Editorial
Road
safety and development
For
several years now, Isted has been implementing a support programme for the Directorates
of Land Transport in several countries of Western and Central Africa. One of the
main components of this programme is the improvement of road safety. The interest
shown in this action by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Public Works is
greatly appreciated as road hazard has a dramatic impact on the development process.
At the last PIARC World Road Congress*, safety issues were a focus of attention
and some disturbing facts were highlighted.
Every year throughout the world,
700,000 people are killed in road accidents, but the death rate in the developing
countries is proportionally far greater than in the developed countries - 5 to
10 times higher.
These accidents take a heavy toll on young people, which
is obviously disastrous for new countries. The consequences are just as dramatic
for the injured, who besides the suffering they endure, have to negotiate a gruelling
obstacle course to get community care.
In countries with the highest car
ownership, everyone has a high risk of at least 50% of being injured in a road
accident at some time during his life. The outlook is consequently gloomy for
developing countries where car ownership is set to increase sharply.
Although
road risks are greater than in the other transport modes (rail or air), road transport
of people and goods is the most popular mode and will always be a sine qua non
for development. The eradication of road hazard is thus a real strategic challenge.
Isted contributes to this action by training people and by strengthening
the expertise of partner countries' policy-makers in accident recording and analysis,
driver training, accident prevention and awareness-raising. Isted's build-up of
first-hand experience is a valuable asset in our continuing benchmark cooperation
in this strategic area.
Michel
Henry,
Director, Egis Group
*(The
21st edition of the Congress of the World Road Association (PIARC) was held from
3 to 9 October in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
Contents
- Road safety and development
- Feature: French development aid
in Sub-Saharan Africa: road safety issues
The entire African continent
is in the throes of galloping, uncontrolled urbanization. This phenomenon cannot
be dissociated from increasingly heavy, chaotic traffic and an upsurge in the
number and severity of accidents. To combat this scourge, road safety measures
have been implemented right from the beginning of the 1990s.
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