Education
Currently, the AfroSAFE Academy works on development of a curriculum for course in traffic safety fundamentals, with particular focus on Safe System perspective. In its full form, the curriculum is sufficient for a master-level university course. Its various parts, however, can be used for bachelor education, or as a complementary components in other course not entirely devoted to traffic safety (e.g. road engineering, public health, etc.).
The materials are currently under final revision and are being published as soon as it is complete.
All course materials are provided under Creative Commons license, free for any African university to use and integrate them integrating in own teaching.
How to use this curriculum?
The curriculum is made for teachers as the target audience (not students directly). See these materials as a starting point for developing your course (or a course module, or a single lecture) on traffic safety.
We chose this approach rather than providing fully prepared course because everyone’s teaching and presentation styles are unique. To deliver an effective lecture, you need to engage deeply with the material—using the recommended resources in each module—through reading, reflecting, and preparing beyond simply taking a set of slides made by someone else. We encourage you to adapt the contents to your own approach and teaching context, ensuring your own in-depth knowledge of the subject and a richer learning experience for your students.
Framing the challenge
1. Traffic safety—problem scope
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Boateng, F. G. (2021). Why Africa cannot prosecute (or even educate) its way out of road accidents: insights from Ghana. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8, 13.
- Haghani, M., Behnood, A., Dixit, V., & Oviedo-Trespalacios, O. (2022). Road safety research in the context of low- and middle-income countries: macro-scale literature analyses, trends, knowledge gaps and challenges. Safety Science, 146, 105513.
- Kopits, E., & Cropper, M. (2003). Traffic fatalities and economic growth (Policy Research Working Paper No. 3035).
- Odonkor, S. T., Mitsotsou-Makanga, H., & Dei, E. N. (2020). Road safety challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Ghana. Journal of Advanced Transportation, 7047189.
- PIARC. (2023). Road safety in LMICs: identification and analysis of specific issues (2023R07EN). World Road Association Technical Committee 3.1 Road Safety.
- SSATP. (2025). Africa status report on road safety 2025.
- Wegman, F., Aarts, L., & van der Knaap, P. (2023). Sustainable Safety: a short history of a Safe System approach in the Netherlands. In K. Edvardsson Björnberg, S. O. Hansson, M.-Å. Belin, & C. Tingvall (Eds.), The Vision Zero handbook: theory, technology and management for a zero casualty policy. Springer.
- WHO. (2023). Global status report on road safety.
- WHO. (2023). Status report on road safety in the WHO African region.
2. Evolution of traffic safety theory and practice
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Baker, S. P., & Haddon, W. (1974). Reducing Injuries and Their Results: The Scientific Approach. The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly. Health and Society, 52(4), 377–389.
- Hagenzieker, M. P., Commandeur, J. J. F., & Bijleveld, F. D. (2014). The history of road safety research: a quantitative approach. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 25, 150–162.
- Hakkert, S.A., & Gitelman, V. (2014). Thinking about the history of road safety research: past achievements and future challenges. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 25, 137–149.
- Hakkert, S. (2021). The history of transportation and road safety research. ICTCT webinar, 4 June 2021.
- Loimer, H., & Guarnieri, M. (1996). Accidents and acts of God: a history of the terms. American Journal of Public Health, 86(1), 101–107.
- Nader, R. (1965). Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile. Grossman Publishers.
- Shinar, D. (2022). Moving from crash causation and countermeasures to road safety policy. ICTCT webinar, 25 February 2022.
- Smeed, R. J. (1949). Some Statistical Aspects of Road Safety Research. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, 112(1).
- Visser, E., Pijl, Y. J., Stolk, R. P., Neeleman, J., & Rosmalen, J. G. M. (2007). Accident proneness, does it exist? A review and meta-analysis. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 39(3), 556–564.
3. Safe System
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Elvik, R. (2023). What would a road safety policy fully consistent with safe system principles mean for road safety? Accident Analysis & Prevention, 193, 107336.
- Hudson, P. (2007). Implementing a safety culture in a major multi-national. Safety Science, 45(6), 697–722.
- ITF. (2008). Towards zero. International Transport Forum.
