The problem
Despite accommodating only 4% of the global motor vehicle fleet, African roads witness more than 10% of the world’s traffic fatalities. African traffic death rates are the highest globally and more than four times higher than the European average. With further motorisation, traffic fatalities and injuries are expected to further grow unless decisive actions are taken to tackle the problem.
Safe Systems approach
Recent impressive traffic safety improvements in some other parts of the world are often attributed to the adoption of the Safe System-approach to safety management. Its highly humanistic long-term goal is that no one will be killed or seriously injured in traffic (so called Vision Zero). Besides the vision, the Safe System suggests fundamental principles that can be applied and give positive results anywhere, regardless of how bad the starting situation might have been. Safe speeds, tolerance for human errors, and responsibility of the transport system designers to create a forgiving road environment are at the core of the Safe System. There are good reasons to believe that the Safe System can be a major game changer in Africa. However, it cannot be exported or enforced from the outside, but must be adopted by African experts who know and understand the local conditions.
AfroSAFE objective
The primary objective of the project is to propagate Safe System within the road safety work context in African countries. To achieve this, AfroSAFE will be exposing the local practitioners and decision makers to the state-of-the-art knowledge and practices based on the Safe System. The project will also support by sharing knowledge, tools and methods for road safety improvement—adjusted to the African conditions and in tight cooperation with the local actors.
Project focus areas
The project will deal with the five major pillars of road safety—management, vehicles, road users, infrastructure, and post-crash care. However, it will specifically focus on two important aspects:
- Vulnerable road users. Pedestrians, cyclists, and powered two-wheeler are the largest but most underprivileged road user group in Africa, disproportionally impacted by traffic accidents. Creating safe environments for them will have a direct positive impact on public health and well-being, gender equality, sustainability and liveability of the cities.
- Local expertise building. The shift to Safe System in Africa requires a critical mass of both road safety professionals and road users with the right knowledge and attitudes. It is a long-term process and the local educators play the key role in it. AfroSAFE adopts ‘train-the-trainer’ approach, creating the initial momentum and concentration of local expertise that will continue to spread after the project end.
Quick facts
Project acronym: AfroSAFE
Full title: AfroSAFE—Safe System for radical improvement of road safety in low- and middle-income African countries
Project duration: September 2022–August 2026
Total budget: € 4 000 000
Topic: Radical improvement of road safety in low and medium income countries in Africa
Grant agreement ID: 101069500
Project coordinator: Lund University, Sweden
Countries involved: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia