ROAD SAFETY ANNUAL REPORT 2018 ISRAEL

ROAD SAFETY ANNUAL REPORT 2018 ISRAEL

ISRAEL Israel recorded 321 road fatalities in 2017, representing a 3.9% decrease when compared to 2016. The mortality rate is 3.6 deaths per 100 000 population. Since 2000, traffic in Israel has become safer for all road user groups, except for motorcyclists, and for all age groups, except the senior population aged 75 and above. Pedestrians represent the largest share of road deaths. The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) is promoting a multi-sectoral plan to reduce pedestrian injuries in general and among the older population in particular. In 2018, the NRSA set a new national goal to reduce the road fatality risk to no more than 5 fatalities per billion vehicle-kilometres by 2021. To achieve this goal, the NRSA is formulating a multiannual work plan in accordance with the Safe System approach. Trends Israel registered an overall decrease in the number of road deaths in 2017, coming back to the level of 2015. According to latest available data, 321 persons lost their lives in traffic crashes in Israel in 2017. This represents a 3.9% decrease on 2016. In 2016, 335 road deaths were reported, a 4% increase on 2015. The longer-term trend for road deaths in Israel has been quite positive. Between 1990 and 2017, the number of annual road fatalities fell by 23%. In the more recent past, the trend in the decline of traffic Country Profile Population in 2016: 8.5 million GDP per capita in 2016: USD 37 176 Cost of road crashes: 1.4% of GDP (2014) Road network in 2017: 19 555 kilometres (urban roads 57%; rural roads 9%; motorways 34%) Registered motor vehicles in 2017: 3.3 million (cars 85%; goods vehicles 9%; motorcycles 4%) Volume of traffic: +57% between 2000 and 2016 Speed limits: 50-70 km/h on urban roads; 80/90/100 km/h on rural roads; 110/120 km/h on motorways Limits on Blood Alcohol Content: 0.5 g/l for general drivers; 0.1 g/l for young, novice and professional drivers fatalities has accelerated. The number of road casualties fell by 29% during the 2000-17 period and by 9% in the 2010-17 period. In 2015 and 2016 the positive trend was interrupted with an increase in the number of road deaths. The number of traffic deaths per 100 000 inhabitants in Israel fell by 58% between 1990 and 2017. In 2017, 3.6 traffic deaths per 100 000 inhabitants were recorded, compared to 8.7 in 1990. Based on this indicator, Israel ranked 8th among the 32 IRTAD countries with validated data. The fatality risk, measured as traffic deaths per billion vehicle-kilometres (vkm) driven, showed a positive longer-term trend. In 2016 the metric stood at 5.9, 60% lower INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 2

than in 1990. In the 2000-16 period, the rate of road deaths per billion vkm decreased by 49%, and by 21% in the period 2010-16. Israel recorded 0.9 road fatalities per 10 000 registered vehicles in 2017. This represents a decrease of 78% compared to the year 1990, when the rate of deaths to registered vehicles stood at 4.1. In the 2000-17 period, the rate of road deaths per 10 000 registered vehicles decreased by 64%, and by 34% in the period 2010-17. Figure 1. Road safety, vehicle stock, traffic and GDP trends Index 1990 = 100 The picture for fatalities by road user group shows significant changes since 2000. In 2017, pedestrians accounted for the largest share of road deaths with 33% of the total. They were followed by occupants of passenger cars (29%), motorcyclists (17%) and cyclists (4%). In 2000, occupants of passenger cars accounted for 48% of all road deaths and pedestrians for 37%. Motorcyclists accounted for only 8% of road fatalities in 2000. The largest increase in road fatalities in 2017 was registered among motorcyclists with 60% more deaths (or 21 more motorcyclists killed) compared to 2016. This was followed by cyclists (3 more deaths) and pedestrians (12 more deaths). Riders of mopeds and occupants of passenger cars registered a decrease in 2017 compared to 2016 with, respectively, 4 and 38 fewer deaths. The long-term trend shows that traffic in Israel has become safer for all road user groups except for motorcyclists. The number of motorcyclists killed has been on the rise since 2000. Between 2000 and 2017, fatalities increased by 47% from 38 to 56. Occupants of passenger cars benefitted the most from improvements in road safety, with a 57% reduction in the number of road deaths between 2000 and 2017. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 3

