VTI has observed seat belt use in a number of towns in Central Sweden since 1983. In the original selection of measuring sites, the emphasis was placed on heavily trafficked roundabouts with both through traffic and local traffic. The intention from the beginning was to study passenger cars with back seat passengers since it was expected that these would be affected by a seat belt law a few years later. The observations last year were made over a total of nine days in August-September 2008, approximately one day per measuring point. The total number of vehicles observed was over 53,000 passenger cars and 7,000 other vehicles. When VTI commenced its measurement series in 1983, seat belt use by adult passengers in the back seat was a modest 10 per cent. It increased in one jump to 60 per cent when the law on seat belt use by adults in the car as a whole came into force on 1 July 1986. Today, about 74 per cent of all adult back seat passengers use a belt. The corresponding level for children in the back seat has been consistently about 10-20 percentage points higher. In 2008, close to 95 per cent of all children in the back seat wore a seat belt.

VTI has observed seat belt use in a number of towns in Central Sweden since 1983. The observations last year were made over a total of nine days in August–September 2009, approximately one day per measuring point. The total number of vehicles observed was over 54,400 passenger cars and 5,900 other vehicles. When VTI commenced its measurement series in 1983, seat belt use by adult passengers in the back seat was a modest 10%. It increased in one jump to 60% when the law on seat belt use by adults in the car as a whole came into force on July 1, 1986. Today, close to 80% of all adult back seat passengers use a belt. The corresponding level for children in the back seat has been consistently about 10-20 percentage points higher. In 2009, about 95% of all children in the back seat wore a seat belt.

VTI has observed seat belt use in a number of towns in Central Sweden since 1983. In the original selection of measuring sites, the emphasis was placed on heavily trafficked roundabouts with both through traffic and local traffic. The intention from the beginning was to study passenger cars with back seat passengers since it was expected that these would be affected by a seat belt law a few years later. The observations last year were made over a total of nine days in August-September 2007, approximately one day per measuring point. The total number of vehicles observed was over 58,200 passenger cars and 5,700 other vehicles. When VTI commenced its measurement series in 1983, seat belt use by adult passengers in the back seat was a modest 10%. It increased in one jump to 60% when the law on seat belt use by adults in the car as a whole came into force on 1 July 1986. Today, about 80% of all adult back seat passengers use a belt. The corresponding level for children in the back seat has been consistently about 10-15 percentage points higher, maybe even more last years. In 2007, 94% of all children in the back seat wore a seat belt.

On 1 October 2006 the fines for most traffic infringements, inter alia violations of the current speed restrictions, were steeply increased. It is entirely logical that speed levels temporarily decrease when the fines for speed violations are increased. According to foreign reports, it is to be expected that, when fines are increased, speeds are reduced the most where motorists feel that the risk of detection is greatest, for instance on sections of road with speed cameras. The objective of the study is to see the effect of the increase in fines on 1 October 2006 and whether the increase is greater on sections with speed cameras than in other places. Speed measurements were made at a total of 13 sites in three areas, on European Route E20 around Skara, on National Road 50 at Omberg in the county of Östergötland, and finally on National Route 55 to the south of Katrineholm, and on neighbouring control sections. Before-measurements were made in the middle of September and after-measurements over two weeks from the middle of October 2006. On the automated traffic surveillance and control sections in the three areas, measurements were made both directly towards a camera and in the other direction, and also on a part of the section where no camera is visible. Speed measurements were also made on a neighbouring section with approximately the same traffic conditions as on the section with camera. In this way, therefore, measurements were primarily made on traffic travelling directly towards a camera but also, by way of control, in the opposite direction - at the camera, between the cameras and on a road that has not been equipped with traffic surveillance cameras.

