Transport and Covid-19: responses and resources

The Safe System Approach in Action


Road crashes kill over 1.3 million people every year worldwide and seriously injure millions more. A Safe System approach to road safety can drastically reduce road deaths – but how can it actually be put in place? This report provides experience-based guidance on implementing the Safe System approach. 

The report also presents lessons from 17 case studies of road-safety interventions with a Safe System component. The case studies reveal no single recipe for successful implementation. Instead, they point to a variety of approaches conditioned by national and local contexts, and the crucial role of robust institutional governance and co-operation between partners in any successful Safe System intervention. 

Read the case studies (PDF):

Policy Insights

  • Commit to a long-term Safe System initiative
  • Build Safe System initiatives on data and evidence of effectiveness
  • Start at a manageable level of activity and then scale up
  • Build capacity for practical implementation of the Safe System approach, especially in low- and middle-income countries
  • Use pilot projects to further test and develop the Safe System framework
  • Use the framework to assess projects, organisations and policies, identify gaps, and plan effective strategies

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