Background In 2014 Motor Transport Institute established Polish Road Safety Observatory POBR according to the recommendations of National Road Safety Programme GAMBIT 2005–2007–2013 and the assumptions of European Projects SafetyNet and Dacota.

Methods The overall objective of POBR is to contribute to a reduction in the number of road accident victims in Poland. To achieve this goal it is important to provide information about risks on Polish roads and disseminate knowledge concerning road safety. The basic tasks of POBR are as follows: disseminating road safety knowledge, data and information collection and sharing, conducting analyses and research, evaluating programs and activities implemented, cooperation with Regional Road Safety Observatories and other institutions.

Results A reliable road accidents database is essential to identify major problems with regard to road safety. It is also a starting point to plan preventive actions and the source of information in the evaluation process. The accuracy of decisions and the improvement of road safety situation largely depend on the scope and quality of gathered data and conducted analyses. POBR provides national data on road accidents, general population, driver population, vehicle fleet, road network, area. International data are obtained from CARE, OECD, IRTAD and EUROSTAT databases. The data and information in POBR are intended for state and local authorities, road managers, experts from various disciplines, local communities, media, general public and international institutions.

Conclusions The main aim of POBR is to contribute to planing and evaluating knowledge and evidence based actions. POBR can serve as road safety management tool and be useful for road safety policy development. POBR system consists of data warehouse and information portal. An important element of the system is an application, which is designed to create thematic and risk maps which allow the identification of dangerous road sections.