Road safety culture and the Safe System: comparing beliefs and behaviours in African and European countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55329/bbmj5348Keywords:
African countries, European countries, road safety culture, Safe SystemAbstract
The study compares national road safety culture (RSC) in three European countries—Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands—which are widely recognized as leaders in Safe System implementation and have maintained the world's best road safety records for several years, with three African countries with poorer road safety records—Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia. The primary focus is on continental-level comparisons, to identify the elements of RSC where we see the biggest differences between the African and the European countries. The study is based on survey data collected from car drivers and pedestrians (n = 3772), interviews (n = 46) and fieldwork. The study is explorative, as it examines four different RSC elements. This is important, as there are few other studies comparing RSC across African and European countries, including several transport modes. The elements of RSC where we see the biggest differences between the African and the European countries are: (a) fatalistic beliefs about road safety and (b) the social valuation of walking as a mode of transport, compared with motorized transport. The fatalistic beliefs are related to road safety violations, which in turn are related to accident involvement. Thus, influencing fatalistic beliefs regarding road safety, and increasing the cultural valuation of walking and pedestrians are likely to improve road safety in the African countries. Finally, interviewees in the African countries pointed to corruption as a potential factor impeding the efficiency of enforcement. We have not measured this, but future studies of RSC should also include beliefs and practices related to corruption, as these are likely to be related to the level of road violations.
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Author Biographies
Tor-Olav Nævestad, Institute of Transport Economics, Norway
Tor-Olav Nævestad heads the research group ‘Safety and Resilience’ at the Institute of Transport Economics in Oslo, Norway. He has been working on projects related to safety culture, safety management and regulation among companies and authorities in the transport sector and in high-risk sectors. One of the key themes in his research has been to develop an understanding of how the safety culture concept can be applied to private and professional road users, and how this understanding can be used to develop measures aiming to improve road safety. Tor-Olav Nævestad also conducts research on resilience and disaster risk management.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing.
Sonja Forward, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Sweden
Sonja Forward is a psychologist and a research leader at the Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), focusing on traffic safety and sustainable transport. Her research covers many areas but mainly psychological factors predicting behaviour and how unwanted behaviour can be changed, using education or campaigns. The methods used are both quantitative and qualitative.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology.
Enoch F. Sam, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana
Enoch F. Sam is an Associate Professor of Transport Geography at the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. Enoch's work focuses on traffic safety, traffic enforcement and policing, travel behaviour of vulnerable road safety and public transport safety management and culture.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing—original draft.
Jaqueline Masaki, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Jaqueline Eliabu Masaki is a transportation engineer and road safety expert at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where she lectures and conducts research on traffic safety, transport planning, and intelligent transport systems. She has worked extensively on projects for the World Bank, USDOT, FDOT, and the EU, focusing on safety, traffic operations, and sustainable mobility. She also serves as a consultant on BRT projects in Dar es Salaam, conducting safety audits, traffic management planning, and infrastructure design reviews. As a member of PIARC's Technical Committee (2024–2027), she contributes to integrating global best practices into local road safety strategies.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing—original draft.
Daniel Mwamba, Zambia Road Safety Trust, Zambia
Daniel Mwamba leads Zambia Road Safety Trust's national efforts to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries in Zambia. With over 12 years of experience in road safety, his work focuses on Safe System/Vision Zero, aligned advocacy, policy engagement, and community programs, especially speed management, school-area safety, and protection of vulnerable road users. He builds cross-sector partnerships with government, police, health, and civil society, and champions data-driven interventions and stronger post-crash care to improve road safety outcomes.
CRediT contribution: Investigation, Methodology, Writing—original draft.
