Transportation Research Board Special Report 287
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Copyright 2006 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the project were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group of individuals with diverse perspectives and technical expertise according to the procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
This report was sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation and by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Cover and book design by Naylor Design Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Improving road safety in developing countries : opportunities for U.S. cooperation and engagement : workshop summary / Planning Committee for the Workshop on Traffic Safety in Developing Nations ; Joseph R. Morris, rapporteur.
p. cm.
“National Research Council of the National Academies.”
ISBN 0-309-09423-2
1. Traffic safety—Developing countries. I. Morris, Joseph R. II. National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board. III. Institute of Medicine (U.S.).
HE5614.6.I57 2006
363.12′5091724—dc22
2006045552
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
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TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2006 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*
Chair: Michael D. Meyer, Professor,
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
Vice Chair: Linda S. Watson, Executive Director,
LYNX–Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Orlando
Executive Director: Robert E. Skinner, Jr.,
Transportation Research Board
Michael W. Behrens, Executive Director,
Texas Department of Transportation, Austin
Allen D. Biehler, Secretary,
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Harrisburg
John D. Bowe, Regional President,
APL Americas, Oakland, California
Larry L. Brown, Sr., Executive Director,
Mississippi Department of Transportation, Jackson
Deborah H. Butler, Vice President,
Customer Service, Norfolk Southern Corporation and Subsidiaries, Atlanta, Georgia
Anne P. Canby, President,
Surface Transportation Policy Project, Washington, D.C.
Douglas G. Duncan, President and CEO,
FedEx Freight, Memphis, Tennessee
Nicholas J. Garber, Henry L. Kinnier Professor,
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Angela Gittens, Vice President,
Airport Business Services, HNTB Corporation, Miami, Florida
Genevieve Giuliano, Professor and Senior Associate Dean of Research and Technology,
School of Policy, Planning, and Development, and Director, METRANS National Center for Metropolitan Transportation Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (Past Chair, 2003)
Susan Hanson, Landry University Professor of Geography,
Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
James R. Hertwig, President,
CSX Intermodal, Jacksonville, Florida
Gloria J. Jeff, General Manager,
City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation, California
Adib K. Kanafani, Cahill Professor of Civil Engineering,
University of California, Berkeley
Harold E. Linnenkohl, Commissioner,
Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta
Sue McNeil, Professor,
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark
Debra L. Miller, Secretary,
Kansas Department of Transportation, Topeka
Michael R. Morris, Director of Transportation,
North Central Texas Council of Governments, Arlington
Carol A. Murray, Commissioner,
New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Concord
John R. Njord, Executive Director,
Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City (Past Chair, 2005)
Pete K. Rahn, Director,
Missouri Department of Transportation, Jefferson City
Sandra Rosenbloom, Professor of Planning,
University of Arizona, Tucson
Henry Gerard Schwartz, Jr., Senior Professor,
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Michael S. Townes, President and CEO,
Hampton Roads Transit, Virginia (Past Chair, 2004)
C. Michael Walton, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering,
University of Texas, Austin
Thad Allen (Adm., U.S. Coast Guard), Commandant,
U.S. Coast Guard, Washington, D.C. (ex officio)
Thomas J. Barrett (Vice Adm., U.S. Coast Guard, ret.), Administrator,
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)
Marion C. Blakey, Administrator,
Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)
Joseph H. Boardman, Administrator,
Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)
Rebecca M. Brewster, President and COO,
American Transportation Research Institute, Smyrna, Georgia (ex officio)
George Bugliarello, Chancellor,
Polytechnic University of New York, Brooklyn; Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Engineering, Washington, D.C. (ex officio)
Sandra K. Bushue, Deputy Administrator,
Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)
J. Richard Capka, Administrator,
Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)
Edward R. Hamberger, President and CEO,
Association of American Railroads, Washington, D.C. (ex officio)
John C. Horsley, Executive Director,
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, D.C. (ex officio)
David H. Hugel, Acting Administrator,
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)
J. Edward Johnson, Director,
Applied Science Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, John C. Stennis Space Center, Mississippi (ex officio)
Ashok G. Kaveeshwar, Administrator,
Research and Innovative Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)
William W. Millar, President,
American Public Transportation Association, Washington, D.C. (ex officio) (Past Chair, 1992)
Nicole R. Nason, Administrator,
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)
Julie A. Nelson, Acting Deputy Administrator,
Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)
Jeffrey N. Shane, Under Secretary for Policy,
U.S. Department of Transportation (ex officio)
Carl A. Strock (Maj. Gen., U.S. Army), Chief of Engineers and Commanding General,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C. (ex officio)
Board on Global Health, Institute of Medicine
Margaret A. Hamburg,
NT Initiative, Washington, D.C.,
Chair
George Alleyne,
Pan American Health Organization, Washington, D.C.