- ITF. (2016). Zero road deaths and serious injuries: Leading a Paradigm Shift to a Safe System. International Transport Forum.
- ITF. (2022). The Safe System approach in action. International Transport Forum.
- ITF. (2025). Road safety in action: The Safe System tool. International Transport Forum.
- Johansson, R. (2009). Vision Zero—implementing a policy for traffic safety. Safety Science, 47, 826–831.
- Stipdonk, H., Aarts, L., Campsall, D., Carnis, L., Feypell, V., Fosdick, T., Shelton, D., Small, M., & Vadeby, A. (2024). Maturity measurement in road traffic injury prevention. Traffic Safety Research, 5, e000045.
- Welle, B., Bray Sharpin, A., Adriazola-Steil, C., Job, S., Shotten, M., Bose, D., Bhatt, A., Alveano, S., Obelheiro, M., & Imamoglu, C. T. (2018). Sustainable and safe: a vision and guidance for zero road deaths. World Resource institute | Global Road Safety Facility.
4. How to measure traffic safety
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Nilsson, G. (2004). Traffic safety dimensions and the Power Model to describe the effect of speed on safety [Doctoral thesis, Lund University, Sweden].
- Elvik, R. (2008), ‘Dimensions of road safety problems and their measurement’, Accident Analysis & Prevention, 40 (3), 1200–1210.
- WHO. (2023). Global status report on road safety.
5. Traffic safety data
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Laureshyn, A., Agerholm, N., & Sucha, M. (Eds.). (2025). Traffic safety data: the way to better knowledge and better traffic safety. IET.
- Laureshyn, A., & Varhelyi, A. (2018). The Swedish Traffic Conflict Technique: observer's manual.
- Polders, E., & Brijs, T. (Eds.). (2018). How to analyse accident causation? A handbook with focus on vulnerable road users. Deliverable 6.3. Horizon 2020, InDeV project.
6. Why accidents happen?
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Elvik, R. (2024). Risk factors as causes of accidents: criterion of causality, logical structure of relationship to accidents and completeness of explanations. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 197, 107469.
- Elvik, R. (2007), ‘Operational criteria of causality for observational road safety evaluation studies’, Transportation Research Record, 2019 (1), 74–81.
- Elvik, R. (2006). The laws of accident causation. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 38(4), 742–747.
- Hauer, E. (2022). Crash causation and prevention. ICTCT webinar, 16 October 2020.
- Hauer, E. (2020). Crash causation and prevention. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 143, 105528.
- Leveson, N. (2023). An introduction to system safety engineering. The MIT Press. (Chapter 4 ‘Why accidents occur?’)
- Lie, A., & Tingvall, C. (2024). Are crash causation studies the best way to understand system failures—who can we blame? Accident Analysis & Prevention, 196, 107432.
- Shinar, D., & Hauer, E. (2024). Crash causation, countermeasures, and policy. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 201, 107543.
7. Accident typology
8. Injury biomechanics
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Carroll, J., Gidion, F., Rizzi, M., & Lubbe, N. (2022). Do motorcyclist injuries depend on motorcycle and crash types? An analysis based on the German in-depth accident study. International Motorcycle Conference (IFZ), Cologne, Germany.
- Ding, C., Rizzi, M., Strandroth, J., Sander, U., & Lubbe, N. (2019). Motorcyclist injury risk as a function of real-life crash speed and other contributing factors. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 123, 374–386.
- Fredriksson, R., Rosén, E., & Kullgren, A. (2010). Priorities of pedestrian protection—a real-life study of severe injuries and car sources. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 42(6), 1672–1681.
- Nordin, M., & Frankel, V. H. (2021). Basic biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
- Puthan, P., Lubbe, N., Shaikh, J., Sui, B., & Davidsson, J. (2021). Defining crash configurations for Powered Two-Wheelers: Comparing ISO 13232 to recent in-depth crash data from Germany, India and China. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 151, 105957.
- Schmitt, K.-U., Cronin, D. S., III, B. M., Callaghan, J. P., & Muser, M. H. (2025). Trauma biomechanics: an introduction to injury biomechanics (6th ed.). Springer.
