Studies conducted by TRL have shown that road accidents in developing countries are a serious problem as they are an important cause of death and injury and a waste of scarce financial resources. Statistics are given for road accident fatality rates and the cost of road accidents in developing countries. The poor level of medical facilities available in developing countries has a significant impact on the number of people dying in road accidents. A relatively high proportion of fatalities are pedestrians and children under 16 years and many involve public service vehicles. The differences between developed and developing countries in the behaviour, knowledge and attitudes of road users, the road and vehicle conditions and the traffic characteristics are considered. The need to strengthen the institutions responsible for road safety is discussed. Priorities for future road safety action are considered with reference to studies of remedial measures in developing countries, education and enforcement. This paper was presented at the Conference of Recent Advances in Road Engineering, University of Bangalore, India, March 2000.
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