LEARN Project in Action: Tunisia and Zambia

LEARN is a joint initiative between the International Road Federation (IRF) and the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety, supported by TotalEnergies Foundation, which brings together national government officials, police, road safety NGOs, private sector, and academia to learn how to gather and analyse road safety data more effectively and to use that data to implement effective interventions that will reduce road deaths and injuries. Through the project, the partners create and implement a joint action plan for a specific data collection project that can utilise the strengths and experiences of their different sectors. It has so far been implemented in six countries in Africa (Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, Cameroon, Zambia, and Tunisia).  

In Tunisia, LEARN has helped to synchronise the efforts of government agencies, the road safety observatory, police, NGOs, and private sector to collect, share, and use crash and road death data more effectively so that road safety interventions can be targeted more accurately for greatest effect. Prior to the LEARN Tunisia project, data was recorded on paper, was inconsistent, and did not identify details such as the age, gender, or other details of victims, nor exactly where the crash happened. It was cumbersome for police officers to complete.

For example, through LEARN, the association Les Ambassadeurs de la Securite Routiere (ASR) has built a coalition including the Ministries of Interior, Health, and Transport to share data across departments more effectively and support the implementation of a new digital data collection tool in collaboration with ONSR. The new collection tool replaced the paper forms used by police to record crash details with a digital app, that automatically records the geolocation of the crash. Using the app, police officers can quickly record details such as the age of victims, whether they were wearing a seatbelt, the state of the road, the weather, and the circumstances of the crash. The data feeds from the app to the government database, where it can be analysed by ONSR. Read more here. 

In Zambia, the association Zambia Road Safety Trust (ZRST) is coordinating a LEARN project that is enabling roll out of 30 km/h zones. ZRST organised a LEARN workshop involving government officials from the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, the Transport and Safety Agency, the Zambia Police, the Ministry of Education, the Lusaka City Authorities, NGOs and private sector partners. Through the workshop, the partners created a collective action plan that outlined the roles that each sector needed to play in order to successfully implement the 30 km/h law and ensured that they had the information and resources necessary to do so. 

The action plan has now been put into action using the LEARN methodology. In order to gather information around schools and other busy areas with lots of pedestrians, the police are collaborating with NGOs, including ZRST. They are using this data to establish which streets should be prioritised for 30 km/h signs and other speed calming interventions, as well as pedestrian facilities such as speed bumps, sidewalks, and pedestrian crossings. The recommendations are also helping to identify particular zones for enhanced enforcement of 30km/h limits. Read more here.