Governments, including Brazil, Jamaica and Russia, urged inclusion of road safety in the post-2015 goals due to be agreed next year. Many speakers in the debate, including the US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, pledged support for the Decade of Action. The US co-sponsored the resolution, which was introduced by Russia’s Deputy Interior Minister, Victor Kiryanov.

In our modern, we know that distracted driving is a major cause of road traffic crashes. Our mind just cannot multi-task and we also know that talking on a mobile phone has been banned in many countries already but what about handsfree talking? A new infographic from the National Safety Council in the United States have explained that ‘Hands-free is not risk-free!’,

About the National Safety Council
The National Safety Council is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to save lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy. NSC advances this mission by partnering with businesses, government agencies, elected officials and the public to make an impact where the most preventable injuries and deaths occur, in areas such as distracted driving, teen driving, workplace safety and beyond the workplace, particularly in and near our homes. 

Epidemiology is the science that studies the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in defined populations. Our CORE Group Representative for South East Asia, Dr Naren Nallapeta shared a key study by the TATA Trust focusing on the causes of road crashes in his home country of India. It shows rapid motorization in one of the most populated coutries in the world.

India accounts for as high as 6 per cent of the world’s RTCs, although it has 1 per cent of the world’s vehicles. The RTC rate of 35 per 1,000 vehicles in India is one of the highest in the world and so is the RTA fatality rate of 25.3 per 10,000 vehicles.

Background

• India has a total rural road network of over 3,000,000km and urban road network of more than 250,000km with:
         – National highways / expressways being 70,548km
         – State highways being 128,000k
         – Major and other district roads 470,000k
         – Village roads 2,650,000km. 
• Data indicates that the total motor vehicle population in India has increased from 300,000 in 1951 to about 73,000,000 in 2004.
• The percentage share of road traffic accidental deaths in India is 34.5 per cent according to a recent NCRB (2009) report
• 100,300 males and 17,939 females totalling 118,239 persons were killed during the year 2008, while travelling by various modes of transport on roads.

Epidemiology is the science that studies the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease conditions in defined populations. Our CORE Group Representative for South East Asia, Dr Naren Nallapeta shared a key study by the TATA Trust focusing on the causes of road crashes in his home country of India. It shows rapid motorization in one of the most populated coutries in the world.

Fatalities and morbidities from RTAs mostly affect the economically productive age group. Studies indicate that young adults in their early thirties continue to be the victims of RTAs.m Pedestrians, users of non-motorised vehicles and users of motorised two-wheeled vehicles, who are often from poor or lower middle class households, are the victims of fatal RTAs.

Gaps in knowledge
In spite of the high burden of RTAs in the country, there is a lack of systematic information on the extent of the problem and its multi-dimensional nature. There is limited information on the patterns, distribution, and outcomes of RTAs across the country.

Lack of systematic data generation mechanisms both at the national and state level leads to limitations in designing appropriate intervention strategies to deal with the problem in the country.In addition to this, research efforts to understand the social and economic consequences of deaths, injuries and long-term disabilities and their implications for the different sections of the population are limited.

The way forward
The way forward could include:

• A multi-pronged approach, and efforts at systematic data generation to understand the true extent of the problem.
• Awareness and educational programmes directed at both the vehicle users as well as road users.
• Strict law enforcement mechanisms to control and regulate traffic on the road.
• Improvement in trauma management systems to reduce the intensity of injuries suffered by the victims.
• 100,300 males and 17,939 females totalling 118,239 persons were killed during the year 2008, while travelling by various modes of transport on roads.
• Encouraging use of safety aids such as helmets among the public and improving infrastructure to make roads safer.
• Encouraging research on improvement in the existing technologies such as helmets by adapting them to local circumstances; promote better vehicular designs that are more stable and crash-resistant.
• Creation of a common platform at the national level to pool research inputs for better understanding of RTAs and encourage evidence based policy formulation to attend to this problem in our country.

This update was provided by Dr Naren Nallapeta – Coordinator of the South East Asia Region

The International Road Federation is proud to announce that the 3rd IRF Caribbean Regional Congress will be held in Port of Spain, Trinidad, May 7–9, 2014. The Congress will be hosted by the Ministry of Transport of Trinidad and Tobago and endorsed by the Caribbean Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Global Road Safety Facility of The World Bank.

The third edition of this event will serve as a means to deliver world-class knowledge resources and practical guidance across shared transportation challenges, including road safety, infrastructure asset management; urban development & mobility; and funding transport Infrastructure. It will bring together regional and local industry stakeholders from government, academia, multilateral banks, civil society, and private sector to help find solutions to the region’s transportation challenges. 

Our CORE Group Representative for the Caribbean Region Mr Erland George will be attended the event and has been invited by the Caribbean Development Bank to represent YOURS at the event.

The International Road Federation is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization with the mission to encourage and promote development and maintenance of better, safer and more sustainable roads and road networks.

Working together with members and associates in over 90 countries, the IRF promotes social and economic benefits that flow from well planned and environmentally sound road transport networks. It helps put in place technological solutions and management practices that provide maximum economic and social returns from national road investments. The IRF plays a major role in all aspects of road policy and development worldwide.

For governments and financial institutions, the IRF provides a wide base of expertise for planning road development strategy and policy. For its members, the IRF is a business network, a link to external institutions and agencies, such as the United Nations and European Union, and a business card of introduction to government officials and decision makers. For the community of road professionals, the IRF is a source of support and information for national road associations, advocacy groups, companies and institutions dedicated to the development of road infrastructure.

With a wide network across over ninety countries on six continents, the IRF believes that it can make a difference by providing best practices and expert advice to today’s multi-faceted world of transport.