Every year more than a million people die in road crashes around the world, and about 70 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries. Pedestrians represent 65 percent of road crash deaths and 30 percent of them are children. In addition, a staggering 20 to 50 million people are injured or disabled each year in road crashes in developing countries, often pedestrians, motorcyclists, bicyclists and non-motorized vehicles occupants. This human tragedy is doubled by the catastrophic impact of loss of revenues and cost of medical care, as entire families can slip into deep poverty, wiping out the gains accumulated over years, and impacting, in turn, their communities. The emergencies created by road crashes also consume precious medical capacities in the health sector, and reduce the overall access to health care. This silent epidemic is rapidly getting worse in developing countries. Research conducted by the World Bank (Kopits, E. & M. Cropper, (2003) Traffic Fatalities and Economic Growth, Policy Research Working Paper 3035, Washington DC) estimates that global road fatalities will increase by more than 65 percent between 2000 and 2020, unless intensified safety interventions are implemented. In Europe and Central Asia fatalities are forecast to increase by nearly 20% between 2000 and 2020. The transfer of best practice knowledge must be tailored for widespread application, and the uncertainty about the applicability of the sustainable safety vision in transitional and developing countries was examined and addressed during the preparation of this Manual. Weak safety design capacity, poor institutional co-ordination and limited budgets presented substantial challenges to the adoption of the holistic approach applied in the Netherlands. The Manual reflects the realities of country environments encountered, and elements of the sustainable safety vision have been confirmed. This Manual is the result of a strategic alliance between the Dutch program Partners for Roads and the World Bank to test the applicability of sustainable safety principles and concepts in road design in Central and Eastern Europe. It represents a first step in what will be a longer journey to implement safety as a leading and fundamental design criterion for road transport, just as it is for other transport modes. The quality of this Manual, and the gusto with which the ideas were received in the region, suggests that adoption of the sustainable safety vision could have a substantive and lasting impact on road safety in the region. (Author/publisher)
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