Every year, more than 10,000 people lose their lives on Tanzania roads. Most of these crashes are preventable. That’s why the International Road Federation (IRF), with the support from the TotalEnergies Foundation, is training 23 civil engineers in Dar es Saalam.  

This is part of the International Registry for Road Safety Auditors, which aims to establish a standardised framework for the qualification and the accreditation of road safety auditors worldwide.  

Participants for this training come from the Tanzanian Ministry of Works, Town Roads, Tara, the Engineers Registration Board, the Institute of Engineers Tanzania, the National Audit Office, and the private sector companies, led by IRF expert engineer Miguel Angel Serrano Santos, participants learned to identify all risks before crashes happen.  

Through 60 hours of theory and practical work, they are gaining the tools to make Tanzania roads safer for all because building local expertise means saving life. 

Earlier this year, IRF also delivered a Road Safety Auditor course in Uganda. Another training is planned to take place in India in October, continuing the collaboration between IRF and TotalEnergies Foundation to strengthen road safety auditing capacities globally. 

Participants in the 2024 Road Safety Auditor course reported clear benefits to their professional skills. One explained the training helped them design safer roads by improving signage, markings, intersections and layouts, and by using data to prevent accidents. They also learned to create safer environments for pedestrians and cyclists, and to carry out safety inspections and audits. The course gave them a better understanding of road safety issues, allowing them to spot risks more effectively as observers. 

Tanzania’s crash figures show why this work matters. Every audit that spots a hidden hazard, every design that slows traffic near a school and every policy based on solid data brings the country closer to its target of halving road deaths by 2030.