The challenge of improving safety on the conventional road network
- Carreteras Magazine No. 215 - September / October 2017
Lourdes DÍAZ TORIBIO
Ingeniera de Caminos. Departamento Técnico
Asociación Española de la Carretera (AEC)
ABSTRACT
Year after year, the statistics are similar: eight out of ten road deaths in Spain happen on single carriageway. These roads constitute the sole means of ensuring accessibility and mobility to almost 8.000 municipalities, they represent the 90% of the country´s road network length and, although they only carry the 40% of the overall traffic volume, their characteristics of design, equipment, etc. make them less safe roads.
This article summarizes the study carried out by the SEOPAN and the Spanish Road Association (AEC) which analyses the safety of the single carriageway network. It has been estimated that the implementation of the proposed measures in this road network would reduce 39% the number of deaths, ensuring a saving of more than 700 million euro yearly.
KEYWORDS
Road safety, 2+1 roads, Forgiving roads, Road sections with a high accident concentration, Single carriageway roads.
