The number of tourists visiting Iceland has increased rapidly in recent years.  In 2010 a little less than 0.5 million tourists arrived but in 2016 the number had risen to almost 1.8 million and this increase is expected to continue, at least for a while. Given that the population of Iceland, as of January 2017, is less than 340 thousand people, it is quite a challenge to facilitate this increased tourism. 

More and more tourists choose to rent a car and explore Iceland on their own and as the circumstances on the Icelandic road system may be different from what the foreign guests are used to, special attention needs to be given to traffic safety. In general, tourist drivers are driving in a new and unfamiliar driving environment. In Iceland, the difference may be more stark and more identifiable since the roadway system may differ more from highly urbanized driving environments. There are still long stretches of gravel roads, there are one-lane bridges and narrow pavement in areas, traffic shoulders may be narrow and the roadside is steep or rocky in many locations. Traffic signage is similar to that of the Nordic nations, which means it is somewhat different from the signage used in Asia and North America, and even some signs are unique to Iceland.

There are already indications of a rise in traffic crashes, including fatal crashes, in relation to the added traffic volume by tourist drivers. The aim is to develop an understanding of those crashes in order to assist in improving tourist driver safety.