Thomas Miyoba, Zambia Road Safety Trust, Zambia
Thomas Miyoba is a Public Health specialist, geographer, GIS expert, and author driven to eliminate road traffic injuries, deaths, and disabilities through data-driven action. At the Zambia Road Safety Trust, he serves as Research and Partnerships Manager and Director of the Road Traffic Victims Fund, and leads the AfroSAFE project in Zambia. He is a peer reviewer for Traffic Safety Research journal and Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health, and a part-time lecturer at the University of Zambia's School of Public Health. Thomas is dedicated to building collaborative partnerships and advancing innovative solutions for safe urban mobility.
CRediT contribution: Investigation, Methodology, Writing—original draft.
Filbert Francis, Lund University, Sweden
Filbert Francis holds a PhD in Medical Sciences. He is a Research Scientist at the National Institute for Medical Research in Tanzania and a Postdoctoral Fellow in Road Safety at Lund University. His research interests lie at the interdisciplinary intersection of public health, transport safety, policy, and the use of data analysis to support evidence-based approaches aimed at improving road safety and human well-being.
CRediT contribution: Investigation, Methodology, Writing—original draft.
Anthony Fiangor, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana
Anthony Fiangor is a transport researcher specialising in inclusive urban mobility and transport policy, with a strong focus on how emerging transport systems shape accessibility, safety, and sustainability in cities. His work examines safety culture and traffic management within formal and informal transportation systems, with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities in African urban contexts. A central theme in his research is transport platformization, especially the rise of e-hailing services and their implications for urban mobility, equity, and regulation. He seeks to understand how digital platforms are reshaping mobility patterns, user choices, and governance in transport systems, while also exploring how inclusive approaches ensure that vulnerable groups benefit from these transitions. His broader research interests include the intersections of transport safety, policy, and innovation, with the aim of contributing to safe and inclusive transport systems that respond to the demands of growing urban populations.
CRediT contribution: Investigation, Methodology, Writing—original draft.
Jenny Blom, Institute of Transport Economics, Norway
Jenny Blom is part of the ‘Safety, Security, and Resilience’ research group at the Institute of Transport Economics in Norway, specializes in national and organizational safety culture, safety management, road safety policies, and traffic education. Her research primary evolves around heavy vehicle and bus companies, studying how organizational safety culture, management practices, and working conditions impact professional drivers' behavior and accident involvement. Additionally, she studies how framework conditions and national road safety culture influences road safety behaviors. Her research extends to organizational learning, economic driving, and education of both experienced and novice drivers.
CRediT contribution: Investigation, Methodology, Writing—original draft.
Ingeborg Storesund Hesjevoll, Institute of Transport Economics, Norway
Ingeborg Storesund Hesjevoll is a psychologist who joined the Institute of Transport Economics in 2015. She worked on the EU-project SafetyCube and has contributed to the Handbook of Road Safety Measures. She has also analysed data from in-depth studies of fatal accidents in Norway. Her interests include summarizing knowledge by means of meta-analysis and the design of surveys. Her most recent publications deal with passing bays at junctions and the share of fatal accidents that comply with the system limits of Vision Zero, e.g. occur within legal speeds, involve sober users, etc.
CRediT contribution: Investigation, Methodology, Writing—original draft.
Aliaksei Laureshyn, Lund University, Sweden
Aliaksei Laureshyn is an associate professor in traffic safety at Lund University, Sweden. His core competence is within theory and practical application of proactive (non-accident based) methods in safety analysis. Other research interests cover emerging technologies for data collection in traffic, safety of vulnerable road users, and policy and practice within traffic safety management, both in mature contexts, and in low- and middle-income countries. Aliaksei is a passionate advocate and educator of the Safe System approach to traffic safety, having delivered lectures across a diverse range of countries including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, China, India, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, and the United States.
CRediT contribution: Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Writing—original draft.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Tor-Olav Nævestad, Sonja Forward, Enoch F. Sam, Jaqueline Masaki, Daniel Mwamba, Thomas Miyoba, Filbert Francis, Anthony Fiangor, Jenny Blom, Ingeborg Storesund Hesjevoll, Aliaksei Laureshyn
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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HORIZON EUROPE Climate, Energy and Mobility
Grant numbers 101069500
