Book Description

Road safety is an important sustainable development goal, yet relatively underappreciated and greatly underfunded. Every year, more than 1.2 million people die and another 50 million are injured in road traffic accidents around the world. Approximately 90% of all road accidents occur in low- and middle-income countries. Recognizing the need to support member States in urgently and effectively addressing road safety challenges, three of the United Nations regional commissions initiated the project Strengthening the National Road Safety Management Capacities of Selected Developing Countries and Countries with Economies in Transition. The project, which focused on assisting four countries to enhance their national road safety management capacities and to effectively address and improve national road safety, was implemented in Albania, Dominican Republic, Georgia and Viet Nam. The Road Safety Performance Reviews were conducted to assess the current road safety situation, to help the beneficiary countries to identify the most critical road safety issues and to recommend actions to be taken. Based on the critical issues identified, capacity-building workshops for national road safety stakeholders were organized. The project raised public awareness on road safety issues and sensitized national experts and the non-government sector to the need to set ambitious road safety targets and take specific measures to improve road safety.