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Road Safety Management

1. Introduction

Pillar 1 of the Global Plan for the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety focuses on the need to strengthen institutional capacity to further national road safety efforts.  It includes activities such as putting into practice major United Nations road safety conventions, establishing a lead agency for road safety in the country involving partners from a range of sectors, developing a national road safety strategy, and setting realistic and long-term targets for related activities with sufficient funding for their implementation. It also calls for the development of data systems to effectively monitor and evaluate activities.  Below, a list of important publications that can help road safety stakeholders address Pillar 1 are provided and are broken down into 4 main categories including “Road Safety Institutional Arrangements and Processes,” “Road Safety Data Systems,” “Funding Road Safety,” and “Country-Level, Regional, and International Road Safety Management Context.”  It is important to note that many of these documents overlap into more than one of the categories defined, and therefore have been divided on the basis of each publication’s main focus.  By utilizing the holistic approach provided by the documents in each of these sub-categories for road safety institutional management, road safety stakeholders and practitioners will be able to more effectively implement Pillar 1 in their countries, thereby contributing to the achievement of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety and the road safety targets in the recently approved Sustainable Development Goals.

2. Road Safety Institutional Arrangements and Processes

This section covers publications that provide both a focus on the institutional arrangements and processes around effective road safety management.  These publications discuss issues such as the development of road safety national strategies, lead agencies, setting appropriate road safety targets, effective methods for implementing road safety interventions, and several other important topics related to effective road safety management. 

Road Crash Trauma, Climate Change, Pollution and the Total Costs of Speed: Six graphs that tell the story

The impacts of speed on the safety of road users, on congestion, on pollution, and on total costs of road travel are broadly misunderstood: often based on wrong assumptions, with effects taken as self-evident, failure to consider multiple impacts, externalization of costs by many stakeholders, and under-estimation of impacts (especially economic costs of higher speeds). The purpose of this brief note is to provide information on these relationships relevant to fundamental road transport policies, design, and operation.

 

 

Supporting healthy urban transport and mobility in the context of COVID-19

The guide explains ways through which existing WHO guidance on physical distancing and hygiene measures can be implemented in the transport sector. It specifies what national and local governments, transport operators and commuters can do to ensure that these measures are implemented in the transport sector to guarantee the health and safety of travellers and transport workers.

 

Vaccines for Roads V (2020 edition)

iRAP’s Big Data Tool, Vaccines for Roads V, shines a light on the human impact of road trauma and unlocks the potential of the world’s largest road infrastructure safety database to explore how safe the world’s roads are and provide the Business Case for 3-star or better roads for all road users worldwide

 

 

 

Expanding Access To Opportunities For Girls And Women - Working Towards Safe Mobility

A woman’s place in the world, in society and the economy is shaped by her ability to move freely. Restricting that freedom has long-ranging impacts for her life and the lives of those for whom she cares. These impacts, however, are rarely addressed by transport planners, predominately because there is little data about how women move, what they experience and how that shapes their lives. As a result, transport systems, vehicles, even timetables are all designed with men in mind and that fail women on every level often forcing them out of education, out of the workplace and, in some cases, out of public spaces entirely.

 

 

These are our streets: Manifesto 2030

The 2030 Manifesto from the FIA Foundation-coordinated Child Health Initiative is launched to coincide with the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety. The Manifesto calls for a transformation of urban streets by 2030 into safe, low speed and accessible space that puts people first, encouraging zero carbon walking and cycling, by deploying the ‘Speed Vaccine’: safe footpaths and crossings; protected cycleways; and maximum 30 km/h speed limits anywhere children and traffic mix.

 

 

Ten Step Plan for Safer Road Infrastructure

The Ten Step Plan for Safer Road infrastructure has been produced by the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration partners to support countries seeking to implement initiatives in relation to the “Improved safety of road infrastructure and broader transport networks”, the UN Convention on Road Traffic and Road Signs and Signals and the achievement of UN Member States Agreed Global Targets 3 and 4 for safer new and existing roads. 

 

 

Safer Roads and Mobility Overview

The Safer Roads & Mobility Project Group of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration has developed a series of resources hosted by gTKP. These focus on four key focus areas. This leaflet gives you an overview of what is available. To access and navigate the resources, just visit the Safer Roads and Mobility Section

 

 

Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018

The Global status report on road safety 2018, launched by WHO in December 2018, highlights that the number of annual road traffic deaths has reached 1.35 million. Road traffic injuries are now the leading killer of people aged 5-29 years. The burden is disproportionately borne by pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, in particular those living in developing countries. The report suggests that the price paid for mobility is too high, especially because proven measures exist. Drastic action is needed to put these measures in place to meet any future global target that might be set and save lives. 

