When discussing road safety, attention often centres on driver behaviour, vehicle technology and enforcement. Yet road infrastructure is equally vital. The way roads are designed, maintained and equipped directly affects crash risk and severity.
Safe layouts, barriers, smooth surfaces and facilities for cyclists and pedestrians can prevent crashes and reduce injuries. Under the Safe System Approach, roads should be built to accommodate human error, self‑explaining and forgiving designs that minimise risks and limit consequences.
Why road design matters
Road design can either support safe behaviour or create danger. Many roads encourage high speeds without adequate protection, increasing crash severity. Undivided roads raise head‑on collision risks, unsafe roadsides worsen run‑off crashes, and missing footpaths or crossings leave vulnerable users exposed.
Each road should clearly signal its purpose. Residential streets, rural roads and major routes require different driving behaviour. When design reflects these differences, drivers better recognise the right speed and attention for each environment.
The concept of self-explaining roads
A user‑friendly road gives drivers enough time to perceive, understand and react to changing conditions. Safe driving depends on spotting risks, choosing the right response and carrying out the manoeuvre.
To support this process, roads should offer:
- Clear visual guidance
- Good visibility and contrast
- Consistent road layouts
- Logical transitions between different road environments
Drivers rely heavily on recent visual cues, so sudden or unexpected changes can disrupt expectations and increase the chance of mistakes. Road planners should aim for predictable, logical sequences, and when changes are necessary, introduce them gradually and communicate them clearly.
User-friendly roads support safe driving
A user‑friendly road gives drivers enough time to perceive, understand and react to changing conditions. Safe driving depends on spotting risks, choosing the right response and carrying out the manoeuvre.
To support this process, roads should offer:
- Clear visual guidance
- Good visibility and contrast
- Consistent road layouts
- Logical transitions between environments
Because drivers rely on recent visual cues, sudden or unexpected changes can disrupt expectations and increase the chance of mistakes. Road planners should aim for predictable, logical sequences, and introduce unavoidable changes gradually and clearly.
Infrastructure conditions matter too
Road safety depends not only on design but also on the physical condition of the infrastructure. A deteriorating surface affects vehicle control and stopping distances. Low friction increases braking distances, especially in wet weather, and uneven surfaces can cause water build‑up, hydroplaning or black ice.
Other infrastructure issues also influence safety:
- Material fatigue in structures caused by heavy goods vehicles
- Loose gravel or grit posing risks for motorcyclists
- Poorly maintained surfaces reducing vehicle stability and handling
Maintaining infrastructure is not just about comfort — it is essential for safe road use.
Six principles for safer road design
To create self‑explaining and forgiving roads, six core design principles guide safer infrastructure:
- Provide orientation - Help users judge distance and speed. Roadside features should make the environment easy to read and anticipate.
- Attract attention - Highlight critical locations with clear, conspicuous design or dynamic signs that draw focus to hazards.
- Promote standardisation - Similar situations should look similar. Consistent layouts help drivers recognise familiar patterns and respond correctly.
- Support the detection of potential conflicts - Intersections and other conflict points need good visibility. Where sightlines are limited, extra measures should guide attention.
- Improve clarity - Signs and markings must be visible and easy to interpret. Avoid overload; smart message signs can help with sudden changes.
- Provide passive safety- Design roads to reduce injury severity. Early warnings and forgiving roadsides help prevent serious outcomes.
Protecting vulnerable road users
Road infrastructure plays a crucial role in keeping pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists safe. Barriers are often designed for cars, but unsuitable systems can worsen injuries for motorcyclists. Well‑designed barriers improve protection for everyone.
For cyclists, safe infrastructure ideally includes:
- Separated cycling paths
- Conflict‑free signal arrangements
- Adequate path width
- Appropriate curve radii
- High‑quality surfaces
- Obstacle‑free routes
Under Safe System principles, vulnerable road users should not share space with motorised traffic when speeds exceed 30 km/h. Providing dedicated infrastructure is one of the most effective ways to improve cyclist and pedestrian safety.
Building roads that forgive human error
No road system can eliminate mistakes. Drivers may be distracted, misjudge situations or make poor decisions. Effective infrastructure design accepts this reality and aims to prevent these errors from leading to serious harm.
By creating self‑explaining roads, maintaining infrastructure, improving visibility and consistency and providing safe facilities for all users, authorities can significantly reduce crash risks.
What the EU is doing for safer roads?
In October 2019, the EU adopted a revised Directive on road infrastructure safety management (the RISM Directive) with a view to reducing both the number and severity of crashes. The revised rules extended the scope of the Directive beyond the trans-European transport network (TEN-T), to motorways and primary roads and to all roads outside of urban areas that are built with the use of EU funds. This means that rural roads, where over half of all road deaths occur, now fall within the scope of the Directive, ensuring that safety is integrated into all phases of road planning, design and operation.
As part of this major exercise, Member States must perform regular network-wide road assessments, based on a risk scaling methodology that helps to better identify crash risks on specific sections of road. This will result in road safety inspections being targeted at the most dangerous sections and thus help to direct investment to where it is most needed. The Commission has made available guidance to help national authorities carry out their task as well as a map of Europe showing the entire road network covered by the Directive.
The Commission is currently preparing guidance on the design of safe roads and vulnerable road user-friendly infrastructure, as a follow up to the European Cycling Declaration and to the RISM Directive’s requirement that vulnerable users be systematically considered in all road safety management procedures.
Ultimately, safer infrastructure forms one of the key pillars of road safety. Well-designed roads not only guide users towards safe behaviour but also provide a crucial layer of protection when mistakes inevitably occur.
Discover how our members translate this knowledge into practice
Several of our members have already developed impactful initiatives to make infrastructure safer. Same examples are:
- Training of auditors and road safety engineers
- Pedestrian black spots in Rome
- Special road markings on bends
- Smart Road in Põlva
Alongside these examples, our Good Practice of the Month for July highlights an innovative contribution from Faxe Kommune in Denmark. Their Improved Road Safety with AI Inspections Initiative replaces manual roadside checks with AI‑supported digital assessments, transforming how infrastructure risks are detected and prioritised. By producing consistent data on more than 60 types of road defects and enabling faster, risk‑based maintenance decisions, the initiative strengthens network safety and resilience while improving working conditions for inspectors. Its strong collaboration model, clear safety outcomes and proven scalability show how technology‑driven monitoring can help authorities maintain safer, more reliable roads for all users.
Have a best practice or success story to share in this area? If you are an existing member and signed in, then submit them here.
Sources:
Designing infrastructure to encourage safe behaviour. (2026). Https://Roadsafety.Piarc.Org/En/Planning-Design-Operation/Designing-Road-Users/Designing-Safe-Behavior.
Road Safety Report 2024: Traffic Environments for People. (2024).
Zahnd, B., Willi, C., Deublein, M., & Fischer, K. (2022). Self-explaining and forgiving roads: need for action on rural roads .