VTI has observed seat belt use in a number of towns in Central Sweden since 1983. In the original selection of measuring sites, the emphasis was placed on heavily trafficked roundabouts with both through traffic and local traffic. The intention from the beginning was to study passenger cars with back seat passengers since it was expected that these would be affected by a seat belt law a few years later. The observations last year were made over a total of nine days in August-September 2006, approximately one day per measuring point. The total number of vehicles observed was over 57,000. Compared with previous years, the programme has been reduced by about 20%. When VTI commenced its measurement series in 1983, seat belt use by adult passengers in the back seat was a modest 10%. It increased in one jump to 60% when the law on seat belt use by adults in the car as a whole came into force on 1 July 1986. Today, more than 75% of all adult back seat passengers use a belt. The corresponding level for children in the back seat has been consistently about 10-15 percentage points higher, maybe even more last years. In 2006, 95% of all children in the back seat wore a seat belt. Over the whole observation period, 1983-2006, seat belt use by drivers and front seat passengers has been at a considerably higher and more uniform level. Already at the beginning of the measurement series, 84-86% of drivers and front seat passengers wore a belt. Today, the levels are 92-94%.

VTI har observerat bilbältesanvändningen i ett antal mellansvenska städer sedan 1983. I det ursprungliga urvalet av mätplatser låg tonvikten på högtrafikerade cirkulationsplatser med både fjärrtrafik och lokaltrafik. Avsikten var från början att kunna studera personbilar med baksätespassagerare eftersom dessa förväntades få en bilbälteslag några år senare.

Årets observationer gjordes under sammanlagt nio dagar i augusti–september, ungefär ett dygn per mätpunkt. Sammanlagt observerades drygt 57 000 fordon. Programmet har reducerats med ungefär 20 % jämfört med tidigare år.

När VTI:s mätserie började 1983, var användningen bland vuxna i baksätet blygsamma 10 %. Den ökade i ett steg till 60 % när lagen om bilbältesanvändningen för vuxna i hela bilen trädde i kraft 1 juli 1986. Idag ärungefär 75 % av alla vuxna baksätespassagerare bältade. Motsvarande nivå för barn i baksätet har nästan genomgående legat ungefär 10–15 procentenheter högre, en skillnad som snarare ökat med åren. År 2006 var 95 % av alla barn i baksätet bältade.

Bilbältesanvändningen bland förare och fram sätespassagerare har under hela observationsperioden 1983–2006 legat på en betydligt högre och jämnare nivå. Redan i mätseriens början använde 84–86 % av förare och framsätespassagerare bälte. Idag ligger nivåerna på 92–94 %.

Från och med 1994 års observationer ingår också ett delprojekt där förarnas bältesanvändning kopplas till förarnas kön och ålder. Lägst användning har unga manliga förare, 75 %. I samma åldersgrupp, 18–25 år, använder 91 % av alla kvinnor bälte. I åldersgruppen 26–35 år använder 84 % av männen och 95 % av kvinnorna bälte. I åldersgruppen 36–50 år 86 % respektive 95 % och i äldsta gruppen, förare över 50 år, använder 93 % respektive 98 % bilbälte. Med undantag för de yngsta förarna har noteringarna varit mycket stabila över de senaste åren.

Andelen kvinnliga förare i studien var 32 % år 2006. Andelen har inte förändrats sedan 1995.

Sedan 1995 observeras taxiförares bältesanvändning på samtliga mätplatser. Åren 1995 till 1997 var nivån förvånansvärt konstant (16,4 %, 15,5 % och 16,0 %). År 1998 ökade bältesanvändningen till 21 % och 1999 till 27 %. Sedan 1 oktober 1999 åläggs även taxiförare att använda bilbälte. Sedan dess har bältesanvändningen bland taxiförare ökat kontinuerligt och är nu, 2006, närmast i paritet med förarna av personbilar, 90 %. Taxiförarnas bältesanvändning varierar mellan olika trafikmiljöer. Den är exempelvis mycket högre på motorväg än i innerstaden.

