How to choose routes which are both fastest and safest

Abstract This paper decribes part of a study which aims to explore how the route choice of motor vehicle drivers can support the requirements of a sustainably-safe transport and traffic system. A microscopic traffic simulation based methodology is used and its feasibility for studying safety aspects of route choice is assessed. In practice, road users’ route choice often does not comply with the functionality principle of a Sustainably-Safe road network and, as a consequence, deviates from the intentions on which infrastructure design was based. To address this problem, the mechanisms behind route choice and route management measures, such as route information systems (road side and in-vehicle) and speed limits of different road categories, are studied.