- Yoganandan, N., Nahum, A. M., & Melvin, J. W. (Eds.). (2015). Accidental injury: biomechanics and prevention (3rd ed.). Springer.
Solutions and implementation areas
9. Traffic safety measures: principles
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Elvik, R. (2009). An exploratory analysis of models for estimating the combined effects of road safety measures. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 41(4), 876–880.
- Godthelp, H., & Ksentini, A. (2024). Specific road safety issues in low- and middle income countries (LMICs): an overview and some illustrative examples. Traffic Safety Research, 8, e000068.
- Goel, R., Tiwari, G., Varghese, M., Bhalla, K., Agrawal, G., Saini, G., Jha, A., John, D., Saran, A., White, H., & Mohan, D. (2024). Effectiveness of road safety interventions: An evidence and gap map. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 20(1), e1367.
- GRSP, & World Bank. (2021). Guide for road safety interventions: evidence of what works and what does not work.
- Hauer, E. (1993). Overview. In The Traffic Safety Toolbox: A Primer on Traffic Safety. Institute of Transportation Engineers.
- SUPREME. (2010). Best practices in road safety: Handbook for measures at the country level. European Union.
10. Where traffic safety knowledge comes from?
11. Traffic safety pillars: Management
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Elvik, R. (2008). Road safety management by objectives: a critical analysis of the Norwegian approach. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 40(3), 1115–1122.
- Elvik, R. (2023). Vision Zero in Norway. In K. Edvardsson Björnberg, S. O. Hansson, M.-Å. Belin, & C. Tingvall (Eds.), The Vision Zero handbook: theory, technology and management for a zero casualty policy. Springer.
- Elvik, R. (2023). What would a road safety policy fully consistent with safe system principles mean for road safety? Accident Analysis & Prevention, 193, 107336.
- Elvik, R. (2023). What would a road safety policy fully consistent with safe system principles mean for road safety? Accident Analysis & Prevention, 193, 107336.
- Nævestad, T.-O., Sam, E. F., Farah, H., Mwamba, D., Masaki, J., Laureshyn, A., Magnusson, M., Varhelyi, A., Elvik, R., Blom, J., Egner, L. E., Miyoba, T., & Bisht, L. S. (2025). Safe system implementation in three African and three European countries: Preliminary results from a comparison of six countries. Transportation Research Procedia, 89, 243–254.
- Nævestad, T.-O., Sam, E. F., Farah, H., Mwamba, D., Masaki, J., Laureshyn, A., Magnusson, M., Varhelyi, A., Elvik, R., Blom, J., Miyoba, T., & Bisht, L. S. (2024). State of road safety management in selected African countries—review and recommendations (Deliverable D2.1). Horizon Europe project AfroSAFE.
- Várhelyi, A. (2016). Road safety management—the need for a systematic approach. The Open Transportation Journal, 10, 137–155.
- Wegman, F., Aarts, L., & van der Knaap, P. (2023). Sustainable Safety: a short history of a Safe System approach in the Netherlands. In K. Edvardsson Björnberg, S. O. Hansson, M.-Å. Belin, & C. Tingvall (Eds.), The Vision Zero handbook: theory, technology and management for a zero casualty policy. Springer.
12. Traffic safety pillars: Safe speeds
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Aarts, L., & van Schagen, I. (2006). Driving speed and the risk of road crashes: a review. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 38, 215–224.
- Cykelviden.dk. (2022). Traffic calming in cities: handbook of solutions. Danish Centre for Cycling Knowledge.
- Doecke, S. D., Baldock, M. R. J., Kloeden, C. N., & Dutschke, J. K. (2020). Impact speed and the risk of serious injury in vehicle crashes. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 144, 105629.
- Elvik, R. (2019). A comprehensive and unified framework for analysing the effects on injuries of measures influencing speed. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 125, 63–69.
- Elvik, R., Vadeby, A., Hels, T., & van Schagen, I. (2019). Updated estimates of the relationship between speed and road safety at the aggregate and individual levels. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 123, 114–122.
- GRSP. (2023). Speed management: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners. Global Road Safety Partnership.
