Target setting

Research shows that quantitative targets can lead to better programmes, a more effective use of scarce resources and an improvement in road safety performance [14]. Experience in Europe indicates that they get and keep road safety on to the political agenda and are an efficient management tool to defining responsibilities for different levels of administration and among other actors [45]. European targets have been set by the European Union and the ECMT and have been used widely in many countries at national, regional and local levels [44].

There are two different approaches to target setting. Top down targets are based on an idealistic objective with little prior consideration of how the target is to be reached (e.g. the EU and ECMT targets). Bottom up targets are set on the basis of objective data (e.g.

Finland’s targets). Many countries use a combination of these two approaches [15]. Targets need to be ambitious but realistic. If unrealistically ambitious, requiring a rate of progress well in excess of what has been achieved previously, they will be perceived as being out of reach and will not be accepted. If the national target is too easy then a major opportunity for saving lives will have been lost.

Effective national target-setting requires analysis, evaluation and consultation. Target-setting forecasting typically comprises, under various assumptions, the forecasting of exposure (traffic volume) for the main groups of road user, levels of risk, public acceptability and available evidence-based information about cost-effective measures from practical trials or from national or overseas experience of successful implementation effectiveness of policies. In this way, targets can be identified which achieve a balance between challenge, achievability, and public and political acceptability [48].

Most targets are set at national level, usually for a ten-year period, but regional and local targets are also set, especially where the direct influence of national government programmes is limited. In the Netherlands, for example, regional targets adding up to the national target are required and local authorities are required to prepare a plan comprising a general package of measures and to indicate budgets, staffing levels and organization [2].

Of the many targets set worldwide, the most comprehensive is the New Zealand’s target hierarchy.