Learning from the Swedes

The guest of today's press conference at the Ministry of Infrastructure, organized on the eve of the XNUMXth International Conference on Road Safety, which will be held in early October in Warsaw, was Kent Gustafson, Deputy Director of the Swedish Institute for Transport Safety, and it was his speech that aroused the greatest interest of journalists .

There is no denying that the Swedes have a lot to boast about and are at the forefront of the world when it comes to road safety.

This is evidenced by statistics. Only 470 people travel on Swedish roads every year. Even taking into account the fact that only 9 million people live in the country, and there are only 5 million cars on the roads, there is something to envy. There are about three times as many fatal accidents per 100 inhabitants in Poland!

 

The Swedes have achieved this state over the years of hard work, in which not only government agencies, but also public and industry organizations (transport workers) participated. Actions to improve road conditions, limit speeds and fight drunk drivers, which are as big of a problem in Sweden as they are in Poland, have contributed to a reduction in accidents.

The Swedish guest, who was asked by a Motofaktów journalist, concluded that although reducing the number of accidents is the result of all long-term actions, speeding is of the utmost importance. But - attention! These restrictions are introduced very flexibly, depending on the traffic volume, the prevailing weather and the condition of the road surface. In other words, if it is raining or the road is icy, the speed is significantly reduced. On the same section of the road there is an increased speed limit in good weather.

Recently, the Swedes are also experimenting with increasing the speed limit on motorways. They suggested that the previous restrictions were introduced when the roads were of poorer quality, and now they can be increased without compromising safety.

This is an extremely important traffic management activity. This allows drivers to understand the meaning of the imposed restrictions, and a reasonable law is obeyed more readily than absurd prohibitions.

In Poland, we often see a situation where the speed limit associated with road works remains in place many months after the completion of the works and gives police patrols an incentive to catch and punish drivers. It is true that drivers must respect road signs. But it is also true that nonsense is extremely demoralizing.

We learn from the Swedes how to use them wisely and strictly observe them.