Miquel Nadal, iRAP Board Chairman; Torill Pape, Director (Structures Design, Review and Standards), TMR;  A/Prof Marko Sevrovic, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences (FPZ), University of Zagreb and Senior Road Safety Engineer, European Institute of Road Assessment (EIRA); Prof Kasem Choocharukul, ThaiRAP Lead; Julio Urzua, iRAP Strategic Projects Director; and Mrs Meredith Liddle

The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) has proudly announced the winner and finalists for the iRAP Gary Liddle Memorial Trophy in Prague today, presented to the world’s best performing road authority eliminating high-risk roads.

Presented for the first time at the XXVIIth World Road Congress, the perpetual iRAP Trophy honours the lifelong public-sector and transport contribution of the charity’s former Board Chairman Gary Liddle AO who passed away earlier this year.

Brazil’s National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT) took out the prestigious gong as Winner of the Inaugural Trophy for its lifesaving BrazilRAP project which in 20 short months Star Rated 54,500km of its national network informing comprehensive results-based investment and 3-star or better policy to save lives.

In presenting the trophy, iRAP Chief Executive Officer Rob McInerney said, “It is a privilege to honour Gary Liddle’s legacy today and recognize the impressive work of road authorities worldwide in making roads safer and communities more liveable through the innovative application of the iRAP methodology and tools.”

The recipients of the 2023 Gary Liddle Memorial Trophy are:

• Winner – Brazil’s National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT)
• Finalist – Australia’s Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR)
• Finalist – Thailand’s Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)
• Finalist – Croatian Roads Ltd.

“The calibre of nominations was very high,” Mr McInerney said, “with DNIT a standout for its policy commitment, scale of assessments and mobilised public and private-sector investment to save lives and prevent serious injuries. Its innovation in reporting and integration with agency activities is world-leading,” he said.

Through its road safety program for Brazilian highways, DNIT aims to save the lives of more than 150,000 people over 20 years aligned to the UN global goals to halve road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.

The judging panel noted DNIT’s example as a great testimony to others that “a quick and large-scale step-change in performance-based management of road infrastructure investment for road safety is absolutely possible”.

DNIT’s Director Mr Luiz Guilherme de Mello said, “We are very proud to receive this international recognition. DNIT launched the BrazilRAP project in 2021 making a strategic decision to place the iRAP Methodology at the heart of our work to improve road safety. It has provided the evidence-base and inspiration for collaborative efforts to scale up capacity, investment and transform safety across our network.”

iRAP’s Star Rating Methodology provides a simple and objective measure of the level of safety that is ‘built-in’ to the road for vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

Impressed with the high calibre of nominations, the judging panel opted to also award Finalist Trophies to the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and Croatian Roads, each showing impressive road safety leadership in different ways.

The iRAP Gary Liddle Memorial Trophy was presented during the iRAP Innovation Workshop, an official side event of the World Road Congress, held from 5-6 October at the Prague Congress Centre, Czech Republic.

For more information on the Trophy and 2023 winners, click here.

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Media enquiries:

Judy Williams, Global Programme and Communications Manager, iRAP
Mob:     +61 400 782 204
Email:   judy.williams@irap.org

About Gary Liddle and the Memorial Trophy

Gary Liddle was a deeply respected transport industry leader, volunteer Trustee of the iRAP charity for nine years and Chair of the iRAP Board from 2017-2022. Prior to his passing with MND in 2023, his leadership and wisdom helped grow the charity’s impact to the point where more than 400,000 deaths and injuries had been saved by partners worldwide. Gary served the transport industry for more than 40 years. In that time, as well as supporting iRAP, he occupied senior leadership positions in the Australian road sector, including as Chief Executive of VicRoads, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure (Vic), Chair of ARRB, Chair of Austroads and Chair of iMOVE, Board Member of Roads Australia and governing roles in both PIARC and REAAA. In 2017, Gary was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for “distinguished service to public administration in the Victorian transport sector through leadership in policy direction, infrastructure development, road safety and regulatory reform.” He was a strong and steadfast leader, generous and supportive mentor and committed advocate for road safety. Given his lifelong contribution to the public-sector and transport, iRAP is honouring Gary’s legacy with the Gary Liddle Memorial Trophy that will be awarded annually.  Nominations are open to any national, state or local road authority in the world that has utilised the iRAP methodology and/or tools to make their roads safer and communities more liveable. Infrastructure safety program/activities and associated evaluations must have been completed within the last 5 years. The award recognises life-saving impact, leadership in governance and public service, relevance, innovation, sustainability, collaboration and transferability to other jurisdictions.

https://irap.org/irap-gary-liddle-memorial-trophy/

About the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP)

iRAP is a registered charity with a vision for a world free of high-risk roads, influencing road infrastructure safety in more than 170 countries. iRAP and its partners work with governments, development banks, mobility clubs, industry, research organisations, road safety NGOs, the United Nations and research organisations to provide evidence-based tools, training and support to help them make their roads safe. iRAP’s road safety Star Rating Methodology is free to use and provides a simple and objective measure of the level of safety which is ‘built-in’ to the road for vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians. A 1-star road is the least safe and a 5-star road is the safest. iRAP works with partners to: inspect high-risk roads and develop Star Ratings, Risk Maps and Safer Roads Investment Plans; provide training, tools, and support that will build and sustain national, regional, and local capability; and track road safety performance so that funding agencies can assess the life-saving and economic benefits of their investments. iRAP and its partners have Star Rated nearly 1.5 million kilometres of roads and designs, and 1,229 schools, influencing the safety of nearly USD$100 billion of infrastructure investment. Nearly 1.8 million km have been risk mapped and over 63,350 people have been trained globally. iRAP Safety Insights Explorer (https://irap.org/safety-insights-explorer/) sheds a light on the human and economic impact of road crashes, how safe our roads are, and the Business Case for Safer Roads in countries and the world.

www.irap.org