Figure 2. Road fatalities by road user group in percentage of total, 2017 Road deaths by age group in 2017 showed a decrease in fatalities among persons aged 0-14 (3 fewer deaths compared to 2016), 18-20 (11 fewer deaths) and 25-64 (28 fewer deaths). The number of road deaths increased for the other age groups, with the largest increase for the over-75 group (14 more deaths). Since 2000, all user groups benefitted from improvements in road safety, except the over-75 age group. Historically, young people represent a high-risk group in road safety. However, in Israel in 2016, the group most at risk in traffic were those over the age of 65. Senior citizens are particularly vulnerable as pedestrians. Figure 3. Road fatality rates by age group, 2005-2016 Deaths per 100 000 population in a given age group INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 4

Figure 4. Road fatality rate by age and road user group, 2016 Fatalities per 100 000 population Analysis of fatalities by road type shows a stable trend. In 2017, roads outside urban areas continued to be the most deadly roads in Israel, with a 54% share of all crash deaths. Benchmarked against the average overall reduction in road fatalities of 29%, from 2000-17, roads outside urban areas outperformed urban roads with a reduction of 32%. In addition, since 2010 road deaths on urban roads continued to decrease. Figure 5. Road fatalities by road type Fatality data are essential to understand road safety issues, but hardly sufficient. Information on serious injuries from crashes is also critically important. Yet injury data are much more difficult to obtain, validate and - where available - compare. In Israel, the Road Safety Authority is currently working on linking police data and health data based on the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale of three or more (MAIS3+). Results are expected in one or two years. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 5

Economic costs of road crashes Traffic crashes represent a significant cost for society, estimated for the year 2015 at around ILS 15 billion, representing 1.4% of GDP. The methodology for assessing road crash costs in Israel was developed in 2004 using a combination of all available data sources and applying a willingness-to-pay approach for the estimation of human costs (Cohen, 2004). The injury and crash cost values were recently updated. Calculations are based on casualty data from the National Insurance Institute and crash data from the Israel Police. Crash costs include indirect and direct costs, such as medical expenses, assistance and nursing care; work disability; property damage costs; time lost due to traffic congestion caused by the crash; administrative costs; damage to the environment. Table 1. Costs of road crashes, 2015 Unit cost [ILS] Fatalities Critical injuries Severe injuries Moderate injuries 7 million 4.65 million 1.77 million 1.15 million Slight injuries 145 000 Total 15 billion Total as % of GDP 1.4% Behaviour The behaviour of road users is an important determinant of a country s road safety performance. Inappropriate speed in particular is one of the main causes of road crashes. In 2017, 15.3% of fatal crashes were due to excessive speed. In Israel, there is a significant share of non-compliance with speed limits on all non-urban road types. It is especially serious for truck drivers on high-speed roads, where about 90% drive over the speed limit (Troitsky, 2018). Since 2008, periodic safety surveys have been performed in Israel. The current survey presents travel speeds in Israel by road type, geographical region, lane and time of day. Speed measurements were conducted at 135 sites. In total, speed data were collected for over half a million vehicles. All surveys were conducted on free-flowing traffic. It was found that on certain types of roads, over 50% of drivers were driving above the speed limit. Significant differences were found in speeding behaviour on different types of roads. The table below summarises the main speed limits in Israel. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 6

