Road Safety

Making CAREC Corridors Safer

The 15th CAREC Ministerial Conference unanimously endorsed Safely Connected: A Regional Road Safety Strategy for CAREC Countries (2017-2030). The strategy represents the CAREC countries’ high level commitment and pledge to adopt a consistent approach to road safety.

Road safety is a major global issue. About 1.25 million people are killed, and up to 50 million more are injured, on the world’s roads every year from road crashes. Road crashes is ranked 8th as the leading cause of death globally, and 6th in Central Asia. The rate of road traffic deaths in Central and West Asian countries is between 10 to 25 per 100,000 population, which is several factors higher compared to best-performing countries such as the UK and Sweden.

Recognizing the huge opportunity for CAREC countries to work together to tackle the road safety challenge, the 14th Ministerial Conference (September 2015, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), endorsed a joint commitment to road safety.

View CAREC Ministerial Commitment to Road Safety

This commitment calls for adoption of the “safe systems” approach, combining safer road infrastructure, safer vehicles and safer road users.

Safely Connected: A Regional Road Safety Strategy for CAREC Countries (2017-2030) has been developed to provide the framework for CAREC countries to work collectively to implement the Ministerial Commitment to Road Safety. The Strategy builds upon existing strengths within the region, addresses identified gaps, utilizes existing good practice, and mitigates risks.

The strategy was developed using a participatory approach. During country consultations and workshops, CAREC member countries and development partners discussed issues concerning road safety in the region. Through the planning workshops, the CAREC member countries developed the vision, target, action plan and monitoring framework for the Strategy.

Read the CAREC Commitment to Road Safety in English and Russian

Read the CAREC Road Safety Presentation in English

View the CAREC Road Safety Engineering Manuals

The CAREC Road Safety Strategy

Vision: To “make CAREC international road corridors safe, efficient and attractive for all road users.”

Target: To reduce the number of fatalities on the CAREC road corridors by 50% by 2030 (compared to 2010). This translates to 23,000 lives saved and 250,000 serious injuries prevented per year by 2030. The estimated economic savings amounts to approximately $16 billion a year.

Five Pillars of Activities

Strengthened capacity to manage road safety issues on CAREC road corridors
Road engineering practices prioritize road safety
Safer vehicles use CAREC road corridors
People safely use CAREC corridors
Improved access to emergency medical treatment for road crash victims

Implementation

  • CAREC countries will complete national road safety action plans, and include road safety in the design of all future CAREC projects.
  • Development partners will include safety considerations in infrastructure design and allocate funding to mitigate safety risks.
  • The CAREC program will continue to support capacity development and training, and offer a platform for mutual learning. The program will also monitor and report progress against the Strategy targets annually.

Commitment to Road Safety in CAREC: 10 Actions to Make CAREC Corridors Safer

  1. Data Collection. Improve quality and ensure comparability of road collision data at national and regional level
  2. Research. Support research to improve understanding of unique causes of crashes in the region and develop effective and targeted interventions
  3. Capacity Development. Undertake joint capacity development on road safety policy, engineering, enforcement, education, emergency response, data, and evaluation
  4. Road Standards. Ensure future roads in CAREC corridors are designed with highest road safety standards
  5. Vehicle Safety. Improve vehicle safety through research, adaptation of technology, inspections, and vehicle insurance policies
  6. Enforcement. Improve awareness and enforcement of road safety rules and regulations
  7. Awareness and Education. Raise awareness through targeted safety advocacy, focusing on vulnerable users
  8. Post-Collision Care. Improve post-collision care, affording victims better chances of survival
  9. Partnerships. Foster partnerships between governments, local authorities, the private sector, and the civil society to raise awareness and jointly seek to improve road safety
  10. Regionally Shared Approach. Work together to promote a shared approach on road safety through the development of a road safety strategy for the CAREC region.

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