Road safety in EaP countries

Every year around 1.2 million people lose their lives on the world’s roads and between 20 and 50 million suffer life-changing injuries. Fatality rates in Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries are more than twice as high as in the European Union. Road death and injury is a major problem in all EaP countries requiring urgent attention.

In addition to the human tragedy, road casualties bear high social and economic costs. On average, the cost of road death and serious injury is around 4.5% GDP across the five EaP countries. 

Roads which are safe for families, young people, and people with disabilities are safer for everyone. Too often a poor safety environment prevents children from attending school, women and people with disabilities from taking up economic opportunities, and elderly people from having a full and active life.

Road death and injury is the biggest killer of young people aged 5-29 in every world region. According to the global NGO YOURS (Youth for Road Safety), more people aged between 15-29 die from road crashes than from HIV/AIDs, malaria, tuberculosis or homicide.

Safe System Approach

The Safe System Approach begins with the understanding that all road crashes are preventable and part of a complex system needing both a systematic approach and systematic treatment. 

The idea of ‘Vision Zero’ comprehends that road fatalities are caused by system failures and maintains that no one should die as a result of a road traffic injury. 

Many variables are involved when a crash occurs. These include vehicles and equipment safety, infrastructure and environmental factors, as well as ‘human’ factors such as knowledge or attitudes.

This systematic approach underlies the Global Plan for the UN Decade of Action on Road Safety 2021-2030. The Global Plan recognises that action is required to prevent road casualties across many fronts including:

  • land-use and multi-modal transport planning

  • engagement with local communities and businesses 

  • good engineering standards as well as capacity-building for engineers and designers

  • regulated vehicle safety 

  • effective road safety enforcement and education

  • efficient post-crash emergency systems with good coordination between services.

The Global Plan emphasises that road safety is a shared responsibility, recognising the fundamental importance of partnerships involving various government departments, public and private sector entities, non-governmental organisations and community stakeholder groups to achieve reductions in road casualties.

Global Plan for the Decade of Action on Road Safety 2021-2030

Road safety data

Decision making in road safety management is highly dependent upon road safety data. ​​The use of reliable data to identify problems and target resources is a key element of the Safe System Approach to road safety and vital to make roads safer for all users. Accurate and detailed road crash data helps stakeholders assess issues and solutions such as: analysing risk factors; pinpointing priority issues; formulating strategy and policy; setting targets; monitoring progress and evaluating impact. Without long term, data-led management of road safety, there will not be a reduction in exposure to crash risk, injuries, or deaths.

Most countries have a mechanism for counting road traffic deaths and can provide some information on road traffic injuries. However, according to the World Bank Global Road Safety Facility all EaP partner countries “need to adapt their crash-related data collection to international standards and expand data collection to other road safety aspects, thus creating more robust regional and national road safety systems.”

The goal of the Observatory therefore is to reduce road casualties through improving the quality of systematic and consolidated data collection on road traffic deaths and serious road injuries in line with best EU and international practices.

Crash data map, Baku 2019

CADaS and Mini CADaS

One of the core objectives of the EaP RSO is to unify and simplify data collection across the region based on CADaS and Mini-CADAS processes.

CADaS (Common Accident Data Set) refers to the minimum set of standardised data elements used by European Union member states to compare road crash data. As of 2011, it has been the only supported model for data across Europe.

CADaS covers a total of 73 variables and 471 values which are divided into four basic categories: Accident (A), Road (R), Traffic Unit (U), and Person (P). Mini-CADaS is a simplified version of covering around 25 variables. 

It is implemented on a voluntary basis with national data being submitted to the EU’s CARE database for deeper analysis and reporting. Countries can choose to adopt as many CADaS variables and values as they wish. The adoption of the CADaS process enables countries to enhance their own national data collection as well as providing better comparisons to other countries and underpins evidence-based road safety interventions. 

CADaS offers a holistic approach to road safety data collection and analysis and supports a Safe System Approach. It is also recognised by the WHO, World Bank and others as the one of the leading methodologies for road crash data collection and management.

Common Accident Data Set Framework

Road safety and the SDGs

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include two specific global targets on road safety:

Target 3.6 calls for road crash deaths and injuries to be cut by 50% by 2030. 

Target 11.2 calls for access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons.

Road safety and sustainable mobility are intertwined as development issues and both are interconnected with at least 11 other SDGs. 

The work of the EaP RSO will explore how these areas are connected and promote the co-benefits of collaboration and partnership on all these issues.

Road safety and the SDGs