Safety in bus transport in Europe: Status of safety and discussion of measures benefitting drivers, passengers and other road users

This report provides an overview on the status of road safety in bus transport and potential measures for improving traffic safety in bus transport, for drivers, passengers and road users outside the bus. We seek to provide decision-makers and procurers with a foundation for setting effective and relevant requirements for enhanced traffic safety. We recommend that the following measures are made mandatory in bus transport: 1) Fleet management systems to facilitate soft driving style, 2) Safety culture measures, 3) Safety management systems, 4) Crash protection for bus drivers. These measures are not legally required in bus transport, although they are highly effective for preventing accidents. Other measures are already required, but not fully implemented in practice. Given their efficiency, a relevant step would be to find measures aiming to increase their implementation. This applies e.g., to increase seat belt use among passengers in class 3 og 2 buses. There are also several measures which seem promising, but for which there is little relevant research, e.g., geofence speed limiter.