Safety in Design

3 ^{Safety Improvements over the Years}

3.1 Introduction

The concept of intrinsic safeguarding has been discussed in Chapter 1. It is known that, in the past, already many steps have been taken in different fields to improve safety. A number of these steps are dealt with in this chapter. The improvements can, in several instances, be called an implementation of intrinsic protection. The measures were often taken after serious problems were encountered. A subdivision is made in this chapter between transport, industry, and society. Furthermore, regarding transport, a subdivision is made between transport by road, rail, sea, and air.

The cases discussed are meant as examples. They do not provide an overall picture of the fields considered.

3.2 Transport

3.2.1 Road Transport in The Netherlands

The safety of road transport in The Netherlands, like in many other countries, improved remarkably over the last 50 years [1]. More than 3000 people died in road traffic in The Netherlands annually in the 1970s. In 2010, the figure was 640. A gradual decrease in the numbers can be noticed between 2000 and 2010. In 2011, 661 people died in road traffic. The improvement is even greater on expressing the numbers per kilometer traveled because the mobility has increased over the period considered. The number of people seriously injured in road traffic, however, increased gradually from 15 424 to 20 100 between 2006 and 2011.

Three aspects are probably the most important ones concerning ...