The Safe System Approach in road safety engineering is based on the principle that
- AHumans are infallible and will never make mistakes while driving.
- BThe road system should be designed to account for human error and limit impact forces to the level human body can tolerate.Correct
- CPedestrians should be completely banned from all types of roads.
- DIncreasing the speed of vehicles is the only way to reduce congestion.
Solution
Concept
Safe System Approach in Road Safety
Formula
N/A
Step-by-step solution
1. Understand the main concept behind the Safe System Approach in road safety engineering. 2. Identify that it accepts human error and aims to design infrastructure to reduce impact forces to levels tolerable by the human body. 3. Compare with the given choices and select Option (b) as the correct answer.
Explanation
The Safe System Approach recognizes that humans naturally make mistakes while driving, so roads and vehicles should be designed to accommodate these errors and reduce crash forces to levels that the human body can safely withstand.
Shortcut
To remember the Safe System Approach, use the key phrase "Forgive Mistakes, Protect Bodies": - Forgive Mistakes: Accepts that humans will make driving errors. - Protect Bodies: Designs roads to keep impact forces within human tolerance limits.
Common mistake
A common mistake is selecting Option A by incorrectly assuming that road safety strategies rely on drivers never making mistakes. In reality, the Safe System Approach accepts that human error is inevitable and focuses on building forgiving infrastructure to prevent fatal or serious injuries when mistakes occur. Another mistake is picking Option C by confusing pedestrian safety measures with complete road exclusion.
Correct answer: B) The road system should be designed to account for human error and limit impact forces to the level human body can tolerate.