United Kingdom RAP Lead Road Safety Foundation (RSF) has today released its 2025 Crash Risk Mapping Results, mapping the statistical risk of a fatal or serious injury occurring on Great Britain’s motorways and ‘A’ roads for 2021-2023, and tracking the safety...
It's been 12 months since the the CAMBER Project launched, dedicated to improving safety and maintenance on urban and secondary roads across Europe with demonstrated impact mounting. The Connected and Adaptive Maintenance for Safer Urban and Secondary Roads Project...
Last week, the PHOEBE Consortium convened in Slovenia for two days of productive discussions on the project's progress to advance active mobility and the safety of vulnerable road users in its three pilot cities, sharing innovative solutions for safer, smarter and...
The IVORY - ‘AI for Vision Zero in Road Safety’ - Industrial Doctorates Network held its consortium meeting and network-wide training from November 5–7 in Paris, for a deep dive into the evolving role of AI to advance road safety worldwide. Launched in January 2024,...
The ambitious 3-year ELABORATOR project, and its 38 partners working together in 12 European cities, continue to make great progress designing urban mobility solutions for safer, more inclusive streets and climate-neutral cities. Here's a recap on recent happenings:...
Image credit: Jevanto Productions - Shutterstock Original article published by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF) Understanding the challenge The Road Safety Foundation (RSF) has launched a pioneering research initiative exploring how neurodivergent children experience...
A blog by Olivera Rozi, iRAP's Safer Journeys Lead for Europe As EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK kicks off, it's a fitting moment to spotlight the crucial work being done to create safer, more sustainable urban environments. At iRAP, we are proud of our collaborative...
Image credit: Warnowquerung, Eigenes Werk Warnow Tunnel, located in the city of Rostock in north-eastern Germany, has achieved iRAP Certification recognising its 5-star safety rating for vehicle occupants, and 3- and 4-star rating for motorcyclists. The Warnow Tunnel,...
The four Dublin Local Authorities, in collaboration with the National Transport Authority (NTA), are strategically developing the Dublin Active Travel Network to double the cycling modal share in the coming years, promoting safe, sustainable and accessible urban...
It's been a busy few months for the ambitious 3-year ELABORATOR project, sharing progress on the research and efforts of 38 partners working together in 12 European cities to design urban mobility solutions that are safe, sustainable, and inclusive for all road users....
The PHOEBE consortium gathered for its biannual meeting last week at the Technical University of Delft in The Netherlands, where they planned the remaining twelve months of the project, set to conclude in July 2026. In addition, a second review meeting was held with...
The RACC Mobility Club has presented the 21st edition of annual Crash Risk Mapping, showing that thirteen state highways in Spain account for 52 per cent of the kilometres with a high or very high risk. The 25,743 km assessment of the government-owned State Road...
The CAMBER Project, dedicated to improving safety and maintenance on urban and secondary roads across Europe, is underway led by a consortium of 14 partners from nine countries, including research institutions, road authorities, and industry experts. The Connected and...
14 – 15 May 2025, Bulgaria – The Bulgarian Branch Association Road Safety (BBARS), in collaboration with the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) and the Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR), organized the "On the Road to Vision Zero" Road Safety Conference,...
Image credit: Dutch Cycling Embassy The Dutch Cycling Embassy recently interviewed Roxy Tacq, an expert in urban mobility and cycling safety, regarding the application and impact of CycleRAP. During the interview, Roxy Tacq, who offers independent consultancy services...
The Road Safety Foundation (RSF) is integrating cutting-edge Connected Vehicle technology into its International Road Assessment Program (iRAP) work. This innovative approach, in collaboration with Compass IoT, is transforming road safety and some new developments...
The EU-funded ‘Predictive Approaches for Safer Urban Environment’ (PHOEBE) Project aims to increase the road safety of vulnerable road users (VRUs), especially those who use active mobility and e-scooters. It is building on the strengths of iRAP’s road safety...
We're now at the mid-point of the ambitious 3-year ELABORATOR project and are thrilled to share progress on the research and efforts of 38 partners working together in 12 European cities to design urban mobility solutions that are safe, sustainable, and inclusive for...
Celebrating the women making a difference in road safety As we approach International Women's Day on March 8th, the theme of "For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment" resonates deeply with the work being done in the field of road safety. We take this...
Image credit: Irish Government website iRAP congratulates the Irish Government on the launch of the Slower Speeds, Safer Roads campaign, which will see a reduction in default speed limits on many roads, including a shift from 80km/h to 60km/h on rural roads. This bold...
The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) is a Registered Charity with UN ECOSOC Consultative Status.
iRAP is registered in England and Wales under company number 05476000
Charity number 1140357
Registered office: 60 Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DS
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The International Road Federation has developed a series of Road Safety Seminars (Safer Roads by Design™) to provide road authorities with best practices and latest technologies that can be implemented to meet a country’s commitment to the Decade of Action.
Safer Roads by Design™ is an all-inclusive approach to road safety and includes seminars on the fundamentals of Road Safety, Roadside Safety, Work Zone Safety, Intersection/Roundabout Safety and Vulnerable User Safer.
The University of Birmingham (UK) iRAP course in Road Safety introduces people to the iRAP technology for evaluating the safety impact of road infrastructure.
By the end of the course, the participants are expected to have acquired an understanding of the following key items:
The course includes practical exercises, discussions and exposure to the iRAP software. The course is delivered in the state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities of the University of Birmingham.
