The increase in the population and consequently the traffic density on the highways naturally caused the road and traffic safety problems and the solution of these problems became a priority policy for the transportation authorities. While traffic accidents threaten human health with deaths and benefits, they also harm the national economy and cause social problems. Public and private institutions are developing legal regulations and different practices to improve the traffic safety of highways. Nevertheless, different and good practices to reduce accidents do not always provide the most appropriate and economical solutions. Economic evaluations are always guiding in the efforts to maximize road and traffic safety for the relevant institutions. In this direction, there are examples of applications such as network-based Best Practice Road Safety Information Expert System and computer-based software Road Safety Decision Support System which can make evaluations to determine the improvement measures to be taken in regions where traffic accidents are intensified in our country.
Unfortunately, more than one million people die every year as a result of traffic accidents in the world. Approximately 70 percent of this number occurs in developing countries. According to statistical results, pedestrians make up sixty-five percent of deaths. Thirty-five percent of these deaths were children. And every year more than ten million people are injured and disabled as a result of traffic accidents.
If adequate measures are not taken today, it is estimated that approximately six million people will be killed and more than sixty million people will be injured as a result of traffic accidents in the developing countries in the next ten years. These numbers are not big enough to be underestimated.
In our country, more than nine thousand people die and more than two hundred thousand people are injured every year as a result of traffic accidents. In simple terms, twenty-five people die and over five hundred people are injured every day due to traffic accidents.
Each country needs to address the issue of traffic safety as a country policy and take necessary measures with a strategic approach. With the above-mentioned two software-like applications, it is possible to ensure road safety and to reduce the number and severity of accidents with the help of necessary engineering applications. Nevertheless, the benefits of the ISO 39001 standard developed by the International Standards Organization should not be overlooked.
How was ISO 39001 Road and Traffic Safety Management System Created?
The road and traffic safety problem, which seriously affects the transport sector today, is generally caused by deficiencies in driver skills or problems caused by behavioral patterns or perception errors. Lack of technical skills to assess driver performance, inability to obtain unfair driving license and fraud in this direction, lack of driver risk audit, lack of information on the lack of healthy safety audits are also factors that adversely affect road and traffic safety.
Today, there is a systemless structure in different transportation models and this systemlessness grows more and more every day. For example, traffic safety tests are not conducted and there is no legal regulation in this regard. Therefore, the issue of road and traffic safety in general is passed away by daily decisions and measures and continues to be a problem.
Aware of the shortcomings and risks in this respect, the first standards were established by the British Standards Institution (BSI), and then the International Standards Organization prepared and published ISO 2012 Road and Traffic Safety Management System standards in 39001. Together with this standard, a useful practice has emerged for organizations responsible for ensuring road and traffic safety and performing decision-making tasks.
The ISO 39001 standard specifies the minimum requirements for the sound management of road and traffic safety. With the establishment of ISO 39001 Road and Traffic Safety Management System, related organizations will fulfill their social responsibilities and will achieve their corporate security objectives.
All organizations responsible for improving and improving road and traffic safety can establish ISO 39001 Road and Traffic Safety Management System within their organization. The only way to make highways safer and more trouble-free for drivers is by applying the ISO 39001 standard.
What is ISO 39001 Road and Traffic Safety Management System Certificate?
To ensure the safety of highways, to prevent traffic accidents and to minimize the loss of life and property encountered in these accidents, the private and public institutions responsible for this work, the ISO 39001 Road and Traffic Safety Management System to install, implement and when necessary corrective and preventive studies. If they are realized, they may apply for an ISO 39001 Certificate by applying to an accredited certification body. The greatest benefit of the establishment and implementation of this system is to prevent traffic accidents on highways. A significant portion of these accidents are due to non-compliance. Some traffic accidents are caused by mechanical failures in the vehicle. In both cases, however, the driver and the owner of the vehicle must act responsibly and comply with the requirements of the relevant standard. This is the only way to avoid possible accidents.
However, as with other management systems, it is not only about setting up this system and obtaining its certification. ISO 39001 Road and Traffic Safety Management System does not end with the installation. This system needs to be constantly monitored and improved.
What are the principles of the ISO 39001 Standard?
When installing ISO 39001 Road and Traffic Safety Management System, it is necessary to benefit from statistical data. What are the types of vehicles on the highways of this organization, how often they are used, what services are provided for these vehicles, how many deaths and injuries are there in accidents, and is there a safe planning and implementation process for the vehicles? First of all, this data needs to be analyzed.
The basic principles of applying the ISO 39001 standard are:
- Before starting the vehicle, safe speed limits should be determined depending on the type of vehicle, the traffic density on the road it will follow and weather conditions.
- Rules for routes and intersections to be used by the vehicle
- The route of the vehicle should be determined according to the type of vehicle and the load it carries.
- The equipment that the drivers should use should be determined according to the characteristics of the vehicle
- For safety reasons, drivers should not be using drugs, alcohol or other substances and be tired.
- A safe journey planning should be made by considering many factors such as whether there is a need to get on the road, choosing an appropriate vehicle to get to the traffic, using the right driver, determining the right route, and the frequency of the journey the driver makes.
- The safety of the other passengers in the vehicle other than the driver must be ensured against traffic accidents.
- Drivers must be trained to act quickly during an accident and first aid
our organization TÜRCERT Technical Control and Certification Inc., ISO 39001 Road and Traffic Safety Management System certification studies, national and international accreditation organizations are based on the authority.