Why the road measures still fail and how can it be improved - Research Paper Example

Road Safety Why the road measures still fail and how it can be improved To a great extent, the safety of road travels has improved significantly in the history of the automobile. Traffic deaths per kilometer of vehicle travelled were five times higher in 1950 than today. The annual deaths of pedestrians and cyclists in road crashes have also declined by two third over the same period in the United States. However, the highway casualty toll still remains high in America; for instance, in 2006, 28 percent of deaths amongst young people aged 1 to 24 years was caused by motor vehicle crashes.

This high number of deaths caused by road users calls for stringent road measures aimed at reducing the high number of casualties (Elvik, 2009).Road measures are organized safety processes intended at reducing the number and severity of road related crashes. Effective road measures systems provide information for selecting and implementing successful road safety strategies and projects. Different actors are involved in road safety measures; it is vital for their activities to be well coordinated to address the common problem in an integrated way.

These actors include the road infrastructure element, which involves the guidelines and standards that manage the planning, design, construction, and operation of the road. Infrastructure component also includes the directional and traffic control signs, road side barriers, as well as signal and pavement markings (United States, 2004).The other actor involved in road safety measures is the vehicle component. In this component legislation, regulations and standards that govern the manufacture and maintenance of automobiles, buses, trucks, motorcycles, and their associated equipments are looked considered.

The third actor is the user component. The road user component includes the regulation and public education that governs and provides information on the behavior of drivers, occupants, cyclists, as well as pedestrians (Transportation Research Board, 2002).The United States is missing noteworthy opportunities to lessen traffic fatalities and injuries. Most other high income countries are reducing traffic fatalities and fatality rates faster than in the United States. Some countries that experienced higher fatality rates than the U.

S 20 years ago are now below the U.S rate. For instance, from 1995 to 2009, France declined its annual traffic fatality by 52 percent, Australia by 25 percent, United Kingdom by 39 percent but only 19 percent in the United States (United States, 2004) From the experience of these nations, for a national program to function effectively, there needs to be improved management and planning in the area of transportation and public safety. Safety officials in these countries have credited progress to their execution to comprehensive safety programs, which include upgrading in road design and traffic management, regulations of motor vehicle safety, driver behavior with the response to speed, alcohol and drug use as well as seat belt and helmet use.

There have also been restrictions on young and old drivers (Peden, 2004).These programs have to be acted upon by administrators and legislators responsible for public health, police, roads and courts. Countries that have succeeded in reducing the casualty rates have emphasized on curbing the high risk driver behaviors particularly speeding, under the influence driving, and failure to use safety belts through stern laws, rigorous public awareness, and precise enforcement (Elvik, 2009).References Elvik, R. (2009). The handbook of road safety measures.

Bingley, UK: Emerald.Peden, M. (2004). World report on road traffic injury prevention. Geneva.Transportation Research Board. (2002). Long-term pavement marking practices. Washington, D.CUnited States. (2004). Highway safety: Federal and state efforts to address rural road safety challenges : report to congressional committees. Washington, D.C: GAO.