December 2-6: The National Road Safety Observatory in Tunisia hosted an intensive 5-day iRAP training session. This initiative aimed to enhance the skills of Tunisian professionals in assessing and improving road infrastructure, with the ultimate objective of reducing...
2024 has been a another pivotal year for iRAP's training and accreditation program. We've continued our commitment to building capacity and empowering professionals worldwide to make roads safer. Key Highlights: Expanded Language Offerings: We've expanded our training...
iRAP partnerships are supporting safer roads and infrastructure investment in Mozambique, with a road safety assessment completed for the Mozambique National Roads Administration (ANE) supported by iRAP and FRED Engineering, and a specialist training workshop...
The updated Star Rating Essentials (SRE) online course, developed by iRAP with support from Millennium Challenge Corporation, is now available in a wider range of languages. The updated course is now available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia (with...
ID 327906602 © Miroslav Liska | Dreamstime.com An iRAP assessment and capacity building project has kicked off in Bahrain aiming to eliminate high-risk roads in the country led by the Ministry of Works supported by the Saudi Technical Engineering Consultants and...
The Africa Road Safety Seminar 2024, held on October 8-9 in Nairobi, Kenya, was a resounding success, bringing together over 200 attendees from across the African continent and featuring more than 40 local and international experts. The event was a platform for rich...
Image credit: Event Photographer - MCA-Benin An iRAP Workshop supported by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), concluded recently in Cotonou, Benin. The workshop aimed to build local capacity within the Government of Benin and optimize road safety in the...
Participants from 33 countries tuned in last week for the 10th #RAPKnowledgeLive session – Leveraging Technology and Youth Power for Safer Roads. In this session we had the privilege to be joined by representatives from Fondation Botnar, AIP Foundation and Youth for...
Road infrastructure safety is being lifted in Malawi thanks to a ground-breaking $350 million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact and five-day iRAP capacity building initiative completed last week with local partners. Malawi’s nearly 5,000 kilometres of...
The updated Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) online course, developed by iRAP with support from Millennium Challenge Corporation, is now available in a range of languages. This expansion provides crucial training opportunities for a wider audience interested in...
iRAP is offering a comprehensive two-part online course (2 x 1 hour live sessions) on Assuring Quality in iRAP Projects, equipping participants with the essential tools and insights to ensure the accuracy and reliability of road safety assessments. iRAP projects have...
iRAP offers a comprehensive two-part online course (2 x 1 hour live sessions) on Crash Risk Mapping, equipping you with the skills and knowledge to identify and address high-risk areas on your roads. Crash Risk Mapping: Crash Risk Maps use detailed crash data to...
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Alliance of NGOs for road safety is collaborating with iRAP to deliver a webinar building capacity and proficiency of participants involved in road infrastructure development, maintenance and management. The objective...
This International Women in Engineering Day (Sunday, June 23rd), we're celebrating early by offering training grants to 30 female engineers! We're passionate about increasing women's presence in the #RAPcommunity, which currently sits at just over 20%. Free Courses,...
It's incredible to look back and see the impact of our training and accreditation program since 2005! We've empowered over 69,000 individuals across 164 countries with the knowledge and skills to create safer roads. Our message has transcended language barriers,...
A peer-reviewed study led by world-leading researchers at Johns Hopkins University and published by a respected scientific journal has estimated the number of lives and serious injuries saved on roads made safer by iRAP partners worldwide. The study is the first...
Over 147 Road Safety Champions From 53 Countries Tune in to Learn About ViDA's Latest Advancements The #RAPKnowledgeLive series recently held its 8th session, titled "Lifting the lid on ViDA – the free global road safety platform analysing the safety of roads...
Calling all road safety champions! Join us for a jam-packed session of the #RAPKnowledgeLive series to unlock the power of ViDA, iRAP's free online software platform. What is ViDA? Protecting the integrity of the global standard for road infrastructure safety, ViDA is...
Didn't catch the #RAPKnowledgeLive Session 7: Data-Driven Insights: Enhancing iRAP road safety reports with Power BI? No worries, the recording is here for you! Turn Your Data into Life-Saving Strategies This session, held on Thursday March 21, saw a great turnout...
We are pleased to announce that the new Spanish edition of the Star Rating for Schools Online Course by iRAP is now available! The English version was also updated in 2023. This new version considers the changes in the model that were introduced last year as well as...
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
GET IN TOUCH │ Europe │ Africa │ Asia Pacific │ Latin America and Caribbean │ North America
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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