Abstract Manager

Canadian municipalities have made significant progress toward Vision Zero and Safe System principles, yet many road safety efforts continue to focus primarily on infrastructure and enforcement, with limited attention to the cultural factors that shape everyday road user behaviour. To address this gap, the City of Lethbridge developed a Traffic Safety Culture Transformation Framework that places community beliefs, norms, and attitudes at the centre of long‑term safety outcomes.

Funded through Transport Canada’s Enhanced Road Safety Transfer Payment Program, this project represents a municipal‑led effort to formally assess and respond to local traffic safety culture. The City undertook a comprehensive research program that included a statistically weighted public survey, a youth‑specific survey, in‑depth interviews with community organizations and transportation stakeholders, and analysis of crash data and school‑area safety input. The research established a local baseline for attitudes and behaviours related to speeding, aggressive driving, distracted driving, and impaired driving, and highlighted important differences across age, gender, and road user groups. The resulting framework integrates behavioural science with the Safe System Approach and translates research findings into a practical municipal implementation model. It is organized around four complementary strategy areas:

• Safety leadership
• Visible physical changes
• Activations and immersive experiences
• Clear and strong deterrents

Together, these strategies are intended to support sustained behaviour change by aligning social and physical environments, rather than relying solely on short‑term education or awareness campaigns. The framework also includes guidance on governance, monitoring, and adapting strategies over time.

This presentation will outline the development process, summarize key research insights, and share municipal lessons learned from moving traffic safety culture from concept to implementation. Attendees will gain practical guidance on how to assess local traffic safety culture and support long‑term behaviour change alongside traditional engineering and enforcement measures