Data-driven discourse on Safe System approach in Africa
12–15 August 2025
Winneba, Ghana
Local organizers: Enoch F. Sam
The conference is organized in close co-operation with the Department of Georaphy Education, University of Education, Winneba.
Social media
The hashtags #AfroSAFE_Academy and #afrosafe2025winneba were used in communication related to the conference.
Publications
Submission deadline:
30 September 2025
Handling editors
The volume is handled by the journal’s regular editorial team.
Publication fees
The journal applies a production fee of SEK 5800 (≈ EUR 500) for accepted manuscripts. Authors from the following countries are eligible for a fee waiver (eligibility is determined by the country of the main affiliation of the first author):
Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Micronesia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Programme
12–13 August 2025: traffic safety course
Warm-up game: ‘Why is it so difficult to introduce changes in traffic safety?’
‘Safe system approach to traffic safety management’
‘Safe speeds’
Prof. Aliaksei Laureshyn is Associate Professor in traffic safety at Lund University, Sweden. His primary research interests deal with theory and practical use of pro-active methods in road safety analysis. Other research interests include emerging technologies for data collection in traffic, policy and practice in road safety work, particularly in the view of Vision Zero/Safe System paradigm.
Aliaksei Laureshyn is the editor-in-chief of the Traffic Safety Research journal.
‘Promoting safe behaviour through education, campaigns, enforcement’
Dr.Sonja Forward is a psychologist and a research leader at the Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) focusing on traffic safety and sustainable transport. Her research covers many areas but mainly psychological factors predicting behaviour and how unwanted behaviour can be changed, using education or campaigns. The methods used are both quantitative and qualitative.
‘Safe infrastructure’
Prof. Williams Ackaah is a Principal Research Scientist at the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Kumasi, and an Associate Professor of Transport Studies at the CSIR College of Science and Technology. He has played key roles in major projects such as the National Road Traffic Crash Statistics project, the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan for Kumasi, the preparation of Local Area Traffic and Parking Plans in Tema and Madina, crash blackspot evaluation studies, and the monitoring and evaluation of the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety in Accra and Kumasi.
Williams Ackaah serves on the editorial board of the Scientific African journal.
‘Safe vehicles’
- Presentation
John-Fredrik Grönvall works at Chalmers Industriteknik, Sweden, dealing with field data related to traffic accidents and driving behaviour. Previously, he worked at Volvo Cars for over 20 years. John-Fredriks core expertise is in-depth crash investigation methods.
‘Safety of vulnerable road users’
- Presentation
Dr. Aslak Fyhri is an Environmental Psychologist and heads the Behaviour and Transport group at the Institute of Transport Economics (TØI) in Norway. His research interest lies with the promotion of sustainable behavior with a particular focus on studying the role of the vulnerable road users in an urban transport system. He has more than 25 years of experience doing applied environmental psychology research on traffic safety for vulnerable road users and mobility for all. Throughout these years, evaluations of infrastructure projects for local authorities has been at the core of his research activities.
‘Road safety data analytics and decision making’
- Presentation
Dr. Kofi Adanu is an assistant research professor at the University of Alabama, USA. He has an extensive experience in traffic safety data analytics. He employs various statistical and econometric modelling techniques to identify patterns and associations in crash data, leading to identification of contributing factors and development of robust countermeasures. His research also includes Intelligent Transportation Systems, sustainable transportation, and equity issues in transport.
‘Economics of road safety'
Dr. Anteneh Afework Mekonnen is a postdoctoral researcher at the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, specializing in road safety engineering and sustainable mobility planning across both the Global North and South. With a rich background in academia and industry, he connects research, education, and real-world policy, working to develop practical, impactful solutions for urban transport challenges.
‘Improving road safety in Africa: Where do we move from here?’
Prof. Enoch F. Sam is an Associate Professor of transport geography. His research spans sustainable urban mobility, road safety, the traffic behaviour of vulnerable road users, and active transport and health. His work contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 1: No poverty, Goal 3: Good health and well-being, Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy, Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure and Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities.He serves as an Associate Editor of the Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Editorial Board member of the Transactions on Transport Sciences (TOTS), and the African Journal of Social Sciences Education.
14—15 August 2025: conference
Keynote I: ‘Data-driven road safety management in Ghana: implications for the Safe system approach’
Ing. Francis Afukaar holds an MSc in Transportation Engineering and a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, with over 30 years of experience in road safety, project coordination, and transport data analytics.
