679 Road safety policy lessons learned from the large-scale Blackspots audit and organizational assessment of a state in India

<h3>Background</h3> According to WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023, global road traffic crash (RTC) deaths decreased. However, they increased in most of the low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). Research suggests systemic lags in road safety management have been recognized as one of the barriers to improving road safety in LMICs. Recent data from India’s official Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on RTC deaths showed an increase in 2022. Among the states in India, Uttar Pradesh (UP) has the highest number of RTC deaths. <h3>Objective</h3> In this context, we aimed to propose a road safety management framework at the organizational level for the UP. <h3>Method</h3> We employed a road safety audit (RSA) framework on the blackspots to identify road safety issues. We conducted the road safety management analysis of the UP public works department based on the road safety management principles. <h3>Results &amp; Conclusions</h3> The RSA results suggested that road safety issues are at the network level, not just at discreet locations. Hence, network-wide treatment should be done at all locations rather than waiting for any location to become a blackspot. Road safety management analysis highlighted an urgency to formulate a road safety policy and set achievable targets in UP. Study results can be utilized to develop a road safety policy and strategic plan at the national level.