​Driving Culture Change
Through Systems Thinking
and Shared Learning
Our Mission
At Safe System Culture, we help communities and agencies in the US and Europe design effective traffic safety plans to eliminate fatal and serious injuries on public roadways.
Our approach is culture-centered, meaning we don’t just look at infrastructure and policy; we examine the beliefs, behaviors, and systems that shape how people manage their transportation systems and operate their vehicles within those environments.
We support agencies seeking to achieve sustainable change by transforming cultural and system processes to foster learning and innovation.
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What makes us unique?
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Deep expertise in Traffic Safety Culture and behavioral analysis.
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Proven ability to bridge technical traffic safety strategies with community values and perceptions.
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Experience guiding agencies and communities through Safe System adoption and cultural transformation.
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Emphasis on evidence-based, community-informed approaches that produce sustainable safety outcomes.
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If you're working toward a Vision Zero future, we'll get you get there.
Our Approach to Traffic Safety Planning
1. Change Framework: Adopt language and concepts from the Safe Systems Approach.
2. Transform Culture: Integrate the Safe System Approach principles into decision processes and policies to develop and prioritize innovative traffic safety strategies across the transportation system.
3. Shift Paradigm: Create a learning organization based on systems thinking to understand, analyze, and manage system interactions impacting traffic safety trends to produce sustainable system-based solutions.
Example State Strategic Highway Safety Plans
Our Services
Safe System Implementation & Support
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Assess stakeholder readiness and build support for implementing the Safe System Approach to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries.
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Provide guidance and training for implementing the Safe System Approach and transforming Traffic Safety Culture through traffic safety planning.
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Organizational & Community Culture Transformation
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Develop and execute change-management plans to transform agency and community cultures to align with the Safe System Approach and support the vision of zero traffic safety fatalities and serious injuries.
Research, Measurement & Evaluation
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Design, supervise, and conduct community-based research to understand cultural and behavioral factors influencing fatal and serious injury traffic crashes and public acceptance of safety strategies and goals.
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Measure and monitor community Traffic Safety Culture to identify, develop, and evaluate behavior-based traffic safety strategies.
Community Engagement & Outreach
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Conduct outreach activities and professional presentations to disseminate best practices in traffic safety planning, and grow community engagement and support for shared traffic safety goals.
CSO and Founder, Dr. Nicholas Ward holds a Ph.D. in Human Factors Psychology and boasts over 35 years of global experience in behavioral traffic safety strategies.
He is recognized as an international researcher and leader in transforming Traffic Safety Culture (TSC) and implementation of the Safe System Approach (SSA) to develop effective and sustainable traffic safety strategies and plans.
Dr. Ward is a member of the EU TRUST project which aims "to promote a cultural shift in how individuals, organisations, and communities view and prioritise road safety." Dr. Ward has supported the development plans for California, Kansas, Oregon, Minnesota, Montana, Washington, Ontario and Canada. He has also evaluated Strategic Highway Safety Plans (SHSP) across all US states to pinpoint best practices to support Vision Zero goals.
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Keynote Examples
​"Changing Traffic Safety Culture" Ninth Global Interactive Forum on Traffic and Safety (Tokyo, Japan, 2023)
"The Culture of Traffic Safety" Washington State Traffic Safety Conference (Kenwick, WA, 2018)
Experienced Leadership
