World’s largest SR4S assessment kicks off in Riyadh

Forty engineers received training in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, recently as part of the world’s largest Star Rating for Schools assessment of 300 school areas kicking off in the Kingdom.

Ensuring the safety of children on their journey to school is a priority for the Riyadh Municipality.

According to the iRAP Safety Insights Explorer, road crashes claim an estimated 55 young lives each year in the country of children aged 5 to 14 years, and nearly 19,000 additional injuries.

Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) is an award-winning evidence-based programme of tools, training and support to measure, manage, and communicate the risks children are exposed to on their journey to school.

The 300-school areas (961 schools and 160 mosques) assessment project (Phase-1) will serve more than 320,600 students, and be delivered by Consolidated Consultants Group (CCG) and supported by iRAP. It will quantify the safety of road infrastructure surrounding the schools and identify the highest risk locations for investment in safety upgrades.

The two-day training from 13-14 August, hosted by Riyadh Municipality and led by CCG, was supported by iRAP’s Jigesh Bhavsar and Samar Abouraad. It equipped participants from several Riyadh Municipality departments with skills and knowledge in the iRAP Methodology and use of the Star Rating for Schools tool (SR4S) to produce safety Star Ratings and Safer Roads Investment Plans.

Data collection at a local school and a practical peer-reviewed coding exercise were instrumental in helping the group generate and analyse SR4S results. This, in turn, informed potential countermeasures to achieve a 3-star or better safety standard.

In his opening speech, H.E. Dr. Faisal Alosaimi, Assistant Deputy for Infrastructure at Riyadh Municipality, welcomed participants to the training workshop, expressing gratitude for their attendance. He emphasized the workshop’s goal to enhance expertise and knowledge among Riyadh Municipality staff, aligning with global standards.

Collaborating with iRAP and SR4S experts, the workshop aimed to improve road infrastructure and traffic safety around schools and mosques. Dr. Alosaimi highlighted the workshop’s importance in building a safe, sustainable environment and encouraged active participation.

Assistant Deputy for Infrastructure at Riyadh Municipality, H.E. Dr. Faisal Alosaimi opening the workshop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Dr Ahmad Alomari, a Traffic Expert from CCG and Yarmouk University said, “It was an honour to collaborate with the Riyadh Municipality and iRAP on this critical and intensive two-day training course focused on enhancing traffic safety in school and mosque zones in Riyadh. This project marks a significant step forward in the collective efforts to ensure the safety of our communities. A special thanks to all the experts and stakeholders who attended and contributed their valuable insights and expertise. Together, we are making a meaningful impact on the future of traffic safety in Riyadh.”

iRAP Senior Engineer Jigesh Bhavsar said, “We are delighted to support this exciting project and congratulate the partners for their commitment to safer school journeys in the Kingdom. It was a pleasure to support the training, and I thank the Municipal Corporation for its proactive participation, making the most of the opportunity to interact and learn. Indeed, we had deep participation and highly engaging discussions.”

Watch the video and hear from participants (in Arabic):

Above left: Engineer Abdulaziz Alauony, Director of the Traffic Engineering Department at Riyadh Municipality talking about the importance of including Road Safety Assessment in infrastructure design and upgrades using the Star-Rating tools
Right: CCG team assisting the trainees during their SR4S assessment exercise

Above left: Engineer Jigesh Bhavsar (iRAP) and Engineer Muamar Alkrarha (CCG) expertly lead a session, providing insightful explanations to the audience during the workshop program. Their detailed presentations were instrumental in enhancing the participants’ understanding and application of advanced traffic safety measures around schools.
Right: Assistant Deputy for Infrastructure and Director of the Traffic Engineering Department taking part with 40 Engineers from the Municipality of Riyadh in the practical SR4S assessment

Above left: At the conclusion of the training course, the Executive Director of Infrastructure Department at CCG, Engineer Ala’ Husni AlSoud, expressed his deepest gratitude and sincere appreciation to everyone who contributed to the success of the training workshop and to all participants
Right: Engineer Abdulaziz Alauony, Director of the Traffic Engineering Department at Riyadh Municipality, delivered certificates to participants along with Engineer Jigesh Bhavsar (iRAP), Engineer Samar Abouraad (iRAP), and Dr. Ahmad Alomari (CCG