News

How can municipalities, often the closest authority to citizens’ everyday lives, take a more systematic and proactive role in improving traffic safety? That is one of the key questions addressed in the newly launched partner project “Systematic Traffic Safety Implementation at the Local Level: Trafiksäkerhetslyftet and Traffic Safety Culture in Municipalities”, now part of SAFER’s partners' research portfolio.

The project aims to improve knowledge on traffic safety culture among local authorities and how to strengthen culture and enhance traffic safety implementation. It supports municipalities in taking on a stronger role as key actors in traffic safety, not only as road managers, but also as urban planners, influences of behaviours, employers, and procurers. The project is led by Lund University in collaboration with Trivector Traffic AB and the Institute of Transport Economics (TØI), and is funded by the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) through the research portfolio Planera.

“Municipalities have significant roles in traffic safety. Their efforts are crucial if Sweden is to reach its targets on fatalities and serious injuries in road traffic by 2030. That is why it is important to support municipalities with tools, knowledge and inspiration,” says project leader Hanna Wennberg at Lund University.

A boost for traffic safety culture
Building on previous studies of goal-integrated approaches in traffic safety implementation at the local levels, the project now focuses on how the local traffic safety audit tool Trafiksäkerhetslyftet can drive change, both in terms of strengthening traffic safety culture and actual implementation in municipalities. The tool, developed by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR) and the Swedish Transport Administration, offers municipalities a structured approach to assess and improve their traffic safety work — through self-assessment, cross-departmental dialogue, and thematic deep dives.

“We know that culture and systematics influence how traffic safety work is conducted in practice. By studying the use of the audit tool Trafiksäkerhetslyftet, we can generate valuable insights on how to advance traffic safety implementation in local authorities and among other societal actors,” adds Hanna Wennberg.

Traffic safety as a driver of broader societal goals
The project also emphasises that traffic safety cannot be seen in isolation. Safe environments for walking and cycling not only prevent injuries and fatalities – they are also key to achieving goals related to increased physical activity, reduced emissions, better local air quality, noise reduction, and social inclusion. In line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Stockholm and Marrakech Declarations, the project strives to achieve a traffic safety implementation in line with other goals and integrated in broader contexts. Such goal-integrative approaches are already applied in the audit tool Trafiksäkerhetslyftet but will be further explored through the project.

A collaborative effort
The project is carried out in collaboration with several Swedish municipalities, SKR, the Swedish Transport Administration, and other stakeholders. It is part of SAFER’s focus area Safety Performance Evaluation and will run from May 2025 to March 2027. The total budget is SEK 1.85 million.

Project at a glance

• Title: Systematic Traffic Safety Implementation at the Local Level: Trafiksäkerhetslyftet and Traffic Safety Culture in Municipalities
• Duration: 2025-05-01 – 2027-03-31
• Financer: Swedish Transport Administration 
• Partners: Lund University, Trivector Traffic AB, TØI
• Contact: Hanna Wennberg, Lund University