Each year, 1.24 million people are killed on the roads all over the world. Many countries have made great progress in their efforts to prevent traffic accidents, but much still remains to be done. Sweden is seen as a role model in terms of road safety efforts including Vision Zero.
“VTI’s research has contributed to substantial road safety improvements in Sweden in recent decades, for example through research into child safety seats, driver behaviour, unprotected road users and speed. Other countries are starting to pay greater attention to road safety and we can contribute with our knowledge, but also learn from others”, says Tomas Svensson, Director-General of VTI.
VTI is organising the conference Road Safety on Five Continents (RS5C) for the 18th time in May 2018. The conference is being organised in collaboration with the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (KOTSA) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) in South Korea. The conference invites researchers and practitioners from all over the world in order for them to share their knowledge and benefit from that of others within the field of road safety.
Road safety in the event of natural disasters – a topical subject
RS5C is a broad road safety conference with traditional subjects such as driver behaviours, vehicle development, infrastructure, modelling, driver training, alcohol and drugs on the roads.
“This year we also have some new exciting subjects such as a special session on road safety in the event of natural disasters, which is a topical subject in many countries”, says Anna Vadeby, researcher at VTI and Chair of RS5C.
This year the conference includes approximately 110 lectures within 10 subject areas. There is a great deal of interest in the conference, the organising committee has received more than 150 proposals.
“We see some growing trends. One area that is increasingly being highlighted is safety for unprotected road users and special groups such as children. Another current topic is of course vehicle automation”, says Anna Vadeby.
“One session I think seems particularly interesting is about a study where the same questionnaire was sent out in around 30 countries in different parts of the world. The questionnaire concerns topics including driver behaviour, detection risks at speed limit violations and alcohol. These lectures will certainly be interesting for many people who work with road safety.”
The first conference was held in Sweden in 1987, it has subsequently been organised in 13 different countries on five continents in order to achieve an as broad participation as possible. This year RS5C will take place 16–18 May on Jeju Island in South Korea. One of the keynote speakers is Dr Young Tae Kim, Secretary-General for the International Transport Forum (ITF) which falls under the OECD.