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Road Safety Professional (RSP) Certification – Recent News

This section of the CARSP SNN aims to give our readers the most recent news about the RSP certification by the Transportation Professional Certification Board (TPCB) with a focus on the Canadian perspective.

The TPCB was established in 1998 to provide a mechanism to create and administer professional certifications for those involved in the practice of transportation (www.tpcb.org). 

The Professional Traffic Operations Engineers (PTOE) certification exams are offered to professionals with expertise and experience in topics such as traffic operational analysis, traffic engineering studies, operational effects of geometric designs, traffic safety, traffic control devices, and social, environmental, and institutional issues.

The Professional Transportation Planned (PTP) certification exams are offered to professionals with expertise in topics such as land use and transportation analysis, needs assessment for short- and long-range planning, transportation system planning and evaluation, public policy, environmental analysis, and plan implementation.

The Road Safety Professional, Level 1, (RSP1) certification exams are offered to professionals who have demonstrated proficiency in the foundations of road safety principles and make decisions or take actions that potentially impact the safety of the travelling public. This includes individuals in the engineering, motor vehicle, behavioural, law enforcement, policy development, and emergency response communities. (https://www.tpcb.org/certification/rsp1/exam-format-and-content/)

The Road Safety Professional, Level 2, (RSP2) has two specialties:  behavioural (RSP2B) and infrastructure (RSP2I). The certification exams are offered to professionals whose primary job functions are directed at improving the safety performance of the surface transportation system. This includes professionals responsible for developing and implementing engineering or behavioural programs aimed at reducing the number of fatalities and injuries due to road crashes. (https://www.tpcb.org/certification/road-safety-professional-2/infrastructure-domains1/) and (https://www.tpcb.org/certification/road-safety-professional-2/exam-format-and-content-behavior-domains/)

Since the launch of RSP1 certification exams in 2018 and RSP2 certification exams in 2019, a total of 174 Canadian road safety professionals have been certified by TPCB.

  • 154 Canadian professionals have been certified as RSP1, with 54 in the public sector and 100 as consultants in private firms.  
  • 13 Canadian professionals have been certified as RSP2I, with six in the public sector and seven as consultants in private firms.
  • Seven Canadian professionals have been certified as RSP2B, with three in the public sector and four as consultants in private firms.

Certification as RSP1 is a prerequisite for taking the RSP2 proficiency exam.

A total of 1,002 professionals are presently certified as RSP1, with 968 of them residing in the USA or Canada, and 34 in India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, or the UAE. Additionally, 159 professionals are presently certified as RSP2I, and 35 professionals hold the RSP2B certification; all these professionals reside in the USA or Canada.

The next cycle of exams will take place in June 2024 followed by October 2024 and February 2025. The applications for the October 2024 and February 2025 exams must be received by July 20, 2024 and November 20, 2024, respectively.