Poor quality data are major obstacle to improving road safety, says World Bank

Poor quality data is major obstacle to improving road safety, says World Bank

Richard Scurfield is the leader of the transport sector of the World Bank’s Transport and Urban Development Department

Who should be primarily responsible for road safety on a national and international level?

At the national level it is essential that there is a very high level of government commitment to tackling road safety, with strong support from all relevant agencies. These are generally numerous—hence in most countries it is necessary to establish a national road safety council to coordinate activities. All relevant agencies should be represented on the council—the road authorities, traffic police, education and health ministries, local governments, interested private companies and institutions, and groups representing citizens. At the international level we would like to see even closer collaboration among interested agencies, groups, and institutions, including the WHO and ourselves, with the active support of citizens’ groups and the private sector.

Public transport is safer and more sustainable than private car travel, but the car predominates—how can we change this?

Good quality public transport services must be encouraged. It is almost always necessary to take active steps to dissuade people from using their cars. While this is difficult to achieve in practice, a good start can be made by introducing appropriate fuel taxes and parking charges and traffic management measures that give priority to public transport vehicles.

Because in most developing countries public transport is provided by the private sector, governments must create a supportive regulatory environment that promotes the provision of safe and attractive public transport services. Regrettably, in some countries the safety and security of public transport is itself a problem and a major deterrent to its use.

What responsibility does the motor industry have in ensuring the safety of pedestrians?

Road safety is a shared responsibility and not just an issue for government. It requires the attention of the public at large and the private sector—including the motor industry, which is in a position to actively support, promote, and maybe finance governments’ efforts to make roads and vehicles safer and to finance research.

The trend towards faster cars and higher speed limits runs counter to road safety efforts—how can this trend be reversed?

Speed is certainly a factor in causing road crashes. In most developed countries the tendency has been to lower speed limits and to introduce traffic calming measures in urban areas. However, in most of our client countries speed is only one factor among many. The rapid growth of car use has meant that road users lack experience of safe behaviour on the roads. Improvements can occur through targeted information campaigns, coupled with effective enforcement.

Organisations for victims do much of the work that the state should be doing but receive no funding for this—what is the way forward?

Victims’ organisations can play an important role, in particular when governments don’t pay enough attention to the severity of the road safety problem. In a few countries—Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden—these organisations already receive funding from government and the private sector, usually insurance companies.

What are the main obstacles to promoting a scientific approach to road safety? One of the major obstacles is the poor quality of data in many countries. The more we know about the causes of road accidents, the better able we will be to design and implement appropriate solutions. Reliable statistics are essential for effective research and the development of well founded national road safety strategies.

What do you think is the most important thing to do to improve road safety worldwide?

There needs to be a major worldwide effort to raise the awareness of the importance of road safety as a public health issue. This is increasingly recognised internationally, and examples are recent announcements of the WHO and the creation several years ago of the Global Road Safety Partnership—a voluntary association of business, civil, and governmental bodies, established with the support of the World Bank. At the national level, however, very few of our client countries have fully recognised the seriousness of the issue. We and other international agencies must do more to ensure that the issue is placed higher on every country’s agenda.