Drivers’ Perspective on Traffic Safety and Impacts from the Surrounding Landscape: A Case Study of Serbia

Due to the high volume of traffic on European highways and the increased percentage of traffic accidents and fatalities, traffic safety is imperative in the planning and design of highways. While highway safety design construction standards have been extensively researched, insufficient attention has been given to the influence of the surrounding landscape on traffic safety and to drivers’ awareness about the danger of the same. Thus, the aim of the research was to assess drivers’ perceptions of various factors impacting highway traffic safety (climatic impacts from the surrounding landscape, landscape vegetation that follows the roadway, and animals) beyond specific engineering features (roadway surface, traffic signs, highway junction points). A survey of 138 drivers was conducted to assess driver awareness of traffic safety on the research section of a highway in Serbia. This highway is part of the Serbian highway that is a key connection within the European road network, forming an integral part of several major routes. The survey revealed that drivers, regardless of gender or experience, primarily associate traffic safety with well-built roads and good visibility during driving. While the impacts of climatic elements from the surrounding landscape were acknowledged, drivers do not strongly attribute any danger to traffic safety from these factors due to their lack of visibility. This is reflected in the notable number of traffic accidents, impacted by these factors, on the studied highway (e.g., 12% of the total number of accidents during 2022). Vegetation and animals did not play a significant role in the respondents’ answers, which should not be the case; however, their absence in the highway landscape and along the roadway led to a lack of observed quality by drivers. This underscores the need for the scientific community and policymakers to delve deeper into these issues with a broader perspective, and to elevate highway safety standards accordingly.