Working with Government, Road Authorities and other Road Safety Organisations
The Road Safety Foundation works with government, national and local road authorities, and the wider road safety community to embed Safe System principles and deliver safer road infrastructure throughout the UK. RSF provides leadership of the United Kingdom Road Assessment Programme applying iRAP in UK and the Channel Islands.
We work closely with the Department for Transport, providing leadership and technical expertise on national programmes and policy. This includes developing the business case and methodologies behind the Safer Roads Fund, widely recognised as one of the most effective infrastructure safety investment programmes. We also contribute insight on issues such as older drivers — through leading the Older Drivers Task Force — speed management, and the measurement and management of infrastructure risk. In addition, we provide input to the CCAV Expert Advisory Panel to ensure emerging vehicle technologies align with Safe System principles.
With national road authorities such as National Highways and the Welsh Government, we help shape performance metrics for safe infrastructure, support business case development, and guide the prioritisation of routes for treatment. Our work includes route review methodologies, mass‑action modelling, and embedding iRAP and Safe System thinking into strategic decision‑making.
Local authorities rely on our expertise to strengthen their operational and analytical capability. We support Safe System fatal review panels, develop performance metrics, assist with prioritisation frameworks, and deliver iRAP surveys, route reviews, and business case development to help authorities move from reactive to proactive risk management.
We also collaborate widely with other road safety organisations, sharing specialist knowledge on safe infrastructure and safe speeds. Kate Fuller chairs the PACTS Road Environment Working Party, while Suzy Charman supports PACTS through leadership of the Safe System Practitioner Network and provides inputs to Co-Pilot. We partner with Agilysis to deliver high‑quality Safe System training and work with the Transafe Network to deliver Safe System fatal review panel training.
How we work with consultants
As the programme lead for the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) in the United Kingdom, the Road Safety Foundation (RSF) engages with a wide and diverse network of stakeholders to ensure the programme’s continued success. As a charity with iRAP at its core, RSF provides the advocacy, continuity, and technical depth needed to sustain and grow the programme. Decades of experience in road safety research and iRAP give RSF a uniquely rich technical foundation, while our close relationship with the global iRAP charity ensures that the UK benefits from the insight, innovation, and expertise of the wider international team. Our advocacy efforts over the last two decades have meant a change in accepted road safety engineering approach moving from reactive to proactive systems for working, ensuring that road authorities develop Safe System aligned schemes.
A critical part of RSF’s role is working closely with consultants to ensure that the findings from iRAP surveys are translated into the most effective, life‑saving schemes possible. To support this, RSF trains consultants in the use of tools developed collaboratively by RSF, iRAP, and road authorities, ensuring that scheme development is grounded in robust methodology and aligned with global best practice. As the United Kingdom RAP lead, RSF also provides essential oversight and assurance, safeguarding technical quality and protecting the reputation and integrity of iRAP across the UK.
RSF actively welcomes opportunities to collaborate with consultants who wish to develop schemes informed by iRAP results. RSF works closely with most of the top engineering consultancies in UK, ensuring impact is maximised and amplified through our collective efforts. These partnerships are most successful when consultants:
- Recognise the depth of experience within the RSF team and the years of dedicated work invested in establishing the programme’s technical rigour
- Support RSF’s advocacy efforts, recognising that this work is vital to maintaining a strong and sustainable pipeline of scheme development opportunities
- Understand that they are contributing to a much wider, nationally significant effort to embed a proactive, Safe System‑aligned approach to road safety scheme development
