The Road Safety Foundation is a United Kingdom charity which carries out and procures research into safe road design and

road safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-roa ...

. The Foundation is responsible for the European Road Assessment Program (

EuroRAP European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) is an international nonprofit ( vzw) organisation registered in Belgium. It operates from Worting House, Basingstoke, Hampshire. In partnership with national motoring organisations and local autho ...

) in the UK and Ireland.

History

The Foundation was created in 1986 as the AA Foundation for Road Safety Research by the AA, while it was still a member-owned institution. The charity became the Road Safety Foundation following the sale of the AA by Centrica to CVC and

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Aims

Today the Foundation's aims are: * the carrying out of research into all factors of the safe use of roads by all classes of user * the promotion of advice and knowledge on the safe use of roads to all users * to develop ideas and programmes designed to improve road safety including projects to educate young children on the safe use of the road * to provide the transportation industry with access to a library of research materials, as well as policy documentations and relevant publications

Governance

The Foundation is governed by a Council of Management led by Lord Alf Dubs and includes representation from the Freight Transport Association, FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society, and International Road Assessment Programme ( IRAP). In addition to his role in the Foundation, Lord Dubs, previously a Labour

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and Parliamentary

Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...

in the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...

, is an active member of

the House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

. In January 2008 Lord Dubs spoke of his interest in Road Safety and the Foundation in a debate on road safety.

Research

The Foundation has a legacy of research going back to its inception in the mid-1980s. Research covers a wide range of road safety related subjects including the causes of accidents in young pedestrians, risk and safety in the older driver and a review of tyres and road surfaces. Since 2003 the work of the Foundation has focused on EuroRAP in the UK and in 2008 the Campaign for Safe Road Design.

EuroRAP in the UK

The Foundation is the Active Member and licence holder for the

European Road Assessment Programme European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) is an international nonprofit ( vzw) organisation registered in Belgium. It operates from Worting House, Basingstoke, Hampshire. In partnership with national motoring organisations and local autho ...

(EuroRAP) in Britain and Ireland. The Foundation regularly issues the list of safest and most dangerous roads in Britain and Ireland. In 2008 the Foundation released its latest results for Britain, naming the A537 Macclesfield to Buxton road as the most dangerous road in Britain. The results also featured in an edition of television programme '' Police Camera Action!''.

Ireland

In May 2008 the Foundation released the latest Risk Rating results for Ireland, reporting that the Ireland network no longer featured any roads in the highest risk banding (Black: High Risk). In the Republic of Ireland, the N53 was identified as a priority for action to improve road safety, while in Northern Ireland the A2 was prioritised. The 2008 Ireland report also published the results of the first Star Rating Assessment of Ireland's roads which showed a clear split in terms of safety design between the historic non-designed single carriageway roads with poor safety provision, and the newer motorways and dual carriageways which achieved a very high safety rating.

Campaigning for Safe Road Design

The Campaign for Safe Road Design is a partnership between 13 major road safety stakeholders in the United Kingdom that is calling for the UK Government to invest in a safe road infrastructure which could cut deaths on British roads by 33%. The Road Safety Foundation is the lead partner in the campaign. Following the success of the campaign, having influenced the UK Department for Transport to support the increase of

risk rate mapping to the wider road network in the UK, EuroRAP has organized a

European Campaign for Safe Road Design The European Campaign for Safe Road Design aims to influence the European Union to make safe road design a European transport priority and save unnecessary deaths on Europe's roads. The campaign is a partnership between 28 road safety stakeholders ...

along the lines of the UK campaign. The European campaign features 28 partners across Europe and aims to influence the EC to use Safe Road Infrastructure Initiatives to cut casualties by 50,000 a year for the next decade, which is the equivalent of €50 billion over the decade or 0.5% of GDP. The Road Safety Foundation is the campaign's partner in the UK.

References

External links

* * {{EW charity, 295573, Road Safety Foundation Road safety organizations Charities based in Hampshire 1986 establishments in the United Kingdom Road safety in the United Kingdom Road safety in the Republic of Ireland Organizations established in 1986