Do You Feel Safe on the Road Abroad? Survey on road safety for the World Bank operational travelers

1. Do You Feel Safe on the Road Abroad?Survey on road safety forthe World Bank operational travelers Presented by: Dr. Jasminka Goldoni Laestadius Seminar on International Tourism and Road Safety Paris, 24 September 2008

2. Background Road safety is an important issue for the World Bank staff *Number of business travelers/year: 6,690 *Number of missions/year: 36,394 *Days on missions/year: 333,432 Destinations: developing countries Trend of increasing road safety risk: Traffic fatalities and economic growth. Kopits E, Cropper M.Accid Anal Prev. 2005 Jan;37(1):169-78 *2007 data, staff at HQ enrolled in the MIP, consultants and CO assignments excluded

3. The World Bank Road Safety Task Force Anthony Bliss Dr. Lennart Dimberg Dr. Jasminka Goldoni Laestadius Mouhamadou Moustapha Ly Elias Nassif Linda Carole Patnelli Dr. Anne Gaëlle Selod Christian Andreas Shorter Marc Sanford Shotten Dr. Jian Ye SDN HSD GSD

4. Road safety survey Road safety s. follow-up WB road safety policy ISOS data Benchmark WB data & costs Main Goal and Tasks Driver medical clearance

5. Road safety surveys’ structure Baseline Survey General data Travel data Near crash situations Road crashes Bank’s drivers Banks’ vehicles Road safety advice for travelers Follow-up survey Circumstances Health consequences Financial consequences

6. Jan... March April MayJune July AugSept Study design Survey First analysisFinal analysis/Recommendations Follow-up survey ..Dec 2008 Road safety study timeline 2008 Final Report

7. Results (1) Demographics Response rate 3,760/16,000 (25%) Gender 48% male Base 44% in CO Travelers 86% No. of missions 20,000 annually Near crashes4,100 reported in the past 3 years2,375 described 1 near crash per 15 missions Top 3 countries: India, Kenya, China Crashes341 reported in the past 3 years231 described 1 crash per 175 missions Top 3 countries: India, China, Indonesia

8. Results (2) Crashes: contributing factors • two and more factors: 50% • most often reported: driver’s decision error, speeding, road/weather conditions • 50% reported incidents in taxis, 20% in Bank’s cars • 40% of victims reported NOT wearing seat-belts at the time of their crash

9. Perception of road safety risk by country Q: Please check all the countries where you FELT MORE AT RISK from the road safety viewpoint while traveling on mission in the past 3 years Top five: India Kenya South Africa Egypt Nigeria

10. Incidence rates of near crashes by country Top five: Oman Yemen Bangladesh Guyana Camerron

11. Incident rates of road crashes by country Top five: Bahrain Guyana Mauritius Saint Lucia Zimbabwe

12. Five indicators map-incidence of near crashes, incidence of crashes, safety concerns, number of near crashes, number of crashes Top six: Afganistan Bangladesh Cambodia Egypt China India

13. Comments (1) Recommendations Drivers:  training (defensive/first aid/maintenance/road rules)  language proficiency  medical clearance Vehicles:  seatbelt Environment:  no night/dusk travel  improved infrastructure CO & Bank:  list of preferred taxi/car rental companies  more & more available Bank’s cars and drivers to travelers  road safety information/emergency numbers

14. Comments (2) Experiences • In rural countries, like Paraguay, robberies occur, there are no lights, and cows sleep on the road! • In Mongolia, it is cheaper to rent a right hand car than a left hand drive car. BUT THE ROADS ARE RIGHT HAND DRIVE!!!!!!!! So it is a risk to be on long stretches of narrow highways speeding in dust storms or blizzards • There is a culture of not making a big deal when sitting in a car without seat belt, with an insane driver on terrible roads with other insane drivers • Taxi drivers want to vaunt their skills in fast driving and dangerous maneuvers • We've had cars with drivers who don't speak any English, cracked windshields, no seat belts, bad tires. There has to be a better standard for determining the rental companies we use. • If I am injured or die on mission, I am sure it will be from a car accident

15. Conclusions • The World Bank travelers are concerned about their road safety; • Individual risks are low but still significant and vary across regions/countries; • Staff risks are set to grow; • The institutional and personal impact of staff road crashes is high; • Staff have strong expectations that the risks they face should be managed, and realistic views on what would be good practice measures.

16. Recommendations • Minimize, as far as is practicable, the road safety risks faced by traveling staff • A systematic approach required • A minimum package of staff road safety measures: Vehicles, drivers and passengers Environmental factors Emergency medical services • Management responsibilities to be clarified • Strong promotion at all levels • A roll-out program starts in the identified high risk regions and countries • Monitoring and evaluation procedures, reporting system

17. Contacts Anthony Bliss, Lead Road Safety Specialist Email:abliss@worldbank.org Dr. Lennart Dimberg, Lead Occupational Health Specialist Email:ldimberg@worldbank.org