From TRL’s experience and overseas research programme in road safety, spanning almost 30 years, this paper presents a brief overview of current road accident fatality statistics of developing countries. It discusses worrying trends, under-reporting, socioeconomic aspects of road accidents, and also common practices in safety improvement. Its main focus, however, is the importance of establishing a reliable road accident database and analysis system; road accidents being the fundamental measure of safety. Access to the database is thus an essential part of identifying, and hence targeting, specific safety problems and in evaluating the effectiveness of any measures introduced.The most important data items for accident recording are discussed and various examples of analysis systems presented.