År 1996 observerade VTI för första gången bältesanvändningen även i tunga fordon. Observationerna har bara gjorts på de ordinarie mätplatser som har mest tung trafik. Nivåerna har liksom för taxi ökat sedan 1996 även om det varit på en blygsammare nivå och inte alls lika dramatiskt. I de tyngsta fordonen, med eller utan släp, var ungefär 5–7 % av alla förare bältade 1999. År 2004 hade bältesanvändningen ökat för förare av tunga fordon utan släp till 33 % och i tunga fordon med släp till 38 %. Under 2005 och 2006 har inte bältesanvändningen i de tyngre fordonen observerats inom ramen för detta projekt. I ett liknande projekt har inte bältesanvändningen ökat mer än marginellt mellan 2004 och 2006. Anpassningen till den nya lagen har alltså inte alls varit lika framgångsrik för denna förarkategori som för taxiförarna.

Personbilsbeläggningen har beräknats från mätseriens början 1983. Förändringarna över åren är mycket marginella. Sett över hela perioden har personbilsbeläggningen gått ner från 1,58 till 1,51 per personbil eller drygt 4 %.

A fine is the most common sanction for most traffic offences, but it is only one of several sanction options for society. If one is caught driving without a safety belt, and other similar minor traffic offences, the sanction is always a fine of fixed sum. For minor speeding offences a fixed sum is also charged. Only for excessive speeding a court may adjudge the confiscation of the driving license for a shorter or longer period. For drunken driving fines are not used at all. Instead a monetary fine, i.e. a fine assessed on the basis of the defendant's daily income, will be administered, and if the drunken driving is deemed to be excessive the court may withdraw the driving license for a shorter or longer period. The question is which effect the precise magnitude of a fine has for the prevention of crime. How do drivers evaluate the current fine sums, and when are they felt to be really heavy? The project documented here is a literature study on this topic. It is planned that this literature study shall be followed by a questionnaire survey to a randomly selected population of private car drivers.

VTI has observed seat belt use in a number of towns in Central Sweden since 1983. In the original selection of measuring sites, the emphasis was placed on heavily trafficked roundabouts with both through traffic and local traffic. The intention from the beginning was to study passenger cars with back seat passengers since it was expected that these would be affected by a seat belt law a few years later. The observations last year were made over a total of nine days in August-September 2005, approximately one day per measuring point. The total number of vehicles observed was over 50,000. Compared with previous years, the programme has been reduced by about 20%. When VTI commenced its measurement series in 1983, seat belt use by adult passengers in the back seat was a modest 10%. It increased in one jump to 60% when the law on seat belt use by adults in the car as a whole came into force on 1 July 1986. Today, more than 70% of all adult back seat passengers use a belt. The corresponding level for children in the back seat has been consistently about 10-15 percentage points higher. In 2005, 93% of all children in the back seat wore a seat belt. Over the whole observation period, 1983-2005, seat belt use by drivers and front seat passengers has been at a considerably higher and more uniform level. Already at the beginning of the measurement series, 84-86% of drivers and front seat passengers wore a belt. Today, the levels are 92-94%.

The propensity of young people to take driving licence was rather consistent up until 1990. Around 1990, the behaviour of young people changed in many respects. They continued living at home for a longer period of time, they became established later and with less favourable conditions of employment in working life, they studied to a greater extent and, above all, studied longer, they started families later. A sign of the times was that they also put off taking driving licence. Searches of the literature have shown that hardly any models have been presented that describe the taking of driving licence. A model produced earlier at VTI has functioned as a basis in this study. Separate models of the propensity to take driving licence have been estimated for each age group between 18 and 24. Independent variables in the model are a driving licence cost index and the proportion of 24-year olds who have post upper-secondary school education. Official statistics published concerning the taking of driving licence at various ages show, for example, the proportion of 18-year olds who have taken a driving licence during the calendar year in which they attain the age of 18. If one wants data regarding how many took a driving licence before their 19th birthday, special analyses are required. An estimation can be made based on the result of the model, but in the report a more ambitious attempt is also presented.

For many years, Banverket (Swedish rail administration) has done a lot of work to improve traffic safety at grade crossings between road and rail. The most dangerous, and worst controlled, grade crossings have been systematically upgraded or quite simply removed. In 25 years, 2 out of 3 grade crossings have disappeared. 75% of all grade crossings which were uncontrolled in the 1970s have been given new forms of control or dismantled. The number of accidents has decreased by 70%.