 

Sustainable and Safe: A Vision and Guidance for Zero Road Deaths

More than 1.25 million people are killed on roads each year, the majority in developing countries, making traffic fatalities the tenth leading cause of death worldwide. Children, elderly and poor people are particularly vulnerable. Are drivers and pedestrians always to blame? Research from WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities and the Global Road Safety Facility of the World Bank finds that the most effective way to prevent traffic deaths is a systemic approach that shifts responsibility away from the drivers and pedestrians using roads to the city planners and officials designing them. Analysis in 53 countries found that those that have taken a “Safe System” based approach have achieved both the lowest rates of fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants and the greatest reduction in fatality levels over the past 20 years.

 

 

Save LIVES: a road safety technical package

Save LIVES: a road safety technical package is an evidence-based inventory of priority interventions with a focus on Speed management, Leadership, Infrastructure design and improvement, Vehicle safety standards, Enforcement of traffic laws and post-crash Survival. The 6 strategies and 22 interventions recommended in the package are interrelated and should be implemented in an integrated manner to effectively address road traffic deaths and injuries. 

 

 

Implementing the Recommendations of the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention: Country Guidelines for the Conduct of Road Safety Management Capacity Reviews and the Specification of Lead Agency Reforms, Investment Strategies, and Safe System Projects:

These guidelines from the Global Road Safety Facility and World Bank provide a pragmatic approach to overcoming road safety related institutional capacity barriers and to achieving positive and sustainable road safety outcomes. 

 

Road Traffic Injury Prevention Training Manual:

This training manual is based on The World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention, and many sections of this manual deal with road safety management, including Units in the manual entitled, “Importance of Evidence as a Foundation for Prevention,” “Multisectoral Collaboration,” and “Formulating and Implementing Road Safety Policy.”   

 

 

Towards Zero: Ambitious Road Safety Targets and the Safe System Approach:

The purpose of the report is to review the state of the art in improving road safety performance and examine the role of targets in raising the level of ambition and achieving effective implementation of road safety policies. It highlights the institutional management changes required in many countries to implement effective interventions through a strong focus on results and underlines the economic case for road safety investment.

 

Zero Road Deaths and Serious Injuries: Leading a Paradigm Shift to a Safe System:

This report describes a paradigm shift in road safety policy, being led by a handful of countries, according to the principles of a Safe System. A Safe System is based on the premise that road crashes are both predictable and preventable, and that it is possible to move towards zero road deaths and serious injuries. This, however, requires a fundamental rethink of the governance and implementation of road safety policy.

 

ISO 39001-Road Traffic Safety (RTS) Management Systems: 

This International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 39001 specifies requirements for a road traffic safety (RTS) management system to enable an organization (such as a corporation) that interacts with the road traffic system to reduce death and serious injuries related to road traffic crashes. The requirements in ISO 39001:2012 include development and implementation of an appropriate RTS policy, development of RTS objectives and action plans, which take into account legal and other requirements to which the organization subscribes, and information about elements and criteria related to RTS that the organization identifies as those which it can control and those which it can influence.

Urban Road Safety (from Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-Makers in Developing Cities):

This document highlights the challenges around road traffic injuries in the developing country urban setting, along with solutions for improving urban road safety. A great deal of the document focuses on road safety management on the local level and in the urban context. 

 

 

The Road Safety Manual (World Road Association)

This manual is a comprehensive resource covering many facets of road safety, however; most of the manual’s chapters detail the necessary structures, processes, and interventions needed for effective country road safety management. 

 

Strengthening Road Safety Legislation: A Toolkit for Road Safety Legislation Workshops:

This toolkit highlights how to create and maintain an effective workshop around road safety legislation, which is a crucial element in effective road safety management. 

 

 

Meeting the management challenges of the Decade of Action for Road Safety

The document discusses how, on a global and national scale, the world can overcome the significant management challenges presented by road traffic injuries, and use management tools and solutions to help achieve the goals of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety. 

