Traffic safety: emerging concerns for low and middle income countries

This paper examines the data available from published reports to understand the shortcomings in our present understanding of the following road safety issues: the relationship between national income and traffic safety; relative risk of different categories of road users in different societies; and urban form and traffic safety. Promoting, rather than effectively enforcing a few well-known safety countermeasures like helmet and seat belt use; weak efforts at controlling speeds and drinking and driving; and crashworthiness standards for cars may not he enough to substantially lower road traffic fatality rates internationally. Patterns of motorised two-wheeler and paratransit vehicle crash rates seem to be different in low and middle-income countries. Much more detailed research needs to be done in low and middle-income countries by establishing research centres to address local issues in these countries.