Despite the decreasing number of accidents, some road users—especially vulnerable individuals such as cyclists and pedestrians—still feel subjectively unsafe on the roads. Subjective road safety refers to how people perceive and assess certain situations on the roads. This perception is a crucial factor influencing the choice of cycling (and active mobility in general) as a mode of transport, and thus plays a significant role in promoting sustainable mobility. Moreover, low subjective road safety can lead to certain places being avoided or used with heightened caution. Avoiding these situations or paying more attention results in fewer accidents, making these situations objectively safer.

In current road safety practice in Switzerland, subjective safety has not yet been integrated, and consequently, aspects of subjective safety are rarely systematically included in practice. Based on the current state of knowledge, this does not provide a comprehensive view of road safety. Therefore, this research project aims to develop a methodology for measuring and evaluating the subjective perception of road safety among different road users and to integrate subjective safety into road safety practice.

The project will utilize a literature review, a public participation GIS survey to identify geo-localized hotspots of perceived (un)safety, and a representative Switzerland-wide survey on perceived road safety to determine which situations are assessed as subjectively unsafe or safe by different road users. This assessment will then be validated through field tests with physiological stress measurements. From these findings, measures that can make road spaces subjectively safe for different road users will be derived. The ultimate goal is to develop a methodology for integrating subjective road safety into Swiss infrastructure safety instruments