Yves Bergevin,
United Nations Population Fund, New York
Donald M. Berwick,
Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Jo Ivey Boufford,
New York University
Ciro de Quadros,
Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute, Washington, D.C.
Sue Goldie,
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
Richard L. Guerrant,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Gerald T. Keusch,
Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
Jeffrey P. Koplan,
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
Sheila T. Leatherman,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Michael H. Merson,
Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
Mark L. Rosenberg,
Emory University, Decatur, Georgia
Phillip K. Russell,
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
David R. Challoner, Foreign Secretary,
Institute of Medicine, and University of Florida, Gainesville (ex officio)
Staff
Patrick W. Kelley, Director
Planning Committee for the Workshop on Traffic Safety in Developing Nations
Mark L. Rosenberg,
Task Force for Child Survival and Development, Decatur, Georgia,
Chair
Anthony Bliss,
World Bank, Washington, D.C.
T. Bella Dinh-Zarr,
AAA, Washington, D.C.
J. Michael McGinnis,
Institute of Medicine, Washington, D.C.
V. Setty Pendakur,
Pacific Policy and Planning Associates, Vancouver, Canada
Staff
Joseph R. Morris,
Transportation Research Board
Clara Cohen,
Policy and Global Affairs Division
Preface
With the rapid expansion of motor vehicle use in developing nations, road traffic–related deaths and injuries are rising sharply. More than 1 million people died from road traffic crashes in low- and middle-income nations in 2000; according to the World Health Organization (WHO), that number could nearly double by 2020. Children are particularly vulnerable; WHO calculates that in 2002, road traffic injuries were the second-leading cause of death globally among those aged 5 to 29, and 96 percent of those killed lived in low- and middle-income countries. On the order of 20 serious injuries are estimated to occur for every road death. Beyond the human toll, road traffic injuries impair the growth and development of low- and middle-income countries by draining at least 1 percent of their gross domestic product, or $65 billion annually.
This document is a summary of the presentations and discussions at a workshop entitled “Improving Road Safety in Developing Countries: Opportunities for U.S. Cooperation and Engagement,” held on January 26–27, 2006, in Washington, D.C., and organized by the Transportation Research Board, the Policy and Global Affairs Division, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. The workshop brought together administrators and professionals from U.S. government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, and academic research institutions to discuss the effects of the worldwide problem of road traffic injuries on U.S. interests, as well as prospects for further U.S. action to address the problem.
The organizing committee thanks all those who made presentations at the workshop and the participants who contributed to the discussions. The speakers are listed in the workshop program in Appendix A, and all participants are listed in Appendix B. The committee especially thanks Susan Gallagher, who conducted the interviews with federal government agencies that are summarized in this report.
Statements of viewpoints or judgments in this summary are those of individual workshop participants. The participants were not charged and did not seek to produce consensus conclusions or recommendations. The planning committee assisted in organizing the workshop program and identified participants but did not contribute to the drafting of this summary.
This summary has been reviewed in draft form by individuals, including workshop participants, chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purposes of this independent review are to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the project charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
Thanks are extended to the following individuals who participated in the review of this report: Anthony G. Bliss, World Bank, Washington, D.C.; Brian Jonah, Transport Canada, Ottawa; Charles N. Mock, University of Washington, Seattle; and Mark L. Rosenberg, Task Force for Child Survival and Development, Decatur, Georgia.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they did not see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by C. Michael Walton, University of Texas at Austin. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of the report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the author and the institution.
This summary was written by Joseph Morris under the supervision of Stephen R. Godwin, Director of Studies and Information Services of the Transportation Research Board. Clara Cohen, Walter Diewald, Stephen Godwin, Amelia Mathis, and Joseph Morris contributed to the organization of the workshop. Suzanne Schneider, associate executive director of the Transportation Research Board, managed the report review process. Special appreciation is expressed to Rona Briere, who edited the report, and to Alisa Decatur who prepared the manuscript. Jennifer Weeks prepared the prepublication version for web posting, and Juanita Green managed the book design and production under the supervision of Javy Awan, director of publications for the Transportation Research Board.