Transcript 2003 ANNUAL POW REVIEW - Virtual Risk Manager&#174

International Conference on Road Safety at Work.
Washington DC
16-18 February 2009
ROAD TRAFFIC SAFETY CHALLENGES IN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Ronald Kabuye Ssebunya
National Road Safety Concern Uganda
[email protected]
About National Road Safety Concern Uganda
Status: NGO
Areas of work:
 Research
 Advocacy
 Sensitization
Global Road Safety Situation

Each year road traffic crashes kill nearly 1.2
million people, and injure or disable 20–50 million
more people

Globally, more than 40% of all road traffic deaths
occur among the 0-25 age group

Road Traffic Injuries are the second leading cause
of death for young people aged 5-25 years
Global Road Safety Situation by WHO
regions
Distribution of global
injury mortality by cause
Share of Developing Countries

At least 85 percent of the deaths occur in the
developing and transitional countries of Africa,
Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

The highest rate of fatalities in the 0-25 age
range occur among young road users in lowincome and middle-income countries,
particularly in Africa and the Eastern
Mediterranean

Africa, as a region had a disproportionate share
of global road fatalities
Human Evolution
Homo Autobilissimus” (man) has lived on earth
some million years.
We have only been automobile drivers in
0, 00005 million years
We have in ”a short time” changed our
living from striving for survival to be
sitting in a car with ABS, ESP, CAS, AICC,
IDIS, stereo, mobile phone and video/dvd
and navigation instrument
Mortorozation in developing countries is increasing so fast.
General problems

Traffic safety is a complex issue.

Increased knowledge is a key factor to success.

Safety is the most important quality in traffic”)

Most developing countries are not prepared to
take any active action to improve safety.

Many countries continue to put large resources in
trying to convince road users – from a safety view
point - to change behaviour on a voluntary basis.

To-day the understanding is greater, but it is still
as difficult to produce a change in behaviour.
Major Risk Factors

Speeding:
Speed is a main factor contributing to road traffic injuries in
most countries.

Drink-driving:
Alcohol consumption increases both the likelihood of a
crash occurring and the seriousness of the injury sustained.
Risk Factors C’tnd

Non use Seat-belts:
Seat-belts have saved more lives than any other
road safety intervention in the event of a crash.
•
DMC’s
Vehicles in dangerous mechanical conditions have
greatly caused accidents especially along high
ways
Risk Factors
•
Poor road designs:
•
Separating different types of traffic.
Providing safer routes for pedestrians and
cyclists.
•
Building pavements and recognizable crossing
structures for pedestrians. Reducing traffic
speeds by constructing speed bumps, rumble
strips and roundabouts.
What is done in return !
CHALENGES & HINDRANCES
Lack of Political will.
Politicians are not ready to deal with the problem.
They infact feel trheatened when speed reducing
measures are introduced and enforcement strengthened.
Car drivers tend to complain and threaten not to vote
them into power again.
Forgeting one simple that in most cases when drivers
complain over an introduced safety measure,then the
situation is improving.
Challenges C’tnd
•
Little or no expertise in the profession.
Traffic safety experts can articulate the three important
safety dimensions
i.e
RISK, EXPOSURE and CONSQUENCES and give
scientific definitions and solutions to the problem.
Weak or no road safety policies.
Developing countries should improve on their
road safety policies.
•
These Policies need to address and priorities key
areas.
•
The Policies should lay out time plans.
•
The Policy has to include all stake holders.
International forums
For example;
The World Summit on Sustainable Development
held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in
September 2002 did not include a single item on
road safety—a growing problem in Africa and
other low income and middle income countries—
on its agenda, declaration, or plan of action
Challenges
•
Weak Economic Base.
Developing countries are faced with declining
agricultural output, foreign debt burden,
unemployment, poorly performing industry,
deteriorating healthcare systems, HIV/AIDS
(Africa), environmental insecurity, and political
instability.
This is the context in which the problem of road
safety has to be addressed. How does the
prevailing economic situation in Africa affect the
amount of resources devoted to road safety?
Insufficient data collection.
The definition of a road accident fatality is not clear in many
developing countries.
For example:

Dead within
Correction Factor
(IRTAD, 1998)




30 days (most EU countries)
7 days (Italy)
6 days (France)
24 hours (G, P, Esp)
Base
+8%
+6%
+30%

On the spot?
+ 100%
Under reporting

Under-reporting of road traffic injury is a major
problem in Developing countries and virtually all
countries of the world.

