TIRF’s bilingual Action2Zero (A2Z) learning centre gives Canadian communities the knowledge and tools to raise awareness about road safety issues, identify priorities, measure progress and develop integrated road safety plans. It supports local governments and their road safety partners by sharing current research on effective interventions and the roles of community partners. Its core feature is the Safety Assessment Tool (SAT), a web-based tool to assess progress across several domains. A 5-star status is used to identify which strategies are already in place, and where more leadership, planning, expertise and resources are needed. National and provincial initiatives, such as enforcement, media campaigns and infrastructure programs, work best when communities are empowered to customize them to their context.

A2Z is organized into modules covering the fundamentals of community road safety, guiding approaches, the Safety Assessment Tool, partners, plans and committees, road safety engineering, and TIRF education programs. It also offers information sheets, research links, program materials, examples of practice and lessons from other jurisdictions.

Route2School (R2S) is a project within A2Z that crowdsources real-time data about road risks school children face when they walk, cycle, take the bus or travel by car. Anonymous data are collected through a month-long campaign across multiple schools in a community or region. Administrators get evidence to support funding applications for infrastructure and programs, and teachers get to leverage local examples to teach road safety. Results can inform school travel planning alongside A2Z’s School Safety Assessment Tool and School Safety Module. Developed by Hasselt University in Belgium and used in more than 800 schools across 73 cities, R2S had its first North American pilot in Winnipeg, involving 30 schools and 218 usable reports. Walking was the most common travel mode (51%), and top concerns were poor road surfaces, unsafe driver behaviour and unsafe crosswalks. Improvements identified by schools during the pilot have been incorporated and moves R2S to national delivery.

TIRF’s A2Z School Safety Curriculum, launching this fall, equips teachers and parents to help school-aged children understand road risks and build safe habits. It translates knowledge and research into age-appropriate, accessible tools and resources for educators and caregivers, and can also benefit young adults learning to drive. Visit action2zero.tirf.ca/schools

Visit action2zero.tirf.ca and actionverszero.ca