He is a registered member of the Ghana Institution of Engineering and the Road Traffic Injury Research Network (RTIRN). As Principal Investigator for numerous projects with the Ministry of Transport, National Road Safety Authority, and private entities, he specializes in road traffic crash investigations and safety improvements.
Ing. Afukaar led key DFID-funded ReCAP projects and is currently the Lead Investigator for Bloomberg Philanthropies’ road safety initiatives in Ghana. He is also experienced in training engineers, mentoring professionals, and managing donor-funded projects, with multiple peer-reviewed publications.
Keynote II: ‘Using Initiative for the Global Harmonization of Accident Data (IGLAD) to compare traffic accidents globally’
John-Fredrik Grönvall holds a managerial position at Chalmers Industriteknik, Sweden, focusing on field data related to traffic accidents and driving behaviour. He previously worked at Volvo Cars for over 20 years.
He served as the project manager at the Volvo Cars Traffic Accident Research Centre (TARC), in Thailand, from 2003 to 2005. Additionally, he managed significant European-funded projects such as EuroFOT, DRIVEc2x , L3Pilot and HiDrive. In China, he represented Volvo Cars at the China In-depth Accident Study (CIDAS).
Currently, he is involved into the Euro-African traffic research project AfroSAFE, and the Swedish-Indian Traffic safety platform (SITIS).
Multi-dimensional perspectives on urban mobility, safety, and road user behaviour
Chair: Simon Ntramah
Finding alternatives to using speed bumps as traffic calming measures in Ghana: a case of Abuakwa-Bibiani highway
James Damsere-Derry
Assessing the Ghanaian driver’s susceptibility to distraction engagement
Enoch F. Sam
- Abstract
- Presentation
Adaptive energy-efficient traffic light for urban mobility in Kumasi
Assessment Of Congestion Dynamics In Abuja-Nyanya, Federal Capital Territory (Fct), Nigeria
Comfort Akinbusola
Safety risks created by the non-compliance behaviour to traffic signals by motorcycle riders in Kampala, Uganda
Nyombi Sidney
Improved crash and safety-related data
Chair: James Damsere-Derry
From data to action: strengthening road safety outcomes through utilizing data-driven decision making
Siphesihle Mkhabela
Assessing the pattern of tricycle crashes using secondary data
James Marfo Owusu
Developing and testing a system-based framework for analysing road accidents: analysis of three accident types
Tor-Olav Nævestad
Road safety culture and vulnerable users
Chair: Prince Kwame Odame
Asessing road safety challenges among motorcycle taxi riders (boda-boda) in Dar es Salaam: crashes, risky behaviours, determinants, and regulatory gaps
Katondo Salvatory Nambiza
A Pedestrian Safety And Walkability Mismatch Meeting the Needs of Those Who Walk for Transportation.
Elizabeth Akinjobi
Human factors influencing motorcyclists’ risk taking in traffic and the potential impact of being at fault for a crash
Enforcement and education, urban/rural planning and mobility
Chair: Sonja Forward
Bridging the road safety gap in Africa—an educational framework for professionals
Assessment of the use of deterrence doctrine in the detection and adjudication of road traffic law violations in Ghana
Sexual harassment in public transport in Zambia: prevalence, challenges, and interventions
Thomas Miyoba
Exploring the influence of transport accessibility on safety dynamics in informal urban communities
Road safety culture and vulnerable users
Chair: Tor-Olav Nævestad
- Abstract
- Presentation
Bus driver fatigue in Ghana and Norway: an examination of contributory factors and mitigating measures
Risk perception of commercial tricycles as a mode of transport
Geospatial identification and ranking of speed-related road traffic crash blackspots on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Nigeria
Sunday Owonibi
Road safety knowledge and associated factors amongst commercial motorcycle drivers in Tanga City, Tanzania
Interactions between users/vehicles/infrastructure
Chair: Filbert Francis
The impact of vehicle speed dispersion on fatal road traffic collisions on rural highways in Ghana
- Abstract
- Presentation
The traffic environment as predisposition to child road safety knowledge
- Abstract
- Presentation
The moderating influence of pedestrians’ traffic beliefs and superstitions on their risk perception and safe walking practices
Safe System and Vision Zero
Chair: Aliaksei Laureshyn
Factors influencing Safe System readiness in an emerging versus a mature context: a comparison of European and African countries
Fatalism as a predictor of road user behaviour? A Comparison of African and European Countries
Sonja Forward
Ignorant drivers or a ‘difficult system’? Unpacking the Factors Behind Motor Insurance Claims in Accra
Prince Kwame Odame
Sponsors
