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Every year, approximately 1.3 million people die in road traffic accidents globally, according to the World Health Organisation. Road injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5–29 years, and road accidents cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product. One proactive way to act on this is with ISO 39001.
These statistics are not just alarming, but they also show that we have a global crisis that needs to be addressed. Organisations involved in transportation, logistics, and fleet operations and management are in the position to influence and improve road safety.
The ISO 39001 standard, Road Traffic Safety Management Systems (RTSMS), gives us a framework for tackling road risks. This framework helps businesses prevent fatalities and serious injuries through proactive management.
With the increasing stakeholder expectations, ever-changing compliance requirements, and scrutiny from regulators, adopting ISO 39001 is not just a moral imperative for society, but is a strategic business decision.
In this blog post, we will look at the standard’s purpose, benefits, implementation strategies, and when to consider Certification of your ISO 39001 Management System.
Understanding ISO 39001
What Is ISO 39001?
ISO 39001 is an international standard that highlights the requirements for a Road Traffic Safety Management System. This standard applies to any business that interacts with the road traffic system, regardless of their size or location.
“This International Standard helps businesses reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the incidence and risk of death and serious injury related to road traffic crashes.” – ISO 39001:2012
The standard guides businesses on managing road traffic safety risks, focusing on:
- Reducing and ultimately eliminating road traffic fatalities and serious injuries.
- Identifying Road Traffic Safety (RTS) performance factors such as vehicle conditions, road user behaviour, and infrastructure.
- Implementing corrective and preventive actions.
- Driving continual improvement in RTS performance.
Unlike generic safety initiatives, ISO 39001 looks at influencing road traffic safety holistically, by looking at things like vehicles, roads, users, and responses to road safety. It’s not just about internal policies, but also how an organisation operates within this structure and impacts the road environment.
Who Needs ISO 39001?
If your organisation affects or is affected by road traffic systems, ISO 39001 is important. A magnitude of organisations can benefit from this standard, but here are a few that immediately come to mind:
- Transport and logistics companies: Operating heavy vehicles, long-distance vehicles, or local delivery fleets.
- Public sector and government bodies: Managing public transport, emergency services, or infrastructure.
- Taxi and ride-share operators: Large vehicle networks offering transport to individuals and small groups.
- Corporate fleets: Organisations with significant employee travel or requiring commuting.
- Utility and maintenance firms: Operating vehicles in high-risk environments.
Organisations that stand to benefit most from ISO 39001 are those with direct or indirect involvement in road traffic systems. It’s important to note that ISO 39001 extends beyond traditional transport or logistics.
Even companies with large commuting workforces or businesses reliant on delivery models (such as food delivery platforms or e-commerce businesses) can use RTS Management System principles to improve safety, reduce risk, and be proactive regarding road safety.
Dive into our FREE guide: “Risk Assessment Toolkit for Road Traffic Safety”
Why Adopt ISO 39001?
- Save lives: Implementing ISO 39001 reduces the number and severity of road incidents, protecting your employees, contractors, and the public.
- Mitigate legal risk: Having a certified RTSMS helps you show due diligence and proactive risk management; this is an important part in litigation and insurance assessments, should any road accident happen.
- Maintain competitive advantage: Many public and private sector tenders now include ISO 39001 certification as a preferred or mandatory criterion.
- Become more efficient: Fewer accidents mean lower vehicle downtime, reduced costs, and improved reliability.
- Build stakeholder trust and brand reputation: Leading in road safety enhances your brand’s reputation among partners, customers, and prospects.
- Integrate it with other standards: The ISO 39001 framework aligns seamlessly with ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environmental), and ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety), making it easy to integrate with your existing ISO Management System/s.
How to Use ISO 39001 Strategically
Safety is no longer a standalone function, but it should be embedded in every area of your business.
It’s more than simply being about conformance or compliance. Instead, it’s about driving value and sustainability within your organisation.
When Should You Consider an ISO 39001 Management System?
- Your business involves significant vehicle movement.
- You operate in high-risk environments (like mining and construction, for example).
- You want to improve your safety KPIs and reduce insurance premiums.
- You’re responding to incident history and/or audit findings.
- You want to pre-qualify for major contracts, tenders or government work.
When should you consider ISO 39001 Certification?
Certification is not a requirement for ISO 39001, but it offers many benefits. Gaining ISO Management System Certification for your Road Traffic Safety Management System (RTSMS) provides independent verification and improves benchmarking against global best practices. It offers clear reassurance to your customers, insurers, and regulators.
Need support preparing for certification?
Risk Group offers expert guidance from gap analysis to full implementation, and our sister company, Wynleigh International Certification Services, can help take you over the finish line.
Tips for Implementation and Maintenance
Implementing ISO 39001 involves a structured approach grounded in its core clauses.
Clause 4: Context of the Organisation
To implement ISO 39001 effectively, begin by identifying the internal and external factors that impact road traffic safety (RTS). Consider stakeholder expectations, regulatory requirements, and your organisation’s goals. Assess the specific RTS environment, including types of roads used, vehicle operations, and emergency response capabilities that you have.
Clause 5: Leadership
Top management must always show strong commitment to RTS. This includes a clear RTS policy and assigning roles and responsibilities to ensure accountability and leadership support throughout the organisation.
Clause 6: Planning
Organisations should identify potential RTS risks and opportunities, set measurable objectives, and focus on key performance factors such as vehicle speed, seatbelt and helmet use, driver fatigue management, vehicle condition assessments, and infrastructure safety.
Clause 7: Support
Effective RTS requires building employee awareness. Organisations must ensure that expectations are clearly communicated, and that staff are trained and equipped to contribute to road safety.
Clause 8: Operation
Organisations should document procedures, manage RTS-related activities, and prepare emergency response plans to ensure consistent and safe operations.
Clause 9: Performance Evaluation
Monitor performance using key indicators and conduct regular audits and management reviews. This helps track progress and identify areas for improvement in the RTS management system.
Clause 10: Improvement
Continual improvement is key. Respond promptly to incidents and near-misses, apply lessons learned, and encourage innovation to improve road safety practices over time.
ISO 39001 as part of an Integrated Management System
To streamline implementation, organisations already certified in other ISO standards will benefit from the shared structure provided by Annex SL (High-Level Structure).
This alignment allows for consistent risk assessment methods across ISO 39001, ISO 45001, and ISO 9001. It also supports the integration of internal audits and management reviews and encourages data sharing across departments to help identify root causes of incidents.
Dive into our FREE guide: “Risk Assessment Toolkit for Road Traffic Safety”
ISO 39001 in Summary
Road traffic safety is not just something your business should be concerned about, but it should be a key business function that has legal, financial and ethical implications. ISO 39001 provides a framework to address this challenge directly.
From setting clear policies to implementing data-driven risk reduction strategies, this standard empowers organisations to save lives while improving operational performance.
With the right guidance, training, and mentorship, you can confidently step into the rewarding world of ISO Management Systems.
Working With Risk ZA Group
Risk Group offers training, consulting, pre-certification audits, gap analysis and software—designed to ensure your ISO Management System serves you as the valuable business tool it should be.
Whether you’re beginning your road safety journey or preparing for ISO 39001 certification, Risk Group is here to help.
We offer practical tools and expert support to empower your next steps.
Dive into our FREE guide: “Risk Assessment Toolkit for Road Traffic Safety”
Ready to begin your ISO journey?
Let us assist you with your ISO Management System, operational efficiency, and long-term success.
Contact the Risk Group team today at +27 (0) 31 569 5900 or +44 (0) 203 728 6179 or send an email to enquiries@riskgroup.ltd.
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