Types of Safety

It is important to distinguish between products that meet standards, that are safe, and those that merely feel safe. The highway safety community uses these terms:

Normative safety

Normative safety is a term used to describe products or designs that meet applicable design standards and protection.

Substantive safety

Substantive, or objective safety means that the real-world safety history is favorable, whether or not standards are met.

Perceived safety

Perceived, or subjective safety refers to the level of comfort of users. For example, traffic signals are perceived as safe, yet under some circumstances, they can increase traffic crashes at an intersection. Traffic roundabouts have a generally favorable safety record, yet often make drivers nervous.