & 3 projects (Social Attitudes to Road Traffic Risk
in Europe) and later on of SARTRE 4 could be also exploited; the related links may
also be established by DaCoTA WP3.

4.3.2. Programmes and measures

The second level of the SUNflower pyramid, corresponding to the second part of the
DaCoTA country overview, concerns 'programmes and measures' and aims to
present the main road safety strategies in each country, as well as the most
important individual measures implemented at national level. The section will mainly
include 1-2 pages of text, as well as a related Figure or Table, if available.
First, the National Strategic Plans of the country will be presented, together with their
specific targets, in order to highlight the history of road safety policy. The most recent
/ current National Strategic Plan should be described in more detail. The adoption of
European road safety targets should also be mentioned.
Moreover, specific road safety measures and regulations are presented, especially
with respect to the following key areas:
• Speed management: including the existing speed limits per road type, the
establishment of traffic calming / 30-zones in urban areas et cetera.
• Seatbelt / helmet wearing laws: explaining whether and since when seatbelt and
helmet wearing are compulsory for front / rear passengers et cetera. Measures or
laws related to other road safety equipment (e.g. child restraint) are also
presented.
• Enforcement: the main enforcement schemes implemented in the country are
presented, together with the related penalty levels. The country's demerit point
system, if available, is also briefly presented.
• Driver training and licensing: the rules and processes related to driver training and
licensing are presented, including compulsory training, age thresholds for
licensing and periodical medical examination of particular groups of drivers.
• Periodical technical inspections of vehicles, explaining whether, since when and
for which vehicle categories they apply.
• Quality of road design standards: national road design guidelines are presented, if
available. Moreover, road infrastructure design and maintenance measures and
programmes are described, including treatment of hazardous locations.
• Awareness raising campaigns: the main campaigns launched in the country are
described.
• Specific traffic regulations: any additional important road safety measures or
programmes, beyond the ones mentioned above, are also presented.
• Any other safety measures and regulations, which are considered having an
impact on road safety developments.

21


The main sources of information for this section of the country overviews will also be
DaCoTA WP1 and WP3. In particular, information on road safety programmes and
measures are to be collected within DaCoTA WP1 - Policy and DaCoTA WP3 - Data
Warehouse. Additional related information may be sought from the European
Commission, or from other national sources.

4.3.3. Road Safety Performance Indicators

The third level of the SUNflower pyramid concerns RSPIs. This section of the country
overview will be devoted to the presentation of the most updated RSPIs for each
country and is expected to take 2-3 pages, depending on data availability, and
include 1-2 Tables or Figures with related national data and / or comparisons with
other EU countries, for the most interesting results.
The RSPIs examined are those defined within the SafetyNet project (Hakkert et al.,
2007), covering the following areas, for which specific indicators have been proposed
and tested:
• Alcohol and drugs: the percentage of fatalities resulting from accidents involving
at least one driver impaired by alcohol / drugs other than alcohol
• Speed: the average speed either during daytime or during the night, the
percentage of speed limit offenders.
• Protective systems: daytime wearing rates of seat belts, daytime wearing rates of
helmets, per position in the vehicle (front / rear)
• Daytime running lights: the total usage rate of daytime running lights, the usage
rate of daytime running lights per road type, the usage rate of daytime running
lights per vehicle type.
• Vehicles: vehicle fleet distribution by age, percentage of vehicle fleet tested by
EuroNCAP, average EuroNCAP score of vehicle fleet, vehicle fleet composition
• Roads: road design EuroRAP protection score
• Trauma management: the number of EMS stations per 10,000 citizens, the
number of EMS staff per 10,000 citizens, the average response time of EMS
(min), the total number of trauma care beds per 10,000 citizens.

The main sources of information for this section will be the SafetyNet WP3 reports on
RSPIs, namely in Vis & Van Gent (2007) and Vis & Eksler (2008). It is noted,
however, that these reports include data for the year 2006, and therefore the related
RSPI values need to be updated. This is foreseen within DaCoTA WP3 - Data
Warehouse. Additional related data may be sought within the SUNflower projects
reports, as well as from other national sources.