- Hall, C., Beer, K., Robertson, J., Nguyen, T., Zafar, F., Tan, T., Mani, A., & Beer, T. (2021). Guide to Road Safety Part 3: Safe Speed (AGRS03-21). Austroads.
- Hussain, Q., Feng, H., Grzebieta, R., Brijs, T., & Olivier, J. (2019). The relationship between impact speed and the probability of pedestrian fatality during a vehicle-pedestrian crash: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 129, 241–249.
- ITF. (2018). Speed and crash risk. International Transport Forum.
- SWOV. (2003). Traffic calming schemes (R-2003-22). SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research.
- Yannis, G., & Michelaraki, E. (2024). Effectiveness of 30 km/h speed limit—a literature review. Journal of Safety Research, 92, 490–503.
13. Traffic safety pillars: Safe road users
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211.
- Deffenbacher, J. L., Huff, M. E., Lynch, R. S., Oetting, E. R., & Salvatore, N. F. (2000). Characteristics and treatment of high-anger drivers. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47(1), 5–17.
- Delhomme, P., De Dobbeleer, W., Forward, S., Simões, A., Adamos, G., Areal, A., Chappé, J., Eyssartier, C., Loukopoulos, P., Nathanail, T., Nordbakke, S., Peters, H., Phillips, R., Pinto, M., Ranucci, M.-F., Sardi, G. M., Trigoso, J., Vaa, T., Veisten, K., & Walter, E. (2009). Manual for designing, implementing, and evaluating road safety communication campaigns.
- Elliott, M. A., McCartan, R., Brewster, S. E., Coyle, D., Emerson, L., & Gibson, K. (2017). An application of the prototype willingness model to drivers' speeding behaviour. European Journal of Social Psychology, 47(6), 735–747.
- Forward, S. E. (2010). Intention to speed in a rural area: reasoned but not reasonable. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 13(4), 223–232.
- Forward, S. E. (2015). Driver anger: experienced and expressed. Journal of Ergonomics, S3.
- Forward, S. E. (2024). Rethinking how driver training can contribute to safer road traffic. AfroSAFE Academy webinar, 27 September 2024.
- Furian, G., Kaiser, S., & Soteropoulos, A. (2024). Subjective safety and risk perception (2024-R-19-EN). ESRA project (E-Survey of Road users’ Attitudes).
- Hansson, S. O. (2023). Liberty, paternalism, and road safety. In K. Edvardsson Björnberg, S. O. Hansson, M.-Å. Belin, & C. Tingvall (Eds.), The Vision Zero handbook: theory, technology and management for a zero casualty policy. Springer.
- Hennessy, D. A., & Wiesenthal, D. L. (2001). Gender, driver aggression, and driver violence: an applied evaluation. Sex Roles, 44(11), 661–676.
- Kaye, S.-A., Lewis, I., Algie, J., & White, M. J. (2016). Young drivers' responses to anti-speeding advertisements: comparison of self-report and objective measures of persuasive processing and outcomes. Traffic Injury Prevention, 17(4), 352–358.
- Kristianssen, A.-C. (2023). Establishing Vision Zero in New York city: the story of a pioneer. In K. Edvardsson Björnberg, S. O. Hansson, M.-Å. Belin, & C. Tingvall (Eds.), The Vision Zero handbook: theory, technology and management for a zero casualty policy. Springer.
- Lawton, R., Parker, D., Stradling, S. G., & Manstead, A. S. R. (1997). Predicting road traffic accidents: the role of social deviance and violations. British Journal of Psychology, 88(2), 249–262.
- Lewis, I., Watson, B., Tay, R., & White, K. M. (2007). The role of fear appeals in improving driver safety: a review of the effectiveness of fear-arousing (threat) appeals in road safety advertising. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 3(2), 203–222.
- Manstead, A. S. R., Parker, D., Stradling, S. G., Reason, J. T., & Baxter, J. S. (1992). Perceived Consensus in Estimates of the Prevalence of Driving Errors and Violations. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 22(7), 509–530.
- Memarian, M., Lazuras, L., Rowe, R., & Karimipour, M. (2023). Impulsivity and self-regulation: a dual-process model of risky driving in young drivers in Iran. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 187, 107055.
