What is Performance Tracking?

Few responsibilities that most authorities have are literally a matter of life and death - setting and managing the road budget is one of them. EuroRAP can track, year by year, which high-risk roads are being improved (and which are not) and the measures that bring the greatest improvement.

EuroRAP analysis shows that preventing death and serious injury on the road need be neither expensive nor complex. Whilst it needs financial investment, it also requires discipline from authorities:

in engaging those with the right skills to measure where people are being routinely killed or maimed;
to apply the know remedies systematically; and
to maintain roads properly.

Results from performance tracking have shown that the application of simple engineering measures continues to pay the highest dividends in reducing death and serious injury. However, EuroRAP research also suggests that while some authorities are active in evaluating the benefits of their safety schemes, others do not seem to be aware that the often minor measures they have implemented have saved a large number of lives.

The EuroRAP process of tracking the performance of road sections over time has several stages:

data is initially analysed to identify road sections which have shown a reduction in the number of collisions over time and those where there has been little or no change;
data for individual years is then checked to assess consistency of the patterns; and
finally, highway authorities are asked for information on remedial, enforcement or education measures that have been implemented that might explain the reduction in accidents.