About 200 000 people died on African roads in
2002,and probably many more but we do not
have an accurate picture because of the problem
of under-reporting.
Challenges Ctnd
An example of reporting status in developed countries.
Australia
92
Belgium
93
Canada
95
Denmark
97
Finland
96
Germany
104
Great Britain
90
106
Netherlands
Norway
87
93
Sweden
USA
95
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
Number of killed in road accidents according to official statistics - 30 day rule
Percent reported in official
statistics
Mean level of accident reporting by injury
severity for a number of countries
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Killed
Seriously injured
Injury severity
Slightly injured
Percent reported
Injuries in police records
versus hospital records
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Hospital rec.
Both
Police rec.
Car occupants
Pedestrians
Cyclists
What can we do?
Political will and commitment are important
for sustainable prevention of road traffic injuries.
France managed to cut the number of car
fatalities by 32 percent, from 8,162 in 2001 to
5,530 in 2004.
"The issue was one of the key goals in the preelection campaign by Jacques Chirac in 2002 and
the results achieved after his election prove that
national governments really can do a lot within a
short time if they really want to," said a
commission official.
What about USAID,
SIDA,DANIDA, CIDA, JICA etc…..
Development agencies need to place road safety
in Developing countries and elsewhere at the
centre of the global agenda along with the
institutional, political, economic, and social
issues which make roads so dangerous.
Monitoring and Evaluation of these investments
is key to success.
Proposed Solutions
Road traffic safety should be prioritized at a global level
Change in rank order of DALYs for the 10 leading causes of the global burden of
disease
1990
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2020
Disease or Injury
Lower respiratory Infection
Diarrhoeal Diseases
Prenatal conditions
Unipolar Major Depression
Ischeamic heart diseases
Cerebrovascular diseases
Tuberculosis
Measles
Road Traffic Injuries
Congenial Abnormalities
Rank
1
2
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Disease or Injury
Ischeamc Heart diseases
Unipolar major depression
Road Traffic Injuries
Cerebrovascular diseases
Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary diseases
Lower respiratory infections
Tuberculosis
War
Diarrhoeal diseases
HIV
Input into research per DALY
Estimated global research & devpt funding for selected
topics
Disease or Injury
Rnkgs
1 HIV&AIDS
2 Malaria
3 Diarrhoeal Diseases
4 Road Traffic crashes
5 Tuberculosis
US$Mn
919-985
60
34
24-33
19-33
1990 DALY’s Rnkgs 2020 DALY’s
2
8
4
9
-----
10
---9
3
7
Propositions
Trainings for Safety experts should be
stepped up.
 Governments need to emphasize &
prioritize the Engineering measures ahead
of Enforcement and Education.
 Traffic safety levels should be
International determinants when
allocating international meetings to
countries.

Road Safety Audits need to be
emphasized
Stage 1 -
Feasibility/Initial design
Stage 2 -
Preliminary design
Stage 3 -
Detailed design
Stage 4 -
Opening
Stage 5 -
Monitoring
Organization of Audit work
Client
Design Team
Audit Team
Traffic safety is a very
multidisciplinary activity








Psychologists
Behavioural scientists
Sociologists
Social psychologists
Civil Engineers
Mechanical Engineers
Electrical Engineers
Town planners
* Physicists
* Police
* Biomechanics
* Statisticians
* Mathematicians
* Comm. experts
* Architects

All these players have to take part.
Proposed Role of the National Road
Safety Council in Uganda
Engineering/
Environment
Safer Road
User Behavior
Education and
Publicity
NRSC
Enforcement
Emergency
Medical
Services
Safer Roads
Safer Vehicles
Reduction
&
Prevention
of
Accidents
Survival
of
Accidents
victims
Recommendations
Real progress can be made if development
agencies and governments deal realistically with
this context.
 Road safety is no accident: it is the result of
deliberate efforts by many sectors of society,
both governmental and non-governmental, that
have acknowledged it to be an important and
valuable public good and have developed
policies and programs to support and maintain
it.

The US
The United States has a direct interest in
improving road safety overseas both from a
humanitarian point of view and also because
several hundred American citizens die in
overseas road crashes every year with many
taking place in Africa.
 The United States as a leader in traffic safety
technology provides assistance to the developing
world to reduce traffic-related fatalities and to
save lives

Source:
US Department of Transportation
Speed has to be reduced
Thank you!!!!!