- Parker, D., Reason, J. T., Manstead, A. S. R., & Stradling, S. G. (1995). Driving errors, driving violations and accident involvement. Ergonomics, 38(5), 1036–1048.
- Parker, D., West, R., Stradling, S., & Manstead, A. S. R. (1995). Behavioural characteristics and involvement in different types of traffic accident. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 27(4), 571–581.
- Prochaska, J. O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1983). Stages and processes of self-change of smoking: toward an integrative model of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51(3), 390–395.
- Sam, E. F., Akansor, J., & Agyemang, W. (2018). Understanding road traffic risks from the street hawker's perspective. International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 26(1), 92–98.
- Torfs, K., & Meesmann, U. (2019). How do vulnerable road users look at road safety? International comparison based on ESRA data from 25 countries. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 63, 144–152.
- Ward, N. J., Watson, B., & Fleming-Vogl, K. (2019). Traffic safety culture: definition, foundation, and application. Emerald Publishing Limited.
14. Traffic safety pillars: Safe vehicles
15. Traffic safety pillars: Safe infrastructure
16. Traffic safety pillars: Post-crash care
Perspectives
17. Traffic safety as part of sustainable development
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Ma, T., Peden, A. E., Peden, M., Hyder, A. A., Jagnoor, J., Duan, L., Brown, J., Passmore, J., Clapham, K., Tian, M., Rahman, A. K. M. F., & Ivers, R. Q. (2021). Out of the silos: embedding injury prevention into the Sustainable Development Goals. Injury Prevention, 27(2), 166.
- Academic Expert Group. (2020). Saving lives beyond 2020: the next steps.
- Tingvall, C. (2021). Saving lives beyond 2020. ICTCT webinar, 3 December 2021.
- Academic Expert Group. (2025). Saving lives beyond 2025: taking further steps.
- Krafft, M., & Tingvall, C. (2025). Saving lives beyond 2025: lessons from Marrakech conference. ICTCT webinar, 9 May 2025.
18. Meeting preconditions of various groups
19. Economical aspects of traffic safety
20. Social aspects of traffic safety
Cross-sectional topics
21. Traffic safety in low- and middle-income countries
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Belin, M.-Å. (2021). The Swedish Vision Zero—an advanced safety culture phenomenon. In G. Tiwari & D. Mohan (Eds.), Transport and safety: systems, approaches, and implementation. Springer Nature.
- Boateng, F. G. (2021). Why Africa cannot prosecute (or even educate) its way out of road accidents: insights from Ghana. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8, 13.
- Godthelp, H., & Ksentini, A. (2024). Specific road safety issues in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): an overview and some illustrative examples. Traffic Safety Research, 8, e000068.
- GRSP & World Bank. (2021). Guide for road safety interventions: evidence of what works and what does not work.
- Heydari, S., Hickford, A., McIlroy, R., Turner, J., & Bachani, A. M. (2019). Road safety in low-income countries: state of knowledge and future directions. Sustainability, 11(22).
- ITF. (2025). Road safety in action: The Safe System tool. International Transport Forum.
- PIARC. (2023). Road safety in LMICs: identification and analysis of specific issues (2023R07EN). World Road Association.
- PIARC. (2023). Road safety issues for LMICs: Illustrative examples (2023R13EN). World Road Association.
- Wegman, F. (2017). The future of road safety: a worldwide perspective. IATSS Research, 40(2), 66–71.
22. Active mobility
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
23. ITS and technology
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
24. Suicide in traffic
Teaching materials
Recommended literature
- Andersson, A.-L., & Svensson , K. (2023). Suicide in the Transport System. In K. Edvardsson Björnberg, S. O. Hansson, M.-Å. Belin, & C. Tingvall (Eds.), The Vision Zero Handbook: Theory, Technology and Management for a Zero Casualty Policy (pp. 1103–1115). Springer.
- Andersson, A.-L., & Sokolowski, M. (2022). Accident or suicide? Improvement in the classification of suicides among road traffic fatalities in Sweden by extended psychosocial investigations, during the years 2010–2019. Journal of safety research, 80, 39–45.
- WHO. (2019). Suicide in the world: global health estimates.