4.3.4. Road safety outcomes

This section concerns the main part of the country overviews, where the road safety
outcomes of the country will be analyzed in relation to road, vehicle and user

22


characteristics. A number of Tables and Figures will be presented, together with
comments and explanations. It is underlined that only fatality figures should be
analyzed, given that these are the only road safety outcome for which a common
definition exists (e.g. killed at 30 days from the accidents) and are thus the only
comparable outcomes across European countries.
Two separate sub-sections are proposed, one concerning the analysis of fatality
trends over the last decades, i.e. for the period in which CARE data is available, and
one concerning the analysis of selected indicators for year 2009, or for the last
available year. In any case, the variables and values used should be among the
harmonized ones that are included in the CARE database, complying with common
definitions across Europe.
Moreover, the use of risk exposure data should be pursued, in order to analyze
fatality rates rather than fatality counts. Given that the availability of risk exposure
data may vary in different countries, the best available exposure measure will be
used in each country, according to the recommendations of the SafetyNet state-of-
the-art report on risk exposure data (Yannis et al., 2005). In particular, vehicle- or
person-kilometres of travel should be used when available, otherwise vehicle fleet,
road length and population can be alternatively used, according to the context of the
analysis.
Concerning the analysis of fatality trends, the following topics are proposed:
• Fatalities: the number of fatalities and the fatality rate per vehicle-kilometres, or
per vehicle fleet, or per population is presented for the period 1991-2008.
• Comparison with EU average: the evolution of the fatality rate (fatalities per
population) is compared with the EU average over the examined period.
• National forecasts: the results of the country's national forecasting model may be
included in this section, if possible. The models will be developed within DaCoTA
WP4 - Decision Support.

Moreover, concerning the analysis of fatality indicators, the following topics are
proposed:
• Fatality risk comparison with other EU countries: the fatality rate (fatalities per
population) is compared to the fatality rate of other EU countries, as well as with
the EU average.
• Effects of area type and road type: the number of fatalities per area type (inside /
outside urban areas) and per road type (motorway yes / no) are presented, as the
rate of fatalities per road length, if possible. Alternatively, the proportion of
fatalities per area type and road type is presented.
• Effects of person class, age group and gender: the number of fatalities is
analyzed per person class (driver, passenger, pedestrian). Moreover, fatality rates
per age and gender, per person-kilometres or per population are examined.
• Effects of vehicle type and vehicle age: the number of fatalities is analyzed per
vehicle type (passenger car, moped, motorcycle, bicycle, truck, bus et cetera).
Moreover, fatality rates per vehicle type and vehicle age are estimated, per
vehicle-kilometres or per vehicle fleet.
• Combined or other effects: indicators combining road, user or vehicle effects are
examined e.g. fatality rates per person age and vehicle type. Moreover, additional
information is provided, according to data availability, in order to highlight
particular interesting road safety effects in each country e.g. alcohol related
fatalities, weather effects et cetera.

23


A final part of this section concerns the presentation of injury under-reporting levels in
the country. The results of related national studies should be presented, providing the
estimated level of under-reporting for serious and slight road accident injuries. Given
that the results of such national studies are unlikely to be fully comparable across
Europe, it is important to provide any specific information concerning the features of
the study, together with related references.
Data sources for the road safety outcomes section of the country overview include
the CARE and Eurostat databases of the EC, as well as the national databases. It is
noted that the necessary data will be also collected within DaCoTA WP3 - Data
Warehouse. As regards the national forecasts, these will be taken by DaCoTA WP4 -
Decision Support, where the related national forecasting models will be developed.

4.3.5. Social Costs

The top level of the SUNflower pyramid concerns the estimation of the social costs
related to the road safety outcomes of each country. This section of the country
overview is expected not to exceed 1 page, in which the estimated accident and
fatality costs and the related calculation methods will be resented. A related Table or
Figure may also be included.
In particular, the following figures may be provided:
• Estimated cost of fatality: this will be expressed as an estimate of the Value of
Statistical Life (VoSL) in the country. This may be taken from related national
studies e.g. willingness-to-pay surveys, or from international handbooks /
recommendations. In each case, the main features of the estimation method need
to be briefly presented. Additional information may concern the related costs of
serious or slight casualties et cetera.
• Total accident costs: on the basis of the VoSL and the other related components
(i.e. generalised accident cost, material dammage cost), an estimate of the total
yearly social costs attributable to the road safety problem may be provided.

The national information on road accidents social costs will be collected within
DaCoTA WP3 - Data Warehouse, whereas other sources may be exploited as well,
e.g. from the international literature.

