World Bank View

Albania Road Safety Seminar

Tirana, February 17, 2003

World Bank and Road Safety______________________________________

“Road Safety is an issue of immense human proportions, it’s an issue of economic proportions, it’s an issue of social proportions and it’s also an issue of equity. Road safety very much affects poor people” 

James D. WolfensohnPresident, World Bank Group

Road Safety is a serious public health issue….____________________________________________

• About 800,000 people die on the world’s roads each year

• A further 24 million are injured• The economic cost is about 1% of GDP in low

income countries, 1.5% in transition economies

• It is the 9th leading cause of death today• WHO estimates it will be the 3rd leading cause

of death worldwide in 2020

...in Albania, MOH perceives traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death, and accident victims are the main users of hospital emergency services!

Crash of Air France Concorde Flight 4590 killed

109 passengers plus 4 on the ground = 113 persons in total

Paris

July 25, 2000

Some comparisons………………______________________________________

Total annual global traffic fatalities: about 800,000

Single Concorde crash, fatalities: 113

•Traffic accident equivalents

800,000 road deaths represent: about 7,000 Concorde crashes per year, or

about 20 Concorde crashes every day!!

•Traffic accident equivalents

800,000 road deaths represent: about 7,000 Concorde crashes per year, or

about 20 Concorde crashes every day!!

WHO suggests things will get worse…..______________________________________

Disease burden (DALYs* lost) for 10 leading causes

*DALYs: Disability-Adjusted Life Years

Factors in Crashes

Vehicle, Road and Driver Crash Cause Interactions

Driver91%

Road32%

Vehicle9%

( Driver only 64% )

Vehicle only 3%

Driver and Road 25%

( Road only 2%)

Vehicle and Road 4%

What can be done to improve road safety…..

LifeSustaining

Emergency services

Rescue facilitiesTraffic congestion

Ease of access to victims

Fire risk

Coordination of emergency response (timing critical)

First aid skillAccess to medical

services

After

InjuryPrevention

Protection (e.g.crash barriers)

‘Forgiveness’ (for road user errors)

RestraintsCrashworthinessMaintenance

Use of restraints/ protective clothing (seat belts, crash helmets)

Impairment

During

CrashPrevention

Road design (‘safety conscious’)

Signs, markings Maintenance

Vehicle condition (roadworthiness)

Vehicle systems (braking/ABS, electrical, etc)

Education/training Impairment (drink,

stimulants)Regulations and their

enforcementAttitudes/behaviour

Before

Target Outcome

EnvironmentVehiclePeopleTime-Scale (relative to crash)

Effects of preventive and protective measures…____________________________________________

15 % less accident victims, if seat belts used

7 % less fatalities, if pedestrian-friendly car designs

15 % less fatalities, if all cars are made to the best level of passive safety in their size category

5 % less fatalities, if daytime running lights in use

25 % less fatalities, if by road engineering, information or applied telematics the average speed of motor vehicles could be reduced by 5 km/h

Source: European Union estimates

A coordinated approach is required to address road safety issues…

Justice

Diplomacy

PoliceCivil Society

Education

Transport

Public health

Development of Integrated Road Safety Programs…______________________________________________

First steps include establishment of:

• political support, to provide leadership, agree on policies, government funding

• an effective decision-making and coordinating mechanism (e.g. National Road Safety Council (NRSC)), with representatives from key government decision-makers and other agencies involved in road safety

• a technical road safety secretariat, to act as the executive arm of the NRSC in coordinating, implementing and following-up on NRSC decisions

……..an integrated Road Safety Program may then be developed, based on ‘Education, Enforcement and Engineering’ activities...….

Example of an effective application…________________________________________________

In 1990, Victoria State in Australia assessed the main factors in their high rate of traffic fatalities and injury accidents as being:

•excessive speed of drivers

•excessive use of alcohol by drivers

In 1990, Victoria State in Australia assessed the main factors in their high rate of traffic fatalities and injury accidents as being:

•excessive speed of drivers

•excessive use of alcohol by drivers

A coordinated program of enforcement was introduced, together with a supporting public awareness campaign. This involved the traffic police, working closely with the roads authority and state insurance company, who funded the media campaign

A coordinated program of enforcement was introduced, together with a supporting public awareness campaign. This involved the traffic police, working closely with the roads authority and state insurance company, who funded the media campaign

By 1996, serious traffic accidents involving casualties in Victoria State had been reduced by more than 30%

By 1996, serious traffic accidents involving casualties in Victoria State had been reduced by more than 30%

Road Safety in Albania: International Comparisons

International Fatality Rates; 1996

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Countries

Fat

alit

y R

ate

s

Source: TRL Report 445 - Estimating Global Road Fatalities

Fatality Rate: Traffic fatalities/10,000 vehicles

Under-Recording of Traffic Fatalities_______________________________________

• Fatality definition (international):

- road death defined to be when road crash victim dies within 30 days of the crash (in Albania, fatality is

death at crash site)

• Road Crash Fatality Adjustment Factors (international):

- European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) recommended road crash fatality statistics

should be increased by at least 15% to adjust ‘crash site/same day deaths’ to the ‘30-day’ convention

Causes of Traffic Accidents in Albania______________________________________

Traffic Police have identified the main causes of traffic accidents to include:

- poor road condition

- lack of safety features (signs, pavement marking, functioning traffic signals)

- speeding

- high alcohol levels of drivers

International experience shows that wider use of seat belts could reduce the number of serious casualties, but more needs to be done to protect vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists)….

Albania: Traffic Fatalities by Road Users, 2001

Cyclists7%

Pedestrians37%

Vehicle Passengers26%

Motor-cyclists8%

Car Drivers18%

Truck Drivers3%

Bus Drivers1%

Albania: Personal Injury Accidents by Road Users, 2001

Vehicle Passengers43%

Truck Drivers1% Car Drivers

17%

Motorcyclists8%

Cyclists6%

Pedestrians25%

GOA Road Safety Initiatives______________________________________

• Inter-Ministerial Committee for Road Safety - Jan 2002

• Directorate for Road Safety (DRS) in MOTT - April 2002

• New Legislation (Road Code-2000) and

•Regulations-2002

• Road Safety Action Plan - May 2002

Road Maintenance Project (RMP)Road Safety Component

______________________________________

• Objectives

- provide technical assistance, training and equipment to DRS to strengthen its pivotal role in road safety coordination

- create greater awareness of road safety issues in Albania

- develop institutional capacity within GRD and MLGD to include safety in all roads planning, engineering,

construction and maintenance activities, including pilot projects to improve hazardous locations and accident

‘blackspots’

Road Maintenance Project (RMP)Road Safety Component (cont’d)

______________________________________

• Objectives (cont’d)

- provide technical assistance and advisory services to the traffic police in Tirana, to support new traffic management

improvements

- provide technical assistance, training and equipment to the traffic police to improve accident data collection and

analysis, and to strengthen law enforcement in accordance with the new Road Code

Road Maintenance Project (RMP)Road Safety Component (cont’d)

______________________________________

• Targets

- significant number of ‘blackspots’ improved

- significant reductions in traffic fatality rates

- institutional capacity in road safety activities strengthened within MOTT/GRD and MLGD

- institutional capacity developed within the traffic police to improve enforcement aimed at unsafe road user behavior

Road Maintenance Project (RMP)Road Safety Component (cont’d)

______________________________________

• Goals

- cooperative approach between public and private sector agencies involved in road safety, with leadership by the Inter-

Ministerial Committee and coordination by DRS

- reductions in traffic accidents and safer conditions on Albanian roads

- support for the development of a sustainable road safety program in Albania