What makes a road 5-star?
A plain-language guide to the Indicative Safe System rating (iRAP-inspired) shown on every recorded collision.
How to read the rating
Every recorded collision carries an indicative 1-to-5-star rating, inspired by the methodology of iRAP (the International Road Assessment Programme). It starts from a baseline and then moves up or down depending on which of the infrastructure details below are confirmed — it's a sum of factors, not a checklist of requirements. The underlying result can land on a decimal (e.g. 4.7) and is rounded to the nearest whole star for display. The rating estimates how well the infrastructure around that spot was designed for the specific road users involved in that collision — not a universal grade of the road for every possible user.
Ordinary roads
Start from a 2-star baseline and move up or down based on confirmed infrastructure
Raise the rating
- +0.5Speed limit of 30 km/h or less
- +0.3Street lighting present
- +0.4Traffic signals at the junction
- +0.5Roundabout at the junction
- +0.5Confirmed pedestrian crossing nearby (for pedestrians)
- +0.5Confirmed sidewalks (for pedestrians)
- +0.5Confirmed cycleway (for cyclists/e-scooter users)
Lower the rating
- -1.2Speed limit above 80 km/h
- -0.7Speed limit of 51–80 km/h
- -0.2Speed limit of 31–50 km/h
- -0.5Missing speed limit data in OpenStreetMap
- -0.5No street lighting
- -0.6Primary (high-volume) road class
- -1.0Unpaved surface (for motorcyclists)
- -1.2Sidewalks confirmed absent (for pedestrians)
- -1.2Cycleway confirmed absent (for cyclists/e-scooter users)
Motorways & trunk roads
Start from a 3-star baseline, recognising their divided, access-controlled design
Motorways, motorway links, and trunk roads do not permit pedestrians or cyclists by design, so pedestrian/cyclist infrastructure is never evaluated on them. With the model's current weights, the highest rating this track can reach today rounds to 4 stars, not 5.
Raise the rating
- +0.3Lit carriageway
- +0.4Confirmed safety barrier (guard rail or similar)
- +0.2Confirmed paved shoulder
Lower the rating
- -0.5Unlit carriageway
- -0.3Confirmed absence of a hard shoulder
Why a rating might look lower than expected
On ordinary roads, if one safety-critical detail is missing for the road users involved — the speed limit, or sidewalks/cycleways when a pedestrian or cyclist/e-scooter was involved — the rating is automatically capped at 2.5 stars (rounding to 2 or 3) and flagged as low confidence. That doesn't necessarily mean the road is dangerous — it means OpenStreetMap hasn't recorded that particular detail yet. The confidence label (high / medium / low) shown next to the stars is exactly this distinction.