Table 2. Passenger car speed limits by road type, 2018 General speed limit Motorways Dual carriageway roads without at-grade junctions Other dual-carriageway roads Single-carriageway roads Local roads Urban arterial roads Other urban roads 110 km/h 90-100 km/h 90 km/h 80 km/h 80 km/h 70 km/h 50 km/h The extent of drink driving was for a long time underestimated and not identified as a major problem, but the problem is now recognised. Police have increased roadside alcohol checks and testing for drivers involved in crashes. Conservative estimates indicate that alcohol is a contributing factor in 7-15% of fatal crashes. The maximum authorised blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.5 g/l and 0.1 g/l for drivers under 24 years old, novice drivers for the first two years after receiving their licence, and professional and public transport drivers. Drivers are not routinely checked for drugs, but in the case of fatal crashes involved parties are tested. Fatalities due to drugs and driving are estimated at 2% per year. An increasing problem for traffic safety in Israel is distraction, for instance through the use of mobile phones while driving. In Israel, it is legal to drive while operating a hands-free mobile phone, but not with a hand-held phone. The share of sleepiness and fatigue as a causal factor in crashes is especially challenging to detect. Based on police reports, between 2000 and 2017 the share of fatal crashes due to fatigue was 1%. This percentage is known to be underestimated. Seat-belt use has been compulsory in front seats since 1975 and in rear seats since 1995. Dedicated child restraint use is compulsory for children up to eight years old. Children in their first year must sit in a rear- facing restraint. Children aged 1-3 must sit in a forward-facing restraint. Children aged 3-8 must seat in a booster seat. The NRSA has issued stricter recommendations for children up to age 2 to sit in a rear-facing child restraint; child 2-5 to sit in a forward-facing restraint; and children aged 5-10 to seat in a booster seat. In 2016, the seatbelt use rate was 90% for drivers, 89% for front seat passengers and 70% for rear seat passengers. For children, according to a 2016 roadside survey, the overall use rate of a dedicated child restraint system is 87%. However, only 50% of children are correctly buckled. Similar to previous years, in 2016 12% of all car occupant fatalities were not wearing seat belts when the crash occurred. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 7

Table 3. Seat belt wearing rate by car occupancy and road type Percentages 2003 2010 2016 Front seats Driver 89 89 91 Passenger 85 85 89 Rear seats General 23 70 70 Children (use of child restraint) 78 87 (50% are correctly buckled) Helmet use is compulsory for all motorcycle and moped riders. The rate of use by motorcyclists is close to 100% but varies according to riding conditions (alone or in group), the age of the rider, type of site, size of town, etc. Helmets are compulsory for child cyclists and for adults on non-urban roads. A 2013 roadside survey found that over 90% of cyclists wear helmets while riding outside urban areas. Road safety management and strategies The number of road fatalities peaked in 1974, with 704 road deaths. Since then, the number of fatalities has decreased by 54%. During the same period, motorisation and traffic have grown rapidly. Even in recent years, motorisation has continued to expand. Between 2000 and 2017, the number of motorised registered vehicles increased by more than 70%. Responsibility for the organisation of road safety in Israel lies with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), which was created in 2007. The agency is charged with: advising the Minister of Transport, National Infrastructure and Road Safety as well as the government on road safety issues; formulating, approving and implementing annual and multiannual work plans to improve road safety and setting measurable goals to reduce the rates and severities of road crashes and injuries; managing the National Information Centre for Road Safety Research and Data; formulating an integrated multiannual plan for promoting road safety in Israel and ensuring its implementation; establishing supervision over the operations of local road sign placement authorities; INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 8

strengthening road safety operations in local councils, including actions to improve transportation infrastructure and safety measure; developing campaigns to raise public awareness of road safety issues; advising and aiding the school system on the subject of road safety; facilitating the strengthening of the traffic law enforcement system. The NRSA operates according to a multidisciplinary work plan that relies on information and research and on the analysis of high risk zones and populations that are overrepresented in casualty data. Accordingly, the five population groups that were identified as being overrepresented in Israeli casualty data and therefore require more focused attention are: young drivers under the age of 24, minorities, drivers of heavy vehicles, pedestrians over the age of 75 and motorcyclists. In 2018, the NRSA set a new national goal to reduce the road fatality risk to no more than five fatalities per billion vehicle-kilometres by 2021. To achieve this goal, the NRSA is formulating a multiannual work plan, in partnership with all parties responsible for road safety in Israel and based on the Safe System approach. Figure 6. Trends in fatality risk towards national target (number of road deaths per billion veh-km) Measures Road users The NRSA is promoting a multi-sectoral plan to reduce pedestrian injuries in general and among the older population in particular, in cooperation with the police, road agencies, schools, local authorities and others. The plan includes a media campaign regarding rights of way at crossings, and infrastructure treatment. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 9

