Comparison of Road Safety Management Systems of Local Governments using Indicators

More than two-thirds of road fatalities in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea) occur on roads managed by local governments. There is also a big difference in road traffic death rates between local governments. This study aims to develop indicators to evaluate the current status of road safety management systems (RSMS) of local governments, which can result in different road safety performance. The indicators for RSMS will be categorized into: institutional management, intervention, intermediate outcome, and final outcome. A comparison of those indicators will help local governments to identify the pros and cons of their RSMSs. It will also help to benchmark good practices of other local governments and eventually contribute to reducing the gap of road safety outcomes between local governments. Indicators have been developed for both quantitative and qualitative aspects. The former includes road mortality rates for various road user types and budgets for road safety, and the latter includes the existence of a road safety team and the level of cooperation between relevant organizations. The overall road safety score is calculated based on the weighted sum of the selected indicator scores. The weights are derived through the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). A comparison of developed indicators between local governments shows many local governments in Korea need to set up a responsible organization for road safety. This comparison will also provide useful information on how the central government can help local governments with low scores.