TRAFFIC SAFETY IN THE CITY OF KALISZ IN THE OPINION OF ITS RESIDENTS IN 2012–2016

From the beginning of the 90s the number of vehicles traveling on Polish roads has been systematically growing. Statistics clearly indicate this – in 1990, the number of vehicles was over 9 million, while in 2017, it exceeded 29 million registered vehicles. It should also be emphasized that it is important that in the majority, these vehicles are not new – the average age of vehicles according to the Central Register of Vehicles is 13 years. The above phenomenon has a negative impact on road safety. The condition of road safety is also not improved by the condition of road infrastructure, the dynamically increasing traffic load on many road sections and the small capacity reserves caused by the constantly increasing number of vehicles. In order to confirm the thesis on the importance of the problem of road safety, the fact is that every year on Polish roads there are over 32000 accidents and over 420,000 collisions, in which at least 2,800 people are killed. This article is a synthesis of research conducted over the traffic which presents the results of research, which aimed to assess factors influencing the perception of traffic safety by its participants. The collected surveys allowed to indicate factors which, in the opinion of respondents, contribute the most to the occurrence of traffic incidents and the lack of safety on roads.