Reliable road crash data is essential for understanding where, how and why crashes occur, identifying high-risk locations and road-user groups, designing effective interventions, allocating resources and measuring whether road-safety programmes are working. URRENO has contributed to strengthening road crash data systems in Uganda through database development and upgrading, technical support, training, research, data analysis and stakeholder engagement.
URRENO’s Experience in Road Crash Database Development
Road crash database strengthening is part of URRENO’s established road-safety work. URRENO’s Road Safety Practice identifies upgrading the road crash database among its past road-safety activities. The organisation has also maintained working relationships with government institutions and other road-safety stakeholders, including the Ministry of Works and Transport and Uganda Police.
Road Crash Database Management System Activities
URRENO has contributed to practical improvements in Uganda’s road crash data systems. Its documented activities have included:
- Developing and testing a monitoring and evaluation framework.
- Configuring the database server and installing required system accessories.
- Assigning user accounts and conducting User Acceptance Testing.
- Upgrading system interfaces and supporting the application of a mobile application.
- Training Traffic Police trainers in road crash data collection and entry.
- Training personnel from the Ministry of Works and Transport, Uganda Police, URRENO, Uganda National Roads Authority and Uganda Road Fund in crash data interpretation and analysis.
- Developing training manuals for the Road Crash Database Management System.
These activities demonstrate that URRENO’s contribution has gone beyond advocacy. It has included technical support, user testing, institutional capacity building, data entry, analysis and development of practical training materials.
Strengthening Road Safety Management Through Reliable Data
Between December 2020 and May 2025, Uganda was part of a United Nations Road Safety Fund project focused on strengthening road safety management. The project supported improvements in road crash data collection, analysis, research, monitoring and evaluation. URRENO was among the project partners, together with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Ministry of Works and Transport.
Reliable crash information helps government agencies and other road-safety stakeholders diagnose road-safety problems, plan appropriate interventions and assess whether those interventions are effective.
Building Road Crash Data Skills Through the LEARN Project
Through the LEARN Project, URRENO has also focused on strengthening the knowledge and practical skills of road-safety professionals and other stakeholders in the collection, analysis and management of road crash data.
The project promotes the use of data to communicate road-safety messages, support monitoring and evaluation, strengthen joint action and improve road-safety policy and practice. The project is supported by the International Road Federation, the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety and the TotalEnergies Foundation.
Using Road Crash Data for Local Road Safety Action
URRENO has applied road crash data at the local level. Under its Incubator Road Safety Project, the organisation collected and analysed road crash data around selected school zones in Kampala. The evidence was intended to support advocacy for speed reduction and safer conditions around schools.
This experience demonstrates the importance of connecting crash data to practical action, including identifying high-risk locations, improving school zones, supporting enforcement and guiding infrastructure improvements.
Uganda’s National Crash Database
Uganda is currently advancing a National Crash Database initiative. In 2026, URRENO became associated with an assignment supporting the development and operationalisation of Uganda’s National Crash Database. The assignment is being delivered by TRL in joint venture with TIMCON Associates Inc. and in association with URRENO, for the Ministry of Works and Transport and with funding from the World Bank Group.
The work is intended to strengthen how road crash information is collected, managed, shared and analysed. It includes assessment of existing systems, system development and piloting, preparation of manuals and standard operating procedures, recommendations for national scale-up and training needs.
Because this work is ongoing, URRENO’s role should be presented as participation and association with the assignment, rather than claiming that the national system has already been fully completed.
Why a Strong National Crash Database Matters
A reliable national road crash database can:
- Help identify crash patterns and high-risk locations.
- Support evidence-based road-safety planning and investment.
- Improve coordination between Police, health institutions, transport authorities and road agencies.
- Support identification and treatment of road-crash black spots.
- Strengthen monitoring and evaluation of road-safety interventions.
- Improve evidence for policy, enforcement, infrastructure and public-awareness decisions.
- Improve understanding of risks faced by pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users.
URRENO’s Contribution
URRENO brings together experience in research, road-safety advocacy, stakeholder engagement and practical field work. Its experience includes engagement with government institutions, support for crash-data systems, training and capacity building, local crash-data collection, data interpretation and evidence-based advocacy.
Through this work, URRENO contributes to a wider road-safety management process in which information is collected, analysed, communicated and converted into action.
Conclusion
URRENO has contributed to strengthening road crash data systems in Uganda through database development and upgrading, technical support, training, research, data analysis and evidence-based road-safety advocacy. Its experience includes work on the Road Crash Database Management System, national road-safety data-strengthening initiatives, the LEARN Project and local crash-data assessments around school zones. As Uganda continues to strengthen its national crash-data systems, URRENO remains positioned to contribute its experience in research, capacity building, stakeholder engagement and the use of evidence to support safer roads and better decision-making.