<p>This study examines the critical drivers influencing explosive transportation policies within the framework of sustainable environmental protection and road safety. Although previous studies have largely focused on the technical, operational, and risk-management dimensions of hazardous materials transportation, limited attention has been given to the role of public policy transfer and the causal interactions among institutional, environmental, and operational factors. Moreover, the environmental sustainability and road safety dimensions of explosive transportation have generally been addressed separately in the existing literature. In response to these gaps, this study provides a holistic analytical framework that integrates public policy transfer, sustainable environmental protection, and road safety through a causal analysis approach. Given the multidimensional and interconnected structure of explosive transportation systems, the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method was employed as the primary multi-criteria decision-making technique. The analysis was conducted using expert evaluations obtained from nine specialists with professional experience in explosives transportation and safety management. The findings reveal that Recognition of Procedures and Policies (RPP) and Procurement of Equipment and Tools (PET) are the most influential driving factors affecting transportation safety and environmental sustainability outcomes, whereas Optimum Efficiency (OE) emerged as the most affected operational factor within the system. The study contributes to the literature by revealing the causal structure among critical drivers in explosive transportation and by integrating policy transfer perspectives into hazardous materials governance. The findings suggest that strengthening regulatory awareness, institutional coordination, technical preparedness, and proactive risk-management strategies is essential for improving sustainable and secure explosive transportation policies.</p>