The new Road Guardians Social Change on the Roads programme is aimed to promote driving according to the law and deterring life-threatening behaviour. In this programme, civilians who volunteer document severe traffic violations using a phone app (in other words, civil enforcement). The programme is run by the NRSA with the collaboration of the police. The app was released in August 2016. As of the end of 2017, 3 983 reports were sent to the Israeli police. Israeli minorities are disproportionally injured in car crashes. In 2018 the NRSA launched a prevention programme for minorities. The programme concerns the entire population, with a special focus on drivers (especially youngsters), passengers (especially youngsters) and toddlers that are injured in off-road crashes. The programme is being monitored and improved through a series of formative and evaluative researches. A year after its launch, there is some evidence of the short-term effectiveness of the programme. Definitions, methodology, data collection Road fatality: a person who died immediately or within 30 days of a crash. Seriously injured: a person injured in a road crash and hospitalised for a period of 24 hours or more, not for observation only. The Israeli Police added the words not for observation only in December 1995 in order to obtain a clear and uniform definition. Before the second half of 1970, seriously injured applied only to those hospitalised for at least six days. Slightly injured: a person injured in a road crash and hospitalised for a period of less than 24 hours. Israeli Police collect crash data at the scene of the crash and subsequently send them to the Central Bureau of Statistics. The Road Safety Authority (NRSA) funds both the Traffic Police and the Transportation Unit at the Central Bureau of Statistics in order to manage and maintain the system. Police data are regularly linked with other data sources, such as hospital databases (for fatalities up to 30 days and injuries), the Trauma Registry, the Ministry of Transportation (driver and vehicle registries) and Ministry of Interior (population registry). Crash data covers the entire population and the entire geographical area. By linking hospital and police data it was seen that roughly 1 500 injured persons who were recorded by the police as slightly injured were recorded in hospital as severely injured. In addition, roughly 4 000 crash survivors who arrived at hospitals were not reported in police data. This mostly concerns single unit crashes, cyclists (including e-bikers) and motorcyclists. In addition to police data, Israel currently uses the Injury Severity Score (ISS) system to assess the severity of an injury. Police data is used as a basis for Israeli statistical publications. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 10

In 2014, Israel collected data using the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale with scores of three or higher (MAIS3+) for the years 2008-16. These data will progressively be integrated in the NRSA database. It is assumed that all fatal crashes are reported to the police. Resources Recent research In light of the high percentage of pedestrians injured at pedestrian crossings, in 2016 the NRSA conducted an observational survey in order to determine the frequency of unsafe behaviour by pedestrians when crossing on urban roads. Over the course of the survey, 4 529 pedestrians were observed crossing streets in 57 locations, at signalised and nonsignalised intersections and mid-block crossings. The survey s findings indicate that a significant percentage (23%) of pedestrians cross on red signals. In non-signalised intersections, approximately 10% of pedestrians did not look both ways before crossing the street. One quarter of pedestrians crossed while using devices that distracted them from traffic, such as headphones or mobile phones.for more information: Sharon, A. (2017a). In 2016 an additional study regarding pedestrians was conducted. The aim of the study was to explore the impact of zig-zag road markings near non-signalised mid-block pedestrian crossings. A controlled field-study was conducted at three pedestrian crossings situated on dual carriageways and two-way roads. Zigzag lines were painted on the fifty meters of road approaching the crossing. Free-flow speeds, yielding rates and pedestrian crossing behaviour were recorded before and after the installation of the road markings. Two weeks after the installation, a significant decrease in vehicle speed while approaching the crossing at the dual carriageway, accompanied by a substantial increase in yielding rates to pedestrians, was observed. However, these effects diminished after two months and no significant difference was found in driving speed. The zigzag markings had no effect on road user behaviour on two-way roads. Overall, zigzag road markings may promote pedestrian safety for a limited period. For more information see Sharon, A., and Cohen-Etgar, M. (2017). In June 2016, the Data and Research Department of the NRSA conducted a study to determine whether the use of hand gestures to request the right of way would increase the frequency of drivers granting the right of way to pedestrians in non-signalised urban roads. Evaluations were conducted at two types of crossings: dual carriageways and twoway roads. The evaluations were conducted by two people one served as the pedestrian, who alternated between crossing with a hand gesture and crossing normally, while the other documented drivers responses. The study s findings showed that the use of hand gestures by pedestrians increased the rate of being granted the right of way by approximately 55% as compared to pedestrians who did not use hand gestures. For more information see Sharon, A. (2017b). INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 11

