Over 80 high level decision-makers, engineers and road authority practitioners came together last month for a National KSARAP Workshop in Riyadh to review progress and next steps towards creating a Saudi Arabia free of high-risk roads.

Hosted by the Roads General Authority (RGA) on 11 December, the event provided an exciting update on the three-year activities of KSARAP and the evidence-based road design, planning and investment programme that has followed the world’s largest iRAP assessment.

In 2023, the RGA undertook an ambitious 73,000km iRAP assessment, providing Star Ratings and Safer Roads Investment Plans to inform life-saving improvements to rural roads across the Kingdom. The locally led KSARAP Road Assessment Programme was launched and capacity was built among local road safety experts, generating a highly skilled network of iRAP accredited practitioners to support assessments.

The KSARAP programme achieved impressive safety gains with over 77% of RGA roads rated 3-star or better for safety, surpassing the Global Road Safety Performance Target (UN Target 4 aims for more than 75% of travel to be on the equivalent of 3-star or better roads for all road users by 2030).

Building on this achievement, the RGA set an ambitious target aligned with Saudi Vision 2030 to reach 90% of roads rated 3-star or better.

A significant collaboration between the road safety and maintenance departments has seen US$120 million allocated to investment in recommended safety improvements to intersections, roadside barriers and road surfacing, along with the implementation of road shoulder rumble strips.

Now, more than 80% of assessed roads meet the 3-star or better target safety standard, resulting in an estimated reduction of 80 fatalities and injuries on RGA’s network each year.

The KSA National Workshop attracted 80 senior dignatories and key road safety stakeholders to review progress and discuss next steps for programme delivery.

iRAP’s Technical Director James Bradford joined the event and shared the latest developments and innovation in the iRAP methodology and tools which have enabled the RGA to target and scale evidence-based road safety improvements to the highest-risk corridors across the Kingdom.

Recognising inspirational impact, awards were presented to partners who have made a significant impact to the achieved results.

Speaking from the event, Mohammad Al-Abood, KSARAP Lead and General Safety Manager at RGA said, “We are making exciting progress in our long-term commitment to achieve 90% of the highway network at a 3-star or higher safety rating aligned to Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to also reduce traffic fatalities by 50%.

“Use of the iRAP methodology and tools has enabled the RGA to target and scale evidence-based road safety improvements to the highest-risk corridors across the Kingdom. We are very proud of KSARAP and our progress in three short years, and look forward to much more to come.”

iRAP recognised the Roads General Authority (RGA) as a “Shining Star” in the 2024 iRAP Gary Liddle Memorial Trophy Programme presented in Marrakech in February 2025. Read more on this here.

Images and video credit: RGA