17 September 2026 | Scotland, United Kingdom – Newly appointed Chair of the Society of Road Safety Auditors (SoRSA) and International Road Federation (IRF) Lead Trainer Eur Ing Miguel-Angel Serrano Santos is in Scotland for the SoRSA Scottish Conference 2026, bringing his expertise in road safety auditing and Safe System implementation to the annual gathering of road safety professionals.

Held at the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre, the conference focused on the key principles and practical application of the Safe System approach to road safety. The programme brought together professionals from across the road safety sector through expert presentations, interactive discussions and live demonstrations.

Miguel’s participation builds on his work with IRF to strengthen professional capacity in road safety auditing. As an IRF Lead Trainer, he delivers training that equips road safety professionals with the knowledge and practical skills needed to assess road infrastructure systematically and identify opportunities to address risk.

Building professional capacity for safer roads

IRF’s road safety work extends beyond promoting Safe System principles. Through its professional training programmes and auditor development initiatives, IRF supports practitioners who are responsible for applying these principles in the planning, design, construction and operation of road infrastructure.

Miguel has played a key role in this work, including leading IRF road safety auditor training programmes. These programmes help professionals develop the technical competencies required to undertake road safety audits at different stages of a road project, from feasibility and design through construction, pre-opening and existing-road assessments.

IRF’s Road Safety Auditors Registry, launched in 2024 with support from the TotalEnergies Foundation, is part of this wider effort to strengthen the professional community. The registry provides a platform for qualified road safety professionals and supports greater visibility of expertise in road safety auditing.

Connecting Safe System principles with practice

The Safe System approach recognises that road users can make mistakes and that the transport system should be designed and managed so that those mistakes do not result in death or serious injury.

For road safety auditors, this means examining infrastructure through a broader lens: how road design, speed, vehicles, road-user behaviour and post-crash response interact to influence risk.

The SoRSA Scottish Conference provided an opportunity to examine these principles from multiple professional perspectives, with speakers including representatives from Transport Scotland, RoSPA, IAM RoadSmart, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Northumbria Police, alongside Miguel as Incoming SoRSA Chair.