A 22,000km Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank supported iRAP assessment has kicked off in Colombia led by the National Road Safety Agency (ANSV) and supported by iRAP Accredited Supplier APSA.

The 9-month project aims to identify high-risk road sections and maximise life-saving investment by selecting and prioritizing countermeasures which improve safety on the network according to the Star Rating results and Safer Roads Investment Plan.

Training will develop technical capacity in ANSV and other Government entities to use iRAP evaluations to improve road safety and support the government to establish national policy objectives to save lives, aligned to the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety.

iRAP will support the project with quality assurance of the data coding and analysis, and training of local personnel.

ANSV is the highest authority for the application of National Government public policy and seeks to prevent, reduce and control road crashes through administrative, educational and operational actions that increase awareness and integration.

In 2022, the Agency aims to benchmark and lead in public road safety policy by positioning itself as a visible instrument in the prevention of road crashes, through sustainability in actions, plans and controls, consistent with the development of technology and teamwork.

According to iRAP’s Vaccines for Roads Big Data Tool, nearly 100,000 people are killed or seriously injured in road crashes each year in Colombia at a cost of USD$12 billion to the economy (WHO, 2015).

Achieving UN Targets 3 and 4 for greater than 75% of travel on 3-star or better roads for all road users in the country by 2030 stands to save 660,939 lives every year with an economic benefit of USD$69.3 billion – $10 for every $1 spent.

Images credit: iRAP