Alumni Spotlight: Tom Bishop, Africa region

Alumni Spotlight

Tom Bishop leads road safety programmes in more than 20 African countries

2013 DRSC alumnus Tom Bishop is Program Director at Amend, an NGO dedicated to improving road safety across Africa. In this role, he leads initiatives that make daily journeys safer for children and other vulnerable road users, working closely with governments and local partners across more than 20 African countries.

“I think the most valuable long-term impact was to do with relationships. After all these years, I still see the same people. Feeling part of a community that has continued to be committed to road safety gives me a sense of reassurance.”

Tom’s flagship initiative, Safe Schools Africa, has both made a major contribution to child safety on the continent and set a precedent for how international road safety NGOs can work with local communities and governments. The programme is designed to protect children on their journeys to and from school and applies the integrated Safe System Approach that Tom first studied at DRSC.

Tom is also lead author of Amend’s The Wheels of Change: Safe and Sustainable Motorcycles for Sub-Saharan Africa, which responds to the sharp rise in motorcycles and motorcycle taxis across the region. The report sets out an Action Agenda covering:

Policy

Helmets

Training

Anti-lock Braking Systems

Road Design

Tom joined the DRSC course to deepen his technical expertise and learn from specialists working in low- and middle-income countries. He continues to draw on DRSC’s principles and the Safe System Approach in designing programmes and advocating for evidence-based decision-making with policymakers and international financial institutions.

Tom also credits DRSC with connecting him to an international network of experts and practitioners that has remained active throughout his career.