RAPcapacity online courses help people learn how to undertake iRAP-specification road assessments.
The Star Rating of a Road Design can be completed as a stand-alone activity. The process is being used by road agencies, development banks and design consultants to objecitvely specify and measure the safety of a road design for all road users.
The process offers an opportunity for road owners to set a performance based star rating target for all road users (e.g. the new road must be minimum 4-star standard for pedestrians and cyclists and minimum 3-star standard for motorcyclists and vehicle occupants). It has been successfully used in conjunction with existing mechanisms such as Road Safety Audits and compliance with road design standards.
The impact on risk of various design iterations can also be explored to help harness the potential of designers to find creative solutions to challenging safety problems.
The risk reduction design improvements proposed in a Safer Road Investment Plan can be adjusted by local experts to improve the Star Ratings for different user groups. iRAP recommends that all new roads should be built to a 3-star or better rating and all existing roads upgraded to that level.
The 3-star or better minimum can be achieved through a combination of infrastructure improvements and speed management initiatives to ensure a minimum level of safety for all road users at the location. On high volume roads, 4 and 5-star targets are often justified for specific road user groups (e.g. 5-star for pedestrians in CBD areas; 4-star or better motorways for vehicle occupants).
A Safer Road Investment Plan is produced that makes the business case for investing in road infrastructure safety. The plans list a range of life-saving measures that could be used to improve a road’s Star Rating and reduce fatalities and serious injuries.
Processed road inspection data is used to develop Star Rating maps. The five-colour maps provide a simple and objective measure of the level of safety which is built-in to the road. Five-star roads are the safest while one-star roads are the least safe.
The internationally recognised colour coding system ensures a better understanding and awareness of why some roads are safer than others.
The raw data is processed in ViDA to create data reports about a road’s design and the level of risk for each road user group. ViDA is capable of performing risk and economic calculations for millions of kilometres of road.
All data is securely stored and project teams can determine who has access to results.
Here is a visual representation of some of the key road infrastructure features that are assessed during a typical roads inspection. The inspection identifies levels of risk for all road users. By adding key infrastructure elements such as footpaths and street lighting or improving existing elements to reduce risk we can make roads safer for all road users.
Using specially equipped vehicles, software and trained personnel, iRAP Inspections involve detailed road surveys and data collection. These focus on more than 50 different road attributes that are known to influence the likelihood of a crash and its severity.
These attributes include intersection design, the number of lanes and markings, roadside hazards, footpaths and bicycle facilities. The road inspection data underpins iRAP Star Ratings and Safer Road Investment Plans.
We want safer roads for all road users: pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and vehicle occupants.
Safe roads are a social justice, health and economic issue. In poorer communities, in particular, road traffic crashes can have catastrophic effects that tip families into poverty and destitution.
The road improvement programmes we enable make your roads safer. Because every road environment – and the community it serves – is unique, each life-saving plan we develop is unique too!
iRAP is at the cutting edge of bespoke solutions for safer mobility worldwide, regardless of how you move from A to B. Our work is making roads safer for you and your families, your community and your company.
Do you manage, design, build or maintain roads?
iRAP is an international leader in providing policy, investment and performance tracking tools for road executives, managers, engineers, designers and construction teams to build and maintain safer roads. We work worldwide with road management professionals to deliver safer roads for today and for the future.
Roads that build-in safety. Roads that deliver safer journeys for all users. Safer roads that save money! A win-win-win for all.
Safer roads are becoming the new policy norm for investors and development agencies worldwide. This creates exciting opportunities for roads professionals and the road safety community to work together to save lives.
Building all new roads to a 3-star or better standard for all road users saves lives and makes great business sense. Upgrading existing roads to maximise travel on 3-star or better roads is also practical, cost-effective and starts saving lives right away. iRAP provides the business case for investment and the tools to maximise lives saved.
Let’s work together to create a safer, better world!
We need a strong policy framework and ambitious global targets if we are to deliver safer roads that save people’s lives.
iRAP and its partners are working with international bodies, national governments and highways agencies to build a global policy consensus for safer roads.
In 2015, the United Nations included halving road deaths and serious injuries as a Sustainable Development Goal (3.6). This game-changing move put road deaths centre stage – where they belong – as a global development issue, alongside poverty reduction targets and the right to clean water.
Now, the challenge is to build on this momentum. The UN Secretary General has recommended all new roads should be built to a 3-star or better standard and existing roads upgraded. The establishment of a Safer Roads Fund to maximise travel on 3-star or better roads can provide international finance institutions, health organisations, treasury officials, road executives and road builders with the social and economic basis for safer, sustainable roads.
Let’s work together to create a world free of high-risk roads and save lives!
Road deaths and serious injuries are an international public health crisis. Every year, around 1.2 million people are killed on the world’s roads and around 30-50,000,000 people are injured.
Road crashes are the leading cause of death for young people aged between 15-29 years. Road crashes cost an estimated 2-5% of GDP in each and every country worldwide. Like other global health problems the Vaccines for Roads exist and it is just a question of the scale of our response.
iRAP is working to support the scaling up of action worldwide and reduce this tragic toll by enabling low-cost infrastructure solutions that make our roads safer.
Safer roads also make sound business sense. Dollar for dollar, safer roads provide one of the highest possible, job-creating public investments a country can make in health and infrastructure policy.
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