Background Policymakers are often reluctant to implement road safety policy measures because of they fear the public support will be low. Opposition to measures is rooted in people’s expectations about several issues, including effectiveness, costs, burdens, restrictions on freedom and possible discrimination. Little evidence is available about how countries differ in terms of public support for road safety policy measures. Another limitation is that most studies refer to only one country and only one or a few specific measures.

Objective The aim of the research was to get a better understanding of the role of culture and other factors in public support for road safety policy measures.

Methods In addition to secondary data analysis (ESRA) covering 60 countries and interviews with 40 people in five countries, a survey was conducted in twelve regions and countries (Texas, California, China, Greater London, Austria, Sweden, Greece, Flanders, Wallonia, West of France, Nigeria, and Argentina). Respondents were presented with ten possible road safety measures and asked whether they would support or oppose them, what arguments their opinion was based on, and what the effect of the measure would be on them individually. Over 5000 people participated in the survey. In each country or region; the sample of respondents was representative for the adult population.

Results The findings show considerable variation across countries in public support for road safety policy measure. Culture, in particular traffic safety culture, is often an important factor in opposing or supporting interventions for road safety. This is particularly the case when measures are felt to restrict mobility, seen as discriminatory and/or perceived as an unjustifiable intervention of the state. Very large differences exist in the expected personal effects between the opponents and supporters of a measure, suggesting that such different expectations are decisive for the willingness to support policy. measures.

Conclusions People from different countries vary in what they consider fair and unfair, which is linked to the national culture and organization of society. For example, many more Americans than non-Americans consider the policy measures to be an unjustifiable state intervention; the opposite was the case in China.