PEDESTRIAN SAFETY IN SWEDEN

This report is one in a series of pedestrian safety synthesis reports prepared for the Federal Highway Administration to document pedestrian safety in other countries. This report reviews recent pedestrian safety research in Sweden (in particular) with some attention to similar research in other Scandinavian countries. The report states that even in Sweden, where attention has long been paid to pedestrian and bicyclist concerns, still too much traffic planning is addressed as if it were a vehicular issue only. If traffic cannot be separated, then consideration should be given in some areas to restricting vehicle speeds to 30 km/hr. It is argued that future planning must better balance the competing needs of motor vehicle traffic, pedestrians, and cyclists.