4.3.6. Synthesis

In this section of the country overview, a small synthesis (not exceeding 1 page) of
the results of all levels of the pyramid is attempted, ideally providing the links
between levels that may result in a complete picture on the country's road safety
level and the main causes and effects.
Ideally, the road safety actions taken in each country should be associated with
specific features of the operational level of road safety, in terms of road user

24


behaviour, quality of the infrastructure, et cetera. These features should be in turn
reflected to specific risk factors, identifiable from the analysis of road safety
outcomes. For example, the effect of a programme of intensification of alcohol
enforcement implemented in a country could be reflected on the number of both the
alcohol violations recorded in that country and the alcohol-related casualties.
Moreover, elements related to the overall road safety structure and culture in that
country should be reflected in both the behaviour of road users and the specific risk
factors identified. For example, the climate conditions of Mediterranean countries,
combined with less efficient helmet use enforcement, could be combined with the
increased number of registered two-wheelers and their related increased accident
risk.
This synthesis is expected to be an added value of the country overviews, which will
thus go beyond the presentation of descriptive information, to the interpretation and
integration of this information. Eventually, it should enable the identification of the
main features and particularities of the road safety situation in a country, as well as
the definition of the main areas where future efforts should focus.

4.4. Templates and format
The proposed country overview will be largely based on the format of the Basic Fact
Sheets developed in the SafetyNet project. A template was created on the basis of
this format, adjusted to specific needs of the country overviews. The proposed
template is provided in Annex A.. In particular:
• The SUNflower pyramid is included on the left panel of each section of the
template, with the related level of the pyramid highlighted in different colour,
indicating which component of the pyramid is analyzed in the specific section.
• The DaCoTA logo and the European Commission logo are included at the bottom
of each page.
• As was the case in the SafetyNet Basic Fact Sheets, text-boxes with the main
messages / findings of each section will be placed on the left panel of the
template.
• The format of the text, Figures, Tables et cetera will be very much similar to those
of the Basic Fact Sheets of SafetyNet.

Furthermore, data and information collection templates are developed within
DaCoTA WP3, for the collection of national data and information on various
components of the country overviews, including programmes and measures
information, attitudinal and behavioural data, exposure data and RSPIs, social costs
data et cetera. These templates will allow for the collection of specific data and
information in a standardized format and may be also used by other DaCoTA work
packages involved in the related activities, namely WP1 - Policy and WP4 - Decision
support.

4.5. Prototype of country overview and next steps
On the basis of both the proposed detailed outline and contents, and the related
template, a prototype of the country overviews was created for Greece.
The prototype is quite rich in terms of the data and information included, as data
availability and accessibility was quite satisfactory overall. Therefore, the prototype

25


may be considered as a representative example of a complete country overview.
Moreover, during the creation of the prototype, particular emphasis was given on the
establishment of links between the various sections (i.e., the levels of the SUNflower
pyramid), demonstrating how the data and information can be linked from 'structure
and culture' to 'social costs' providing an overall and substantiated picture of the road
safety situation in the country.
Nevertheless, it is expected that the same level of data availability, potential for
interpretation and integration may not be achieved for all countries. It is recognized
that the drafting of the proposed synthesis presupposes some more in-depth
knowledge of the national situation, which may not always be reflected in the
presentation of the national facts and figures. Within this framework, the assistance
of the National Experts group of the European Commission may be most valuable.
Overall, the proposed specifications aim to serve as general guidelines for the
development of interesting and useful country overviews. However, case-specific
adjustments, as a result of data availability or other country-specific issues will be
implemented. In any case, this prototype may serve as a basis for further
improvement of the overall structure, contents and format of the country overviews.

26


5.NEXT STEPS
Within DaCoTA, a Data Browser Tool and Country Overviews will be developed. This
report presented possible set-ups and functional aspects for these tools.
Furthermore, for the Data Browser Tool, it discussed various technical solutions
currently available.
Before the development of the tools can be started, thorough discussions with
potential end-users of the tools and with the EC will have to take place on basis of
the current report. The outcome of these discussions will be choices for the set-up
and the technology to be used.

