Work programme

The overall aim of the 3-year project TRUST is to contribute to a significant reduction of fatal and seriously injured road traffic victims, by growing a positive traffic safety culture in Europe and beyond.

The concrete objectives are:

Clarity

Traffic Safety Culture used to be an ambiguous term and a boundary concept, used in different and sometimes contradictory ways. If we want to leverage Traffic Safety Culture, we need to know what it is but also what it is not. Only then can we concisely measure it to assess in an evidence-based way whether we are actually making progress with cultural interventions.

We are providing an operational definition of Traffic Safety Culture and its constituting factors (such as beliefs, attitudes, norms, values) that is suitable for modelling the impact on road safety, developing measuring tools to assess where we are at as well as for planning and testing appropriate interventions. What we do:

We systematically review the preexisting scientific and grey literature on existing definitions.
Experts on road safety, Traffic Safety Culture, public health and sustainability integration will facilitate sharpening our definition through applying the Delphi Technique.
Consensus about the suggested definition is crucial. We aim at postulating a consensual definition by conducting additional interviews and agreeing as a group in dedicated workshops.

Modelling

Complex relationships exist between cultural determinants and road safety outcomes. In order to develop effective interventions, these causal relationships need to be understood and incorporated into a mathematical-statistical model.

We develop a validated model of the relationship between Traffic Safety Culture and road safety.

We carry out a dedicated literature review to collect evidence on relevant elements of the model.
Data analysis, based on ESRA2 and ESRA3 data, will inform statistical modelling of TSC components.
We visualise the relationships between different components of traffic safety culture and road safety outcomes.
We consult with the Advisory Board on the results and every step of the process.

Integration

Traffic Safety Culture is an element that has so far only played an implicit role in the Safe System Approach. The added value that TSC can bring to the sustainability agenda has also not yet been sufficiently specified.

We identify the added value of the road safety culture concept for a Safe System approach integrated with sustainable mobility.

Predominantly scientific literature, including results from EU-funded projects like PRAISE and VeSafe, will be scrutinised for evidence.
Consultation of the stakeholder group in form of online workshops, and using the Delphi technique with international experts and scholars will be carried out.

We take stock of good practices with regard to TSC approaches.

Measuring

There is only limited knowledge on assessing the extensive conceptual framework of Traffic Safety Culture using validated measurement methods and describing it in hard figures.

We develop practical tools that can be used to assess road safety culture at all levels, and as a baseline for interventions.

Intervention

Traffic Safety Culture is a construct that manifests itself in different ways in different settings (e.g. communities, organisations, companies) and requires specific strategies for improvement in each case.

We develop guidance and intervention mechanisms for improving Traffic Safety Culture in communities and organisations. We test and evaluate models, tools and interventions in seven pilots, representing different road safety contexts.
The pilots are:

Local authorities & cities
Drivers at work
Hot food delivery sector
Tourism sector
Driving schools
Secondary Schools
Road safety professionals

TRUST platform

There is no single knowledge base worldwide that brings together scientifically reliable information on Traffic Safety Culture in an easily understandable form.

We develop the TRUST platform to provide easily accessible information, tools, and benchmarking facilities for a wide range of stakeholders.