In order to address the region’s high rate of traffic mishaps and control subsequent mortalities and damages, Middle East governments want to adopt a multidimensional Road Safety Policy, an all-inclusive framework that includes all features of the road safety value chain. Road cracks are a global problematic issue; and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has it not as good as than most. According to the World Bank survey, road cracks kill 1.2 million people and cripple or wound more than 10 million others every year. “Cars are determined by people – consequently the guiding belief behind the whole thing we make at Volvo is and must endure safety”.
At current rates, traffic accidents will become the fifth leading cause of death globally by 2030, up from 10th place in 2010. In the MENA region, accidents kill 17 to 22 people per 100,000 of population every year, compared with an OECD average of 6.2 per 100,000. The MENA region therefore must urgently tackle road safety.
The root of the problem in the Middle East is the lack of a unified vision among concerned ministries and authorities, leading to insufficient coordination and ineffective interventions. Governments and other stakeholders (such as the private sector and civil society) conduct interventions without any clear individual ownership or accountability and with minimal, or poorly defined, community involvement.
Middle East governments should instead adopt a multidimensional Road Safety Strategy, a holistic framework that encompasses all aspects of the road safety value chain. The strategy rests on six pillars: urban and transport planning; roads and infrastructure; traffic management; vehicles; road user behavior; and emergency and medical services. The strategy needs four cross-functional enablers that span the pillars and ensure that the various components of the road safety system have the necessary resources and tools. These enablers are institutional and regulatory; human and technological; research and evaluation; and funding management.
According to the Management consulting firm, “Middle East governments need to adopt a multidimensional Road Safety Strategy, a holistic framework that encompasses all aspects of the road safety value chain”.