27


REFERENCES
Cunningham, W. & Leuf, B. (2001). The Wiki Way: Quick Collaboration on the Web.
Addison-Wesley, Reading Massachusetts, USA.
ETSC (2001): Transport Safety Performance Indicators. European Transport Safety
Council.
Hakkert, A.S, Gitelman, V. and Vis, M.A. (Eds.) (2007) Road Safety Performance
Indicators: Theory. Deliverable D3.6 of the EU FP6 project SafetyNet.
Koornstra, M., Lynam, D., Nilsson, G., Noordzij, P., Petterson, H-E., Wegman, F. &
Wouters, P. (2002). SUNflower; A comparative study of the development of road
safety in Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. SWOV Institute for Road
Safety Research, Leidschendam, the Netherlands.
Lejeune, P. et al. (2007). First classification of the EU member states on Risk and
Exposure Data. Deliverable D.2.2.2 of the EU FP6 project SafetyNet.
LTSA (2000). Road safety strategy 2010; A consultation document. National road
safety committee, Land Transport Safety Authority LTSA, Wellington, New Zealand.
Hakkert, A.S, Gitelman, V. and Vis, M.A. (Eds.) (2007) Road Safety Performance
Indicators: Theory. Deliverable D3.6 of the EU FP6 project SafetyNet.
Vis, M.A. and Eksler, V. (Eds.) (2008) Road Safety Performance Indicators: Updated
Country Comparisons. Deliverable D3.11a of the EU FP6 project SafetyNet.
Vis, M.A. and Van Gent, A.L. (Eds.) (2007) Road Safety Performance Indicators:
Country Profiles. Deliverable D3.7b of the EU FP6 project SafetyNet.
Yannis G., Papadimitriou E., Lejeune P., Treny V., Hemdorff S., Bergel R., Haddak
M., Holló P., Cardoso J., Bijleveld F., Houwing S., Bjørnskau T. (2005). State of the
art report on risk and exposure data. Deliverable D2.1 of the EU FP6 project
SafetyNet.
Wegman, F., Eksler, V., Hayes, S., Lynam, D., Morsink, P. and Oppe, S. (2005).
SUNflower: A comparative study of the development of road safety in the
SUNflower+6 countries: Final Report. SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research,
Leidschendam, the Netherlands.

28


ANNEX A. SPECIFICATIONS FOR
COUNTRY OVERVIEWS

A.1 Structure and Culture
1-2 pages

• Road safety authorities
• User education
• Attitudes towards risk taking
• Climate and conditions

Sources: DaCoTA WP1/ WP3, SARTRE project

A.2 Programmes and measures
1- 2 pages, out of which
1-3 paragraphs on National Strategic Plans
Plus a description of most important programmes and measures

• National Strategic Plans and targets
• Speed management
• Seatbelt / helmet wearing laws
• Enforcement schemes / penalty levels, demerit point system
• Driver training and licensing
• Compulsory periodical technical inspections of vehicles
• Quality of road design standards
• Awareness raising campaigns
• Specific traffic regulations

Source: DaCoTA WP1, EC, other national sources

A.3 Road Safety Performance Indicators
2 - 3 pages
1 paragraph of text for each RSPI category
1-2 Tables or Figures with national data and / or comparisons with other EU
countries, for the most interesting results

29


• Alcohol and drugs
• The percentage of fatalities resulting from accidents involving at least one
driver impaired by alcohol / drugs other than alcohol
• Speed
• The average speed either during daytime or during the night
• The percentage of speed limit offenders.
• Protective systems
• Daytime wearing rates of seat belts
• Daytime wearing rates of helmets
• Daytime running lights
• The total usage rate of daytime running lights
• The usage rate of daytime running lights per road type
• The usage rate of daytime running lights per vehicle type
• Vehicles
• Vehicle fleet distribution by age
• Percentage of vehicle fleet tested by EuroNCAP
• Average EuroNCAP score of vehicle fleet
• Vehicle fleet composition
• Roads
• Road design EuroRAP protection score
• Trauma management
• The number of EMS stations per 10,000 citizens
• The number of EMS staff per 10,000 citizens
• Average response time of EMS (min)
• The total number of trauma care beds per 10,000 citizens

Source: SafetyNet WP3, DaCoTA WP3, SUNflower, other national sources

A.4 Outcomes
Tables and Figures with comments and explanations

• Trends 1991-2008
• Fatalities
• Fatality risk - per population or per vehicle kilometres (if possible)
• Comparison with other EU countries or with EU average
• National forecasts (if possible)
• Indicators
• Fatality risk comparison with other EU countries and with EU average
• Fatalities per area type (inside / outside urban areas) and road type (motorway
yes / no) - per road length if possible
• Fatalities per person class, age group and gender - per population or per
vehicle kilometres

30


• Fatalities per vehicle type and vehicle age - per number of registered vehicles
or per vehicle-kilometres
• Injury under-reporting levels

Source: CARE, Eurostat, DaCoTA WP3 / WP4, other national sources

A.5 Social Cost

Text on the estimated accident and fatality costs and the related calculation methods
1 Table

• Estimated cost of fatality
• Total accident costs

Source: DaCoTA WP3, other national sources

A.6 Synthesis

A synthesis of the results of all levels of the pyramid, ideally providing the links
between levels that may result in a complete picture on the country's road safety
level and the main causes and future challenges.

31


ANNEX B. EXAMPLE OF COUNTRY
OVERVIEW FOR GREECE
This annex contains an example of a Country Overview, for Greece. The example
shows the type of information that could be included in a Country Overview and
shows how the layout of the Country Overview can be used to enhance the
readability.

32


33


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