Annual costs of road accident fatalities in developing countries of the Asia-Pacific region already exceed $US 20 billion a year, which is more than is loaned to these countries annually by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) combined. These huge recurring annual losses inhibit the social and economic development of the region. Future increases in mobility and motor traffic (currently 15 to 17 per cent annually in many countries of the region) during the next ten to fifteen years will cause further problems unless urgent action is taken to improve road safety. The growing concern about road safety problems led the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to commission two complementary road safety studies in the Asian and Pacific region in order to quantify the scale and nature of the problem and to assess its seriousness. This report presents the results of the studies, which showed that there was a need to mobilise efforts in the region, and also a forum bringing together key persons/experts involved in road safety in Asia and the Pacific. The resulting forum was organised as a seminar with presentations and discussions focusing on road safety policies and initiatives, based mainly on the findings of the two studies, as well as the ESCAP and ADB guidelines.
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