Safety policy management weaknesses
Policy making in the traffic and transportation area in The Netherlands is based on
preventive action and shared responsibility of a variety of public authorities. However,
experiences in the last decade have proven how difficult it is to translate general policy
intentions into results. There is often no clearly visible benefit or gain in the short term in
co-operation between departments which therefore focus on fine-tuning their traditional focus
on partial goals. For example, the ministry of transport concentrates on the provision of ‘safe’
infrastructure and traffic management to accommodate transport demand, the ministry of
economic affairs concentrates on maximisation of economic benefits, and the ministry of the
environment on reduction of environmental impacts and external risks. In addition, responsibility
for control of certain regulations, e.g. through the police force, rests with the ministries
of justice and internal affairs, while the ministry of social affairs is concerned with safety at
the workplace.
A more integrated safety policy requires a jointly developed and supported policy framework
outlining a desired balance between accommodation of transportation demands, economic
benefits, environmental protection and conservation of resources, living conditions near
transport links and hubs, and safety in its diverse dimensions (RVW, 1995).
The traditional approach of the last five decades has been fragmented and evolutionary and
the point of diminishing returns could have been reached. Yet, road traffic safety is not a
matter of general public concern compared to crime or other issues; hence, except for
incidental measures after major accidents, there is little support for putting road safety high on
the political agenda.
In addition, the responsibilities of national governments are being reduced and transferred
on the one hand to the European level, e.g. in the certification and licensing procedures for
vehicles. On the other hand local authorities are being made responsible for the implementation
of national road safety policy and this co-ordination is being transferred to a regional
level, leaving the national level with process management responsibilities but without substantive feedback. On the national level the role of the Minister of Transport as the co-ordinating
minister for road safety has not been very powerful over the last decades. The awareness of
safety as a policy issue may be reduced further by the current concentration of each Ministry
and department on its own core activities.