Mission

The mission of KARSIP is threefold:

  1. Support countries in building a road safety research institute, with the purpose of developing research programs that enable practical and realistic road safety policies that will successfully transfer safe system principles to the local context.
  2. Support local universities and other educational institutes in developing curricula and education programs to train a generation of road safety professionals in all relevant fields of road and traffic management.
  3. Support local policy makers, researchers and practitioners in developing guides, manuals and handbooks to serve as a national road safety memory.

Background

In the last decade much road safety related knowledge has been transferred to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). International organizations have provided guides, manuals and books, and distributed the Safe System approach through conferences, courses, and demonstration projects.

However, despite these international efforts, the LMICs differ markedly in the level of evidence-based activities they devote to road safety. It is argued that too often local capacity is inadequate, lacking the ability to generate effective road safety measures based on knowledge and research in the local context—relevant to the local traffic and transport conditions and safety culture.

Investments and initiatives are needed in the LMICs to build centers of excellence, research programs and academic and vocational training programs for road safety professionals. This research infrastructure will generate and sustain a knowledge base that will enable countries to transform Safe System principles to the local context. It will provide a basis on which road safety policy can be planned and implemented by road safety agencies at all levels of government using local road safety expertise.