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The
Road Safety session of the Africities 5 conference was jointly organised
by ISTED and GRSP (www.grsproadsafety.org/)
on December 18th 2009.
 The
case for road safety and local authorities:
The Africa region is one of the most affected by fatalities linked
to road crashes. According to data released in the latest WHO report
on road safety (published in June 2009), fatalities per 100.000
inhabitants reach 32,2 in Africa, compared with 7,9 for European
high income countries, and 10,3 on average for high income countries
worldwide. The contrast between rich and poor nations is getting
wider with 30% reduction of deaths expected by 2020 among OECD countries
but sharp increase in casualties in low and middle income countries.
In Africa where traffic is concentrated in and around urban areas
and affect disproportionately pedestrians, cities are particularly
affected. The fact that the trend has successfully been reversed
is a proof that effective measures can be implemented, which will
save lives, and avoid many more severe injuries.
The role of local authorities is essential, and successful cases
exist to illustrate it. The AFRICITIES conference provided the opportunity
to reach a wide audience representing a cross cutting section of
all levels of local authorities throughout the continent sensitise
mayors and city government officials on road safety issues. The
programme of the session was designed to hightlight their options
to take part into the effort to save lives, and to identify and
launch road safety projects involving local authorities.
Objective:
The objectives
of this “road safety session” during the Africities 5
conference were:
- to sensitise local authorities on road safety issues and share
the updated knowledge on the basics of effective program Road Safety
Intervention
- to promote relevant activities to be implemented in partnership
with local authorities
- and possibly to identify a road safety project with local authorities
to be launched, and preferably on multiple sites
Programme:
The
programme of the session was designed to briefly present the required
background information on the issue, and illustrate possible activities
through case studies from within the Continent, but also from other
regions.
The session
was moderated by Maryvonne Plessis-Fraissard (mplessisfraissard@gmail.com)
1.Overview of
road safety issues and the effective program approach to road safety
Presentation
by Bjorn Stafbom, GRSF (bstafbom@worldbank.org)
2.The Proactive
Partnership Strategy developed by GRSP, and implemented with municipalities
in Brazil (PPS, example
of Sao Jose Dos Campos, example
of Guaiba)
Presentation
by José Cardita, GRSP (jose.c.cardita@gmail.com)
3.The role of
the NGO: Red Crescent Morocco
Presentation
by Mohamed Assouali, Red Crescent Morocco (assouali.m@gmail.com)
4.The role of
the private sector : the World Bank – TOTAL project for road
safety activities
Presentation
by Leopold Tzeuton, TOTAL (leopold.tzeuton@total.com)
The Municipality
of Tshwane (South Africa), which was originally included in the
programme to present its guidelines on Road Safety Master Plan,
kindly accepted to disseminate the guidelines. The link
is included in the useful references.
Outpout of
the session :
The high level
of concern and interest of local government officials for road safety
was confirmed during the session and in many exchanges occurring
throughout the Africities event .
A consistent message concerned the high social, economic and fiscal
cost of the lack of road safety for cities and local government:
The poverty generating impact of road casualties and deaths was
a constant theme of mayors. Another key message concerned the need
to better define the respective responsibilities of local and national
governments with respect to road safety along national arteries
in urban and peri-urban areas. Mayors and leaders requested the
development of road safety support programs formatted specifically
for cities and local governments in complementarity to national
programs and civil society activities.
References:
Global
Road Safety Partnership (GRSP)
http://www.grsproadsafety.org/
Global
Road Safety Facility (GRSF)
http://www.worldbank.org/grsf
United
Nations Road Safety Collaboration (WHO)
http://www.who.int/roadsafety/en/
Publications:
World Bank Guidelines on Road Traffic
Injury Prevention
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTTOPGLOROASAF/Resources/traffic_injury_prevention.pdf
Municipality of Tshwane: Guidelines for Road Safety Master Plan
http://www.gtkp.com/uploads/public/documents/Knowledge/RoadSafetyBooknew.pdf
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