Skip to main content

TRL to evaluate road safety performance in the Sultanate of Oman

The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has been commissioned by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) to undertake a study covering all aspects of road safety within the Sultanate of Oman. TRL’s team of experts will conduct a high level multi-sector assessment of existing road safety activity in the Sultanate. The review will evaluate the Sultanate’s road safety performance, comparing existing activities against best practice across twelve different disciplines including road safety management, safety engineeri
December 4, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (491 TRL) has been commissioned by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) to undertake a study covering all aspects of road safety within the Sultanate of Oman. TRL’s team of experts will conduct a high level multi-sector assessment of existing road safety activity in the Sultanate. The review will evaluate the Sultanate’s road safety performance, comparing existing activities against best practice across twelve different disciplines including road safety management, safety engineering, legislation and enforcement, education and awareness and post-crash response.

Following the multi-disciplinary review, TRL will develop an action plan that provides practical, realistic solutions aimed at building the Sultanate’s capacity to improve the road safety situation. The action plan will be designed in accordance with the principles of the Safe System, using short to medium-term recommendations that bring about appropriate incremental enhancements in performance.

This study complements an existing project in Oman, where TRL is designing a comprehensive crash database and installing its unique iMAAP network based crash analysis system, working on behalf of the Research Council and in collaboration with ROP.

TRL’s safety director, Tracy Savill says: “We are delighted to be cementing our relationship with the Royal Oman Police and other stakeholders across the Sultanate, assisting in bringing about an enhanced shared responsibility to tackling the road safety problems of Oman.

“We hope that the project will result in the implementation of a series of evidence based recommendations that will stabilise and reduce the high number of road deaths in the country.”

Lieutenant Colonel Amour Sultan Al Touqi of the Royal Oman Police public relations department says: “ROP has been honoured to collaborate with TRL in order to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the current status of traffic safety in the Sultanate in the hope to come up with suitable recommendations and implement them on the ground”.

Safe System is a road transport system that is designed to compensate for human error by helping to ensure that road users are not subject to crash forces that result in fatal or serious injuries.

The Safe System refers to the roles and responsibilities that all system users (e.g. drivers) and designers (e.g. policy makers) play and has been developed around three cornerstones:  ‘Safe Roads’, ‘Safe Speeds’ and ‘Safe Vehicles’. A fourth cornerstone, Road Users has recently been added to this to recognise the importance of designing competent and compliant road users.

The Safe System is supported by effective management of road safety at the highest level to improve performance and to ensure that initiatives are focussed on achieving results. Finally, the Safe System must be supported by an effective mechanism for post-crash response that minimises the severity of the outcome from injuries received and facilitates fast and comprehensive rehabilitation for road crash victims.

The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 recommends that every country works towards the implementation of a Safe System.

Related Content

  • October 28, 2016
    New solutions for catching texting drivers
    Many countries have laws prohibiting texting while driving but enforcement is proving difficult – David Crawford looks at some new approaches being tried by authorities. Finding definitive solutions – technological, regulatory and educational - to the potentially lethal practice of people driving while using mobile phones is proving elusive, while the stakes grow higher.
  • March 21, 2014
    Driver error is no barriers to road safety
    Michael Dreznes, Executive Vice President at the International Roads Federation (IRF), is passionate about the use of the Safe System Approach to make roads more forgiving around the world
  • June 14, 2012
    US to stage two-day summit on traffic incident management
    The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will host a two-day summit on 26-27 June on advancing the culture of traffic incident management (TIM) throughout the country. US Department of Transportation (USDoT) Secretary Raymond LaHood and Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez will welcome the group and provide opening remarks demonstrating the commitment of FHWA and USDoT senior executives in support of safe, quick traffic incident responses on the nation's roadways. Those attending this summit incl
  • March 9, 2015
    Putting a stop to intersection indecision
    David Crawford takes a look at innovations to reduce crashes at rural intersections. Intersection crashes continue to represent a worryingly large share of deaths and serious injuries across US highway networks. Statistics from the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration show that an average of 21% of road traffic accident deaths occur at crossings. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) calculates that intersection crashes account for 48% of all injury-related i