Safer mobility across Africa: the legacy of TRANS-SAFE
From safer pedestrian crossings and school zones to new ways of identifying dangerous roads and strengthening emergency response, TRANS-SAFE has spent three years exploring solutions to improve road safety in African cities.
The EU-funded project came to a close in August 2026 with a final event in Cape Town, bringing together road safety experts, researchers and transport authorities from Africa and Europe to celebrate the achievements and share lessons from pilots in Cape Town (South Africa), Kumasi (Ghana), Kigali (Rwanda), and Lusaka (Zambia).
But road safety remains a major public health challenge that demands continued action. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 225,000 people died in road traffic crashes in 2021 across the African Region, covering 47 countries. The region also recorded the highest road traffic fatality rate in the world.
Now, it is critical to build on the project’s legacy and continue helping cities adapt its findings to their local contexts, with the aim of preventing road traffic deaths and injuries through better road design, reliable data, community involvement and stronger cooperation between authorities.
The Safe System Approach
TRANS-SAFE followed the Safe System Approach (SSA), based on a simple principle: people make mistakes, but those mistakes should not cost them their lives.
Instead of placing responsibility solely on individual road users, the approach considers the transport system as a whole: from how roads are designed and vehicle speeds are managed to vehicle safety and emergency care.
This is particularly important in the African context, where pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists account for around half of road traffic fatalities.
In Kumasi, this meant changing the road environment to encourage drivers to slow down. The pilot combined low-cost, high-impact infrastructure improvements with digital safety mapping and emergency care training.
Along the Yaa Asantewaa corridor and in school zones, two raised pedestrian crossings were installed, as well as rumble strips, new road markings, and warning and speed-limit signs.
Following the interventions, average vehicle speeds fell from 64 km/h to 32 km/h. Pedestrians also reported improvements in walkability, perceived safety, comfort and enjoyment.
Through Walk21’s Walkability App, more than 1,000 pedestrians shared their experiences before and after the changes. Positive walking experiences more than doubled, rising from 19% to nearly 49%, while reports of feeling unsafe fell by 48 percentage points.
In Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, the focus was on one of the most vulnerable groups on the roads: children commuting to school. The Safer Journeys to School initiative introduced zebra crossings, speed humps and 30 km/h signage around 15 high-risk school zones.
More than 24,000 primary school pupils received road safety education, and School Safety Committees were established to involve communities in maintaining safer conditions.
Vehicle speeds fell by more than 30% within the school zones, while unsafe road-crossing behaviour among pupils decreased by 20%. All 15 school zones achieved a minimum three-star pedestrian safety rating under the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP), which assesses how safe road infrastructure is on a scale of one to five stars. Three stars is a widely used minimum safety benchmark.
The risks are there before the crash happens
Sometimes, the road safety problem is not directly visible. A junction may be dangerous even if no serious collision has yet been recorded there.
In Cape Town, the project used the Route2School tool to better understand pupils’ journeys to three schools. By gathering feedback from children, parents and teachers, researchers could identify dangerous locations and everyday obstacles that might not be apparent from crash data alone.
The findings revealed different mobility patterns and safety concerns. At Chuma Primary School in Khayelitsha, more than 90% of respondents travelled on foot. At Pinehurst Primary School, around two-thirds travelled by car.
Speeding, dangerous intersections, missing pavements and inadequate crossings were among the problems identified.
The information helped highlight locations where improvements should be prioritised, giving authorities a clearer picture of the risks children face on their daily journeys.
In Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, the Walkability App gathered feedback from 1,339 pedestrians across 15 study areas. Around 60% of the walking experiences recorded were negative, highlighting the need for improvements such as wider footpaths and safer crossings, particularly around schools.
For cities working with limited budgets, this kind of feedback can help identify where improvements are needed most, rather than relying on assumptions about how people use their streets.
Road safety also means being prepared when crashes occur
While preventing crashes remains the priority, an effective road safety system must also consider what happens afterwards.
In Kumasi, TRANS-SAFE introduced Stop the Bleed and Basic Emergency Care training for taxi drivers and police officers, who may be among the first to arrive at a crash scene. The aim was to strengthen their ability to provide potentially life-saving assistance during the golden hour – the critical period following a serious crash when rapid medical care can make a significant difference.
The initial target was to train 100 people, but more than 2,300 registered for the programme, revealing strong interest in these skills. The initiative also strengthened cooperation between hospitals, emergency medical professionals, road safety authorities and other local institutions.
In South Africa, rescue sheets – diagrams showing the location of batteries, airbags and other important vehicle components – were provided for electric buses to help emergency responders identify potential hazards and plan how to safely rescue passengers after a crash.
For a closer look at how the Safe System Approach can translate into practical changes on the ground, explore UITP’s TRANS-SAFE Project Insights publication!
The challenges remain, but the work continues
What can other cities learn from the progress made through TRANS-SAFE’s pilots? The project leaves several recommendations for improving road safety:
- Put vulnerable road users first. The needs of pedestrians, cyclists, children and public transport users should be central to transport planning and road design.
- Look beyond individual measures. Speed limits work better when supported by road design that encourages slower driving and appropriate enforcement. Infrastructure, education and awareness campaigns should reinforce one another.
- Share data and work together. Transport planners, police, healthcare services, road authorities and communities all have a role to play. Information gathered through walking assessments, digital tools and other sources needs to reach the authorities responsible for taking action.
- Prioritise investments where they matter most. With limited budgets, cities need reliable data and cost-benefit analysis to identify interventions with the greatest potential to prevent deaths and injuries.
These lessons also come at an important moment for road safety policy in Africa. On 12 March 2026, the African Road Safety Charter entered into force for the countries that had ratified it, providing a binding framework to strengthen road safety policies, cooperation and accountability.
To help cities apply these lessons, TRANS-SAFE has developed a developed a toolbox and online training resources for policymakers, transport authorities and practitioners.
And now, the real measure of TRANS-SAFE’s legacy will be what other cities do with the lessons it leaves behind.