Road Safety Performance Review

Every year, as a consequence of road traffic crashes, 1.4 million people are killed from road crashes and millions more are injured. Approximately 90% of all road crashes occur in low- and middle-income countries.
Even though road safety is an important sustainable development issue, it is yet relatively underappreciated and greatly underfunded. Recognizing the need to support Member States in urgently addressing road safety challenges, two of the regional commissions of the United Nations initiated a project on road safety performance reviews to assist African countries in strengthening their national road safety management capacities and improving their national road safety records.  
In practice, a Road Safety Performance Review assesses the current road safety situation, helps the  Government to identify the most critical safety aspects and recommends actions to be taken. Based on the identified priority needs, capacity-building seminars and workshops are organized for national road safety stakeholders. The project thus raises general awareness of road safety issues by sensitizing experts as well as the public sector and non-governmental sectors, of the need to set ambitious road safety targets and to implement specific measures to improve road safety.

The Government of Cameroon, represented by the Ministry of Transport, requested support from the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety to prepare a Road Safety Performance Review (RSPR) for Cameroon. The review forms part of a global initiative aimed at assisting governments in identifying the most critical road safety priority needs and offering recommendations.  The review was implemented in five phases: 

•    Phase I: A preparatory mission to Uganda took place in May 2017 comprising both the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Road safety priority areas were agreed and the time schedule established. A team of national consultants was engaged to undertake the review process in July 2017. The identified priority areas the team focused on were: road safety management; infrastructure for protection of vulnerable road users in urban areas (quality of existing standards); driver training and testing; enforcement of traffic rules; road crash database; and post-crash care response and coordination system.

•    Phase II: Following the approval of the inception report, the national team proceeded to conduct fact-finding activities and consultations to assess the road safety situation in Cameroon and produced the draft report. 

•    Phase III: The draft report was submitted for review to the Government of Cameroon, stakeholders and UNECE/UNECA. During the validation workshop,  which was held in Yaoundé on 19 October 2017, the national team discussed the report, focusing on the current situation, findings and recommendations. 

•    Phase IV: The recommendations, with suggested amendments from the stakeholders, including comments and peer review from UNECE and UNECA, have been incorporated in this final report. 

•    Phase V: Official launch of the Road Safety Performance Review and capacity-building support offered to the Government. 

To learn more about the Cameroon RSPR:

- Complete Cameroon RSPR report. Click here

- Cameroon RSPR report launch event. Click here

- Cameroon RSPR capacity-building workshop. Click here   

The Government of Ethiopia, represented by the Ministry of Transport, requested support from the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety to prepare a Road Safety Performance Review (RSPR) for Ethiopia. The review, conducted in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commissions for Africa (UNECA) and Europe (UNECE), provides a holistic assessment of the country’s road safety situation and pinpoints concrete measures to save lives. 

The review highlights that from an infrastructure perspective, the concept of road safety is not systematically incorporated in all stages of the development and administration of road projects in Ethiopia. Overall, passengers are the most vulnerable road users in the country, accounting for 52 per cent of road deaths in 2018. However, in urban areas pedestrians account for the majority of fatalities. Ensuring safe infrastructure for vulnerable road users is a priority area where the government is already taking action.

The review notes that Ethiopia has some regulatory basis for governing road safety and the transport sector in general, but which must be strengthened considerably.

Furthermore, the review suggests that the Government should improve legislation and implementation of laws and regulations on vehicle standards and periodic technical inspection, aligned with UN agreements.

Some progress has been made in providing road safety education, with awareness-raising campaigns initiated in 2017, but more needs to be done to improve national coverage of the ongoing initiatives.

Lastly, the review highlights recommendations under 10 strategic Priority areas for immediate action, aligning with the 5 pillars of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety as well as with the Global Framework Plan of Action for Road Safety.

To learn more about the Ethiopia RSPR:

- Full Report - Road Safety Performance Review Ethiopia
- Summary of Findings and Recommendations
- Progress Report from the Ministry of Transport of Ethiopia
- Media coverage - Launch of the Road Safety Performance Review Ethiopia Report

The Government of Zimbabwe, represented by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, requested support from the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety to prepare a Road Safety Performance Review (RSPR) for Zimbabwe. The review, conducted in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commissions for Africa (UNECA) and Europe (UNECE), provides a detailed assessment of the road safety and management capacity situation in the country, and pinpoints concrete measures to save lives.

The review calls for the implementation of road safety audits and assessments, especially in urban areas, where ensuring the safety of vulnerable road users – pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheelers – is a particular priority. 

Furthermore, the review points out that Zimbabwe currently does not have an up-to-date framework to monitor and evaluate road safety performance. Because of gaps and misclassifications in road safety data availability and accuracy, the review stresses the need to create an integrated and coordinated database as a priority to inform action. It also reinforces the importance of road safety awareness programmes for road users in rural areas, targeting young road users. 

The National Traffic Police is constrained by limited funding as well as by inefficient database and information management systems. This means that cities and towns lack traffic enforcement and surveillance, making all urban road users highly vulnerable. Strengthening enforcement frameworks and practices with the review of legislation and standards, as well as benchmarking against regional and international good practices and United Nations conventions, are among priority interventions supported by the review.

Zimbabwe’s legal framework offers a strong basis for road safety. However, its enforcement has come under increasing threat of ineffective practices. The review recommends strengthening the enforcement framework, resourcing, and dealing with corruption.

Although the TSCZ represents the overall road authority to provide safety policies across local governments, road safety management has not been politically championed nor elevated to a human development concern. Strengthening the role of the lead agency, the championship by the TSCZ, the adoption of a national road safety strategy and a multisectoral action plan, including acceding to United Nations conventions, are among priority interventions.

Lastly, the review encourages to establish emergency medical services and emergency responses policy, laws, lead agency, and guidelines in line with WHO Guidelines, including a common 3-digit national emergency call number, as well as education for the public.

To learn more about the Zimbabwe RSPR:
- Full Report - Road Safety Performance Review Zimbabwe
- Summary of Findings and Recommendations