 

 

3. Road Safety Data Systems

The effective development of road crash data and analysis systems to both measure the road safety problem and analyze evidence-based solutions is essential to achieving significant reductions in road traffic injuries.  Without accurate data and effective analysis of that data, it is difficult to understand the problem.  Without this understanding, solutions are difficult to achieve.  These publications provide practitioners with effective ways to build the appropriate systems of data collection and analysis on the country and regional levels.

Guide for Road Safety Opportunities and Challenges: Low-and Middle-Income Country Profiles

This valuable report responds to the critical need for collecting and documenting accurate road safety performance data. It assembles information from multiple important and high-quality sources to take stock of any given country’s past achievements on road safety, establishing a baseline for the next decade of action across many areas of policy and performance.

 

 

Data systems: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners:

This manual provides practical guidance for establishing data systems that will improve measurement of a countrys road traffic injury problem, facilitate selection of evidence-based interventions, and allow for better evaluation of progress. It discusses the use of such data systems to develop policies and interventions and to assess prevention measures.

 

 

Measuring Road Safety Through Regional Observatory in Latin America

This note highlights the development of the first regional road safety observatory in the Latin America and Caribbean region.  The note discusses issues around capacity development for the improvement of harmonized collection of road injury data, sharing of data among relevant stakeholders, and the building knowledge to guide policy making and targeted public health interventions.

 

 

4. Funding Road Safety

Without a well-funded road safety agenda or strategy, countries will fail to meet their road safety objectives and targets.  Identifying and securing the appropriate levels of funding to effectively implement road safety is one of the most crucial elements of effective road safety management.  The documents below provide road safety practitioners and stakeholders with a strong understanding of how to effectively fund road safety. 

The Road Safety Cent: Management and Financing of Road Safety in Low-Income Countries: 

This document focuses on the financing of road safety management and intervention in low-income countries, and provides policy-makers with financial tools and strategies to help fund national road safety strategies and agendas. 

 

Road Safety Management Information Note 3- Funding:

This short note summarizes the different strategies available for funding road safety in low and middle income countries. 

 

 

 

5. Country-Level, Regional, and International Road Safety Management Context

The publications in this category cover many important facets of institutional road safety management, and are written in the context of country or regional examples, case studies, and solutions. Other documents in this category highlight the international effort to bolster road safety management as well. 

Improving Global Road Safety: Towards Equitable and Sustainable Development; Guidelines for Country Road Safety Engagement: 

This publication, while covering many facets of road safety intervention, highlights the importance of road safety management capacity on the international level, and also specifically within the Argentinian context through the work of the World Bank’s Argentina Road Safety project.  Guidelines, most of which evolve around improving road safety management capacity, are also provided to help road safety practitioners implement improvements in road safety management and in road safety overall.

 

Report of the Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Management:

This report examines the current road safety management system in India, reviews international road safety practices, and highlights solutions for the management, and other road safety challenges in India. 

 

 

Report on Institutional Structure for Road Safety in Poland

The document highlights Poland’s current structure of institutional road safety management, and details proposals to improve Poland’s road safety management system. 

 

 

National Road Safety Management Framework

This document highlights Ethiopia’s national road safety management framework, and details the necessary management based tools and solutions that Ethiopia will need in order to improve road safety outcomes. 

 

Road Safety Management in Brazil, India, Russia, and China:

This study examined road-safety management in the BRIC countries. The main topics reviewed were crash statistics, key governmental agencies in charge of road safety, road-safety programs, as well as influential organizations outside of the government, key research institutes, and major barriers to improvement.

 

Death on Wheels: Making Roads Safe in Europe and Central Asia

This report examines the road traffic injury crisis in Europe and Central Asia, highlights the regions’ shortcomings in road safety (including road safety management), and presents specific solutions, many of which have a road safety management focus, to help improve road safety.

 

Managing Road Safety in Africa

This document focuses solely on road safety management in Africa, and the interventions around building Africa’s institutional management capacity that will be necessary to substantially improving road safety on the continent.

 

A Shared Approach to Managing Road Safety:

Titled "MDB Road Safety Initiative: A Development Priority" this is a joint statement by the multi-lateral development banks that detailed a shared approach to road safety management. 

 

 

SUNflower: A comparative study of the development of road safety in Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands:

This comparative study of three different advanced countries’ road safety development covers and provides an analysis of the development of many elements of road safety, including the road safety management structures and processes in each country. 

 

Road Safety Management: 

This SafetyNet and European Commission publication highlights the characteristics, structures, and processes that would be put into place under a best practice system of road safety management.