Road and vehicle design standards form the backbone for setting the requirements with respect to road planning, design, maintenance and operation, and for allowing vehicles to operate and participate in the traffic on public roads. Internationally, both these domains have evolved and various standards organisations have adopted international treaties and requirements to provide some form of standardisation and uniformity when it comes to road and vehicle design. These treaties not only serve to improve the quality of roads and vehicles, but more importantly aim to ensure that these provide optimal levels of safety to eliminate/reduce crashes, and to ensure that the effects of crashes on injuries are minimised. In terms of both road and vehicle standards, countries on the African continent have been found to be lagging behind most international standards and practices. Generally, vehicles in African countries are old, poorly maintained and regulated. The same applies for the road networks in many African countries and this has added to the growing road safety problem being experienced in many African nations. (Author/publisher)
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