STARS: A Socio-Technical Systems Approach to Road Safety (A Global Health Research Group)

Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) see more than twice as many road traffic fatalities (per head of population) compared to high-income countries. Whilst these countries represent 82% of the global population, they are home to only 54% of the world’s registered motor vehicles. The overall goal of our Global Health Research Group (GHRG) is to reduce the number and severity of road accidents in LMICs through our underpinning philosophy of “local solutions for local problems”.

Traditional road safety research has been characterised by the ‘3 E’s’ of Engineering, Enforcement and Education. Although they have provided guidance to engineers and policy makers, they do not go far enough at providing a holistic and integrated approach to road safety and fail to consider fully the wider system factors that shape road user performance and outcomes. The STARS project intends to tackle road safety from a ‘7 E’s’ perspective, with the inclusion of Ergonomics, Economics, Emergency response, and Enablement.

The original GHRG had the University of Southampton collaborating with a least developed country (Bangladesh, via Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology), a low-income country (Kenya, via Strathmore University), a lower-middle income country (Vietnam, via National University of Civil Engineering), and an upper-middle income country (China, via Tsinghua University). Following a successful bid for a 12-month extension to the project, two new project partners have also been included: Ecuador, via the Universidad de las Americas in Quito; and Brazil, via the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

During the first three years of the project, four research streams were undertaken:

(1) a large cross-cultural comparison survey to explore traffic risk perceptions, attitudes to road safety, and pedestrian behaviour;

(2) Accimaps as a systems-based method for road traffic collision analysis, using the findings to develop systems-based safety recommendations;

(3) a naturalistic ‘think aloud’ study with country-specific road users (e.g., moped riders in Vietnam, cyclists in the UK) to enhance our understanding of road-user decision-making processes; and

(4) the installation and use of driving simulators in the LMIC partner institutions to test the effects of proposed interventions on driving behaviour.

Additionally, during year three, whole-system analyses using the STAMP methodology were undertaken. The extension period, year four, saw driving simulation work continue, and the development of systems-based collision report forms, drawing on systems analyses undertaken in years one to three. Questionnaire work undertaken in the original partner countries was extended during year four through dissemination in Brazil and Ecuador.