Polska droga do realizacji „wizji zero”. Przebieg i efekty implementacji unijnych rozwiązań na rzecz poprawy bezpieczeństwa w latach 2000–2020
Poland’s Road to Realising “Vision Zero”. The Progress and Effects of the Implementation of EU Solutions for Improving Safety in 2000–2020

Summary/Abstract: In the eyes of vehicle users and pedestrians, travelling on Polish roadsis hardly a safe activity to engage in. On the one hand, it is an effect of the real levelof safety measured by police and prosecution statistics, on the other hand, it stemsfrom the picture of the issue shaped by the media. The discussion on road safety in Po-land, which has been continuing for years among experts and politicians, is extremelylively and every spectacular traffic event heightens its intensity. Images of damagedcars, information about the number of fatalities, drunk drivers, or examples of reck-lessness caught on camera are always the subject of countless questions, commentsand proposals. Their common denominator, however, is the search for a successfulsolution that could effectively contribute to a reduction in the number of accidents,collisions, fatalities and injuries. Therefore, should a greater emphasis be placedon educational activities, in the hope to shape the right attitudes of road traffic par-ticipants, or should the focus be on intensifying repressive measures by the police andintroducing legal solutions based on a system of orders and prohibitions, regulatingin detail every behaviour on the road? European road safety action strategies adoptedin the early 2000s and reflected in EU and national legislation sought to achieve “vi-sion zero”, i.e. to reduce fatal accidents to a minimum. Their analysis, covering theperiod 2000–2020, points to the need for continuous, overlapping educational effortssupported by the appropriate activities of services responding to rule violations andapplying relevant restrictions accordingly. The article offers a detailed analysis of legalacts issued by the European Union authorities governing measures to improve roadsafety. In this context, it also shows the implementation of EU solutions in Poland.The entire article is presented in a historical and chronological perspective and aimsto provide answers to the following questions: Do the priorities and directions in thefight for road safety set out by the EU contain effective solutions, attainable within thedesignated timeframe? Do the theories of proponents and opponents of focusing onlyon repression or only on education make sense and are they reflected in the actionsof individual countries and, most importantly, do they produce the desired results?

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