The Safe System approach works, has clear principles that policy-makers accept, and appears to have public support. It has, however, taken a long time for us to understand what Safe System implementation really looks like; the principles on which this system is based are sound, but putting them into practice is difficult.
I have spent the last decade of my career working within this area. I have thought about it a lot. I’ve come to the conclusion that applying the Safe System is hard partly because the environment into which we try to apply it is not neutral. It is arguably intrinsically unsafe, and misaligned with the very principles on which the Safe System is based, and the outcomes it is trying to achieve. Therefore to eliminate fatal and serious injuries in road collisions, we don’t just need to use the best evidence we have to design things; we also first need to overcome existing designs and ways of working that are directly opposed to the principles we are trying to apply.
It’s like trying to fill a bucket with water, but putting a few good sized holes in the bucket before you turn the tap on.
In this blog, I recap on the principles of Safe Systems thinking and how it is applied in road safety. I then suggest some ways we might try to change things. Find out more here: The Unsafe System
