Background Over 1.3 million people die annually from road traffic injuries (RTI) and many millions are injured and disabled around the world. The United Nations declared 2011–20 as the global Decade of Action for Road Safety and major efforts are underway to prevent and manage this epidemic of RTI. Considerable work has also been done to identify specific determinants of RTI including risks, locations, and conditions. However, the role of socio-cultural context that affects communities, opinions, and influencers have been less studied especially in vulnerable populations. It is important for such norms and influences to be understood to support current global efforts to address road safety behaviors

Methods We used systematic scoping review methodology of the Joanna Briggs Institute, A comprehensive literature search was conducted for eligible publications in several electronic databases: PubMed, Global Health, Scopus, LILACS, and Google Scholar. Studies that examined social or cultural norms and were connected to road safety were considered for inclusion if they were published in the English or Spanish language between 2000 and November 2020.

Findings 75 articles were included in the scoping review analysis. Evidence of sociocultural norms arose primarily from US-based studies. The review indicate that sociocultural factors play a key role in road safety behaviors. Subjective norms, such as the social acceptability of alcohol and marijuana, were found to have significant impact on road safety behavior, as well as cultural factors like gender norms. Our findings also indicate that such norms can be moderated by sociocultural constructs and values.