In 2017, the NRSA evaluated the safety performance of local municipalities in order to make safety information more accessible to local residents and encourage local governments to address road safety issues. In order to minimise the effect of city size on the results, cities were analysed into two groups based on their size and active population, i.e. the city s population plus those who commute to the city for work. In 2018 the study will include measures that indicate the change in risk for each municipality. For more information see Troitsky A. (2017). Websites National Road Safety Authority Israel: https://www.gov.il/he/departments/israel_national_road_safety_authority Transportation Research Institute Technion: https://tri.net.technion.ac.il/en/ Central Bureau of Statistics: http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader Or Yarok Association for Safer Driving in Israel: https://www.oryarok.org.il/ References Cohen, J. (2004), Road accidents in Israel their scope, characteristics and the estimate of associated loss for the national economy, MATAT Company, commissioned by the Ministry of Transport. Sharon, A. (2017a), Pedestrian behaviour at crosswalks: the 2016 national observational survey, National Road Safety Authority, Jerusalem (Hebrew). Sharon, A. (2017b), The impact of pedestrian gestures on driver yielding at uncontrolled crosswalks, National Road Safety Authority, Jerusalem (Hebrew). Sharon, A., and Cohen-Etgar, M. (2017), The effects of zigzag marking before crosswalk on pedestrians' safety, National Road Safety Authority, Jerusalem (Hebrew). Troitsky, A. (2017), Road Safety Risk Measures in Large and Medium cities in Israel, National Road Safety Authority, Jerusalem (Hebrew). Troitsky, A. (2018). National Speed Survey for Israel 2017, National Road Safety Authority, Jerusalem (Hebrew). Unpublished. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 12

Road safety and traffic data 2016 % change over 1990 2000 2010 2015 2016 2015 2010 2000 1990 2017 Reported safety data Fatalities 418 452 352 322 335 4.0% -4.8% -25.9% -19.9% 321 Injury crashes 17 496 19 925 14 724 12 122 12 015-0.9% -18.4% -39.7% -31.3% 12 700 Injured persons hospitalised 3 965 2 896 1 683 1 796 1 846 2.8% 9.7% -36.3% -53.4% 2 068 Deaths per 100 000 population 8.7 7.1 4.6 3.8 3.9 3.0% -15.1% -44.8% -54.8% 3.6 Deaths per 10 000 registered vehicles Deaths per billion vehicle kilometres 4.1 2.5 1.4 1.0 1.0-1.1% -24.9% -58.3% -75.0% 1.0 22.4 12.4 7.1 5.9 5.9 0.4% -16.4% -52.4% -73.7%.. Fatalities by road user Pedestrians.. 169 119 108 96-11.1% -19.3% -43.2%.. 107 Cyclists.. 20 18 14 9-35.7% -50.0% -55.0%.. 12 Moped riders.. 7 3 4 6 50.0% 100.0% -14.3%.. 1 Motorcyclists.. 38 40 42 35-16.7% -12.5% -7.9%.. 57 Passenger car occupants.. 219 172 106 133 25.5% -22.7% -39.3%.. 95 Other road users.. 0 0 48 56 16.7%...... 49 Fatalities by age group 0-14 years.. 45 40 24 25 4.2% -37.5% -44.4%.. 22 15-17 years.. 23 13 11 15 36.4% 15.4% -34.8%.. 19 18-20 years.. 51 20 16 34 112.5% 70.0% -33.3%.. 22 21-24 years.. 43 40 25 30 20.0% -25.0% -30.2%.. 36 25-64 years.. 201 154 145 153 5.5% -0.6% -23.9%.. 130 65-74 years.. 36 30 48 28-41.7% -6.7% -22.2%.. 28 75 years.. 53 43 49 50 2.0% 16.3% -5.7%.. 64 Fatalities by road type Urban roads.. 202 150 129 124-3.9% -17.3% -38.6%.. 147 Outside urban areas.. 250 202 193 211 9.3% 4.5% -15.6%.. 174 Traffic data Registered vehicles (thousands) 1 015 1 832 2 566 3 092 3 239 4.8% 26.2% 76.8% 219.0% 3 373 Vehicle kilometres (millions) 18 668 36 482 49 870 54 820 57 220 4.4% 14.7% 56.8% 206.5%.. Registered vehicles per 1 000 population 210.6 287.6 336.6 365.3 379.0 3.8% 12.6% 31.8% 80.0% 384.0 Note: The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT FORUM/OECD 13