This chapter reviews the road safety problem in developing countries, and outlines some recommendations for improvement, based on detailed research conducted during the last 20 years by the Overseas Centre at the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). TRL studies have shown that road accidents in the Third World are: (1) a serious problem because fatality rates are at least an order of magnitude higher than in industrialised countries; (2) an important cause of death and injury; and (3) a considerable drain on scarce financial and other resources. To compare the severity of the problem in different countries, the TRL uses as rate the number of deaths from road accidents per year per 10,000 vehicles licensed. This rate varies from over 180 in Ethiopia to less than 4 in Western Europe and North America. Between 1968 and 1985, accident rates rose rapidly in developing countries, in contrast to their decline in developed countries. There are wide differences between developed and developing countries in behaviour, attitudes, knowledge, and culture of road users, in road and vehicle condition, and in traffic characteristics. Evaluation of safety improvements is essential in the Third World, due to lack of data on the effects of safety measures.
Abstract