Abstract

Travel practices are changing: bicycle and motorized two-wheeler (MTW) use are rising in some of France's large cities. These are cheaper modes of transport and therefore attractive at a time of economic crisis, but they also allow their users to avoid traffic congestion. At the same time, active transport modes such as walking and cycling are encouraged because they are beneficial to health and reduce pollution. It is therefore important to find out more about the road crash risks of the different modes of transport. To do this, we need to take account of the number of individuals who use each, and, even better, their travel levels. We estimated the exposure-based fatality rates for road traffic crashes in France, on the basis of the ratio between the number of fatalities and exposure to road accident risk. Fatality data were obtained from the French national police database of road traffic casualties in the period 2007-2008. Exposure data was estimated from the latest national household travel survey (ENTD) which was conducted from April 2007 to April 2008. Three quantities of travel were computed for each mode of transport: (1) the number of trips, 2) the distance travelled and (3) the time spent travelling. Annual fatality rates were assessed by road user type, age and sex. The overall annual fatality rates were 6.3 per 100 million trips, 5.8 per billion kilometers travelled and 0.20 per million hours spent travelling. The fatality rates differed according to road user type, age and sex. The risk of being killed was 20 to 32 times higher for motorized two-wheeler users than for car occupants. For cyclists, the risk of being killed, both on the basis of time spent travelling and the number of trips was about 1.5 times higher than for car occupants. Risk for pedestrians compared to car occupants was similar according to time spent travelling, lower according to the number of trips and higher according to the distance travelled. People from the 17-20 and 21-29 age groups and those aged 70 and over had the highest rates. Males had higher rates than females, by a factor of between 2 and 3. When exposure is taken into account, the risks for motorized two-wheeler users are extremely high compared to other types of road user. This disparity can be explained by the combination of speed and a lack of protection (except for helmets). The differential is so great that prevention measures could probably not eliminate it. The question that arises is as follows: with regard to public health, should not the use of MTW, or at least of motorcycles, be deterred? The difference between the fatality risk of cyclists and of car occupants is much smaller (1.5 times higher); besides, there is much room for improvements in cyclist safety, for instance by increasing the use of helmets and conspicuity equipment. Traffic calming could also benefit cyclists, pedestrians and perhaps moped users. Language: en Document type: Conference object

Abstract

8th International Congress on Transportation Research: Transportation by 2030: Trends and perspectives, THESSALONIKI, GRECE, 27-/09/2017 - 29/09/2017; This paper focuses on the description of societal trends related to mobility and on the way that these trends can be perceived from the society, when implemented. This action represents the starting point of the European project Mobility4EU that focuses on creating an action plan for the coherent implementation of innovative transport and mobility solutions in Europe. In Mobility4EU we have defined a set of possible societal aspects that might lead to societal resistance to the implementation of the future transport megatrends that have been defined. This paper aims to highlight the possibility of societal resistance to a wider implementation of innovative transport solutions, related to foreseen megatrends for the 2030. In consequence the list has not the ambition to be comprehensive, but rather provide a first overview of the societal reaction to widespread diffusion of foreseen solutions. Document type: Conference object