Getting started

• International organisations recommend that all countries and organisations should consider adopting the long-term Safe System goal as the focus of their road safety management system.
• The recommended first step before establishing a road safety investment strategy for countries at any stage of development is to commission a capacity review to be carried out by senior independent road safety experts. This review assesses all elements of the road safety management system and its linkages; sets out the strategic lines of a road safety management investment strategy; and broadly identifies Safe System projects to launch it.
• The recommended second step to building the capacity identified by a review is the careful design and implementation of multi-sectoral funded Safe System projects. The aim is to ‘learn by doing’. The recommended approach is to simultaneously advance the transfer of road safety knowledge, strengthen the capacity of participating governmental partners and stakeholders, and rapidly produce results in targeted high-volume, high-risk corridors and areas to provide the dimensions for the next stage of investment.
• Key project components recommended in country guidance include:
  • Capacity strengthening priorities: lead agency establishment/development, crash database development and other institutional reforms.
  • High-risk corridors and areas to be targeted with good practice interventions: infrastructure safety improvements; general deterrence-based traffic safety enforcement programmes, supported by intensive publicity and awareness campaigns (e.g. speed, alcohol, seatbelts and helmets, fatigue, commercial vehicles); and improved post-crash response and emergency medical and rehabilitation services.
  • Reviews of policy reforms: e.g. driver licensing, vehicle safety standards.
  • Project management arrangements: lead agency role, coordination.
  • Monitoring, analysis and evaluation: survey measurement (e.g. safety behaviours such as mean speed, drinking and driving, use of protective equipment); vehicle and road network safety quality; and efficiency of emergency medical response); performance targets for high-risk corridors and areas; procedures; and reporting arrangements; the development of a crash database and analysis system.

Making progress

A scaling-up of investment is recommended after initial basic capacity has been built to include leadership, multi-sectoral working, and monitoring, analysis and evaluation. Based on what has been achieved in the targeted corridors and areas and policy reviews, this growth phase involves:

• Setting quantitative national targets.
• Rolling-out comprehensive multi-sectoral measures across high fatal and serious crash-density corridors and urban areas of the total road network.
• Implementing ongoing reforms of safety policies and interventions, and introducing new measures in accordance with effective international practice.
• Strengthening and refocusing lead agency role and functions and related coordination arrangements.
• Managing, monitoring, analysing and evaluating road safety results across high fatal and serious crash density corridors and urban areas of the total road network.
• Implementing ongoing reforms of institutional management functions.
• Disseminating safety performance data from the national crash analysis system and ensuring open access to the system by all partners and stakeholders.

Consolidating activity

As capacity is steadily built, national activity undergoes periodic review and continual refinement and is expanded to include a safety performance framework for regions, provinces and districts. This involves:

• Extending national targets and also applying these to regions, provinces and districts.
• Sustaining comprehensive multi-sectoral measures across the total road network and extending targeting to less risky roads.
• Reviewing and internationally benchmarking safety policies and interventions, and implementing reforms.
• Reviewing and reforming lead agency role and functions and related coordination arrangements.
• Extending performance monitoring, analysis and evaluation of safety results to less risky roads in the network.
• Reviewing and reforming institutional management functions.
• Upgrading national crash analysis system and extending performance monitoring capabilities.