The number of accidents on the rail network has radically decreased in the past 50 years. In the 1950s there were 150 accidents at grade crossings every year, in the 1970s about 100, and at the turn of the century about 30, in a continual downward trend. This applies to accidents as a whole, to a large extent due to the disappearance of so many grade crossings, but the number of accidents has also decreased for the comparable grade crossing types. Traffic safety has also radically improved for comparable grade crossings. This can be seen in concrete terms when a study is made of the accident rate, i.e. the number of accidents divided by the traffic load on road and railway (annual basis):

• fully skirted barrier: 0.20 (1973-77 0.53)
• half barrier: 0.27 (1973-77 1.10)
• acoustic/light signal: 9.01 (1973-77 10.41)
• crossed bar signs: 23.06 (1973-77 34.31).

The above does not compare like with like. Grade crossings now are completely different from those in the 1970s, even though the external form of control is the same.

Banverket har under många år bedrivit ett omfattande arbete för att förbättra trafiksäkerheten i plankorsningar mellan väg och järnväg. De farligaste, och sämst reglerade, plankorsningarna har systematiskt sanerats eller helt enkelt byggts bort. På 25 år har 2 av 3 plankorsningar försvunnit. Av alla plankorsningar som var oreglerade på 1970-talet har 75 % ändrat regleringsform eller rivits.

På 1950-talet inträffade 150 olyckor i plankorsningar per år, på 1970-talet ungefär 100 och runt sekelskiftet ungefär 30 i en kontinuerligt nedåtstigande trend. Det gäller totalt sett, mycket beroende på att så många plankorsningar försvunnit, men antalet olyckor har också minskat för de jämförbara plankorsningstyperna.

Trafiksäkerheten har förbättrats radikalt för jämförbara plankorsningar. Konkret framgår det om man studerar olyckskvoten, det vill säga antalet olyckor dividerad med trafikbelastningen på väg och järnväg (årsbasis):

• helbom 0,20 (1973–1977 0,53)
• halvbom 0,27 (1973–1977 1,10)
• ljud/ljus 9,01 (1973–1977 10,41)
• kryssmärken 23,06 (1973–1977 34,31)

Även om jämförelsen mellan åren haltar i flera väsentliga avseenden är skillnaden mellan 1970-talet och sekelskiftet så stor att det rimligen måste förklaras av att plankorsningar var helt olika då jämfört med nu även om den yttre regleringsformen är densamma.

Bältesanvändningen i framsätet har sedan studien började 1983 legat på en hög och jämn nivå, år 2004 på drygt 90 % mot knappt 85 % 1983. När observationsserien började använde inte ens 10 % av alla vuxna bälte i baksätet mot nästan 80 % idag. Idag är drygt 90 % av alla barn bältade i baksätet. Kvinnor är generellt mer benägna att använda bälte än män, äldre mer än yngre. Från och med 1 oktober 1999 måste även förarna av taxi och tunga fordon använda bilbälte. I 2004 års studie var 79 % av alla taxiförare bältade. Bältesanvändningen bland taxiförare har gått upp markant de senaste åren. Av förarna av tunga lastbilar var 33 % bältade och av förarna av tunga fordon plus släp var 38 % bältade, en marginell ökning sedan året innan. VTI har observerat bilbältesanvändningen i ett antal mellansvenska städer sedan 1983. I det ursprungliga urvalet av mätplatser låg tonvikten på högtrafikerade cirkulationsplatser med både fjärrtrafik och lokaltrafik. Avsikten var från början att kunna studera personbilar med baksätespassagerare eftersom dessa förväntades få en bilbälteslag några år senare. Årets observationer gjordes under sammanlagt nio dagar i augusti-september 2004, ungefär ett dygn per mätpunkt. Sammanlagt observerades knappt 60 000 fordon. Programmet har reducerats med ungefär 20 % jämfört med tidigare år.