This paper presents a classification of countries (developing and developed alike), divided into two main categories: an economical and historical entry. When road safety problems are placed into the economical context, it then appears that, among other things: (1) The road safety problem in the industrialising countries is primarily an economic problem; and (2) the road safety problems associated with raw materials (particularly agricultural products) and with countries with stagnant economies, is mainly a public health problem. The paper indicates that, for instance, the growth of the Gross National Product, of the population, and of towns into super cities may have considerable influence on road traffic and consequently on road safety. In addition, the paper briefly discusses infrastructure maintenance. When considering road safety work in developing countries, a seven-phase programme is recommended. The phases focus on: the data analysis, selection of measures, and implementation. The factors involved that are specific for developing countries concern the two-stage collection of data, the safety diagnosis and the specific training of professionals. For developing countries, there seem to be three groups of data that are reasonably reliable, and that usually can be collected on a national basis: (a) the number of fatalities from road accidents; (b) the amount of car fuel sold in the country; and (3) the length of the road network.
Abstract