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Add to Preferred SourcesThe establishment of the first regional Road Safety Observatory in the Asia-Pacific region was announced in Stockholm today on the eve of the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety. The conference gathers ministers and policymakers from across the world to set the future direction for road safety action.
The Asia-Pacific Road Safety Observatory (APRSO) will support countries of the region in boosting their capacity to collect, analyze, and share reliable road crash data, with the objective to drastically reduce the number of road deaths and crash injuries in the region.
The road safety crisis in Asia and the Pacific has reached epidemic proportions. More than 2,000 people lose their lives on the road every day in the region, according to estimates. Many more sustain serious life-changing injuries.
Road crashes cause enormous human suffering; they also result in significant economic and social losses. Halving the number of fatalities and injuries over a 24-year period could increase the GDP per capita by up to 22% in some Asian countries, according to recent research by the World Bank.
Measuring the performance of road safety interventions is essential to ensure investments are effective. Yet the availability and quality of crash data that can guide effective policies varies significantly across Asia-Pacific countries.
The Asia-Pacific Road Safety Observatory (APRSO) will address the data gap. It will also promote cooperation, the use of best practices, and the scaling up of effective policies and evidence-based interventions across the region.
The APRSO will build on the experience of the Latin America and Caribbean Road Safety Observatory (OISEVI) launched in 2012 and the African Road Safety Observatory (ARSO) launched in 2018. It is a joint initiative of the World Bank, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the International Transport Forum (ITF), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The APRSO receives financial support from UK Aid through the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF). Technical support also comes from the World Health Organization and UNESCAP.
Original source: World Bank
Published on 18 February 2020