SWOV recently issued a report to the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen. The report provides an overview of the identified risks that must be taken into account when deciding whether or not to allow the BSO bus on public roads. The report does not contain any advice on whether or not to allow the vehicle: the results may have been taken into account in the decision whether or not to allow a LEV on public roads.
not safe for vulnerable road users
SWOV voorstel is based on the principles of Sustainably Safe Road Traffic. It follows that it is not safe to allow vulnerable road users - such as cyclists, but also drivers and any passengers of LEVs - to share the carriageway with motorized fast traffic that is allowed to drive at 50 km / h or faster on that carriageway. The results of a risk inventory therefore depend not only on the permitted speed of the vehicle, but also on the location on the road. This is all the more important when a LEV is intended to carry vulnerable passengers, including children or the elderly.
This report describes the results of the risk inventory as carried out on the out-of-school care bus (the new version of the Stint). An application for designation as a special moped was submitted to the Ministry on 10 October 2019 for this vehicle. In addition to a technical inspection and the performance of driving tests by the RDW, the applicant had a risk assessment carried out by two different parties, in accordance with the Policy Rule applicable since May 2019. SWOV provided them with 'second opinions' at the request of the Ministry of Nieuwenhuizen. On the basis of this, it was decided on 16 July 2020 to ask SWOV to carry out an additional risk inventory for the vehicle, to be carried out in the short term.
various risks
SWOV has applied the newly proposed method for this. Various risks have been identified, of which both the 'chance' of the accident and its 'consequence' have been estimated as 'medium' or 'great'. These risks relate to: location and protection of the driver, load on the vehicle, load on the driver, dimensions and mass of the vehicle and occupant protection. In addition, eleven risks have been identified, of which the seriousness of the possible consequences has been estimated as high by the experts. The greatest common denominator of these eleven risks is the vulnerability of the occupants due to the largely lack of a protective shell.
In particular if there is a collision with motorized traffic (motorcycle, car, truck, bus) traveling at 50 km / h, the seriousness of the consequences can be very serious and even fatal. This may especially be the case at intersections (crossings) and on roads with a speed limit of 50 km / h and higher. The same applies that the risk of such a collision is a characteristic of our current road traffic, which is not yet fully sustainably safe. The risk is therefore present for all vulnerable road users, even when they use vehicles that are already permitted on the road, such as bicycles and cargo bikes, whether or not electrically assisted.
Also read: Buszy new name for the concept version of the Stint
