iRAP was proud to be a part of the Asia Pacific Regional Road Safety Seminar last week in Manila, hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) and Asia Pacific Regional Road Safety Observatory (APRSO).

Each day, it is estimated over 1,960 people are killed in road crashes in Asia and the Pacific Region and nearly 54,000 suffer life-changing injuries. Without intervention, nearly 336,000 people will be killed and seriously injured on the region’s roads in the next six years to 2030 at a cost of USD$14.4 billion in crash costs to the community.

Taking place from 5 to 7 December at ADB Headquarters, the Seminar brought together 230 people from 53 countries drawn from Governments, the World Health Organization, UNESCAP and other key UN agencies, multilateral development banks, the private sector, research institutions and road safety NGOS.

The programme addressed key topics in road safety relevant to Asia and the Pacific, and was designed to give participants a deeper understanding of effective, evidence-based interventions which can be applied towards the goals of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030.

The event addressed implementation of the Global Plan for Road Safety with the following objectives:

• Facilitate transfer of best-practice road safety knowledge
• Strengthen ties among road safety institutions and professionals
• Promote evidence-based policy and decision making
• Raise awareness of the major road safety trends and challenges
• Promote the support available to low and middle income countries.

Programme

The programme included plenary sessions and workshops on:

• Global and Regional Plans for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021 – 2030 including coverage of the to-be released WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023
• New funding models for road safety
• Speed management and the link to the sustainability agenda
• Private sector initiatives
• Innovative technologies
• Legal frameworks
• Gender perspectives in transport planning
• Powered two-wheeler safety
• Road policing initiatives

Judy Williams (Global Programme and Communications Manager), Greg Smith (Global Programme Director) and Monica Olyslagers (Global Innovation Manager and Safe Cities Specialist) participated in the programme in the following ways:

iRAP partners also shared their work implementing the iRAP Methodology, including the use of the Star Rating for Schools Application:

Estiara Ellizar, Transport Planner from the Ministry of Transportation Indonesia, and Aggie Krasnolucka, Programme Director, FIA Foundation, shared SR4S success supporting safer school journeys

Exhibit

iRAP showcased the “The Road to Zero through the Safe System Approach” exhibit at the event, produced as a partnership between iRAP and the Transport Accident Commission in Australia last year.

The road to zero road deaths will be achieved with 5-star road users, in 5-star vehicles, on 5-star roads, travelling at safe speeds.

The exhibit shared data insights from the iRAP Safety Insights Explorer for Asia and the Pacific region – the human and economic impact of road crash injury, how safe the roads are, and the Business Case for Safer Roads in terms of human and economic savings of achieving UN Target 4 for 3-star or better roads for all road users by 2030.

It also included an audio-visual showcase of tools, partnerships and case studies helping to save lives and reduce injuries due to road trauma, and information on Star Rating for Schools, Insights Explorer, RAPTools and iRAP Partner Activity and Policy saving lives in the region.

The free, in-person event enabled networking and partnerships between stakeholders committed to safe and sustainable transport throughout the region.

It included the 3-day seminar and meeting of the Asia-Pacific Road Safety Observatory.

Video recordings and the presentations will be made available from January 2024 on the event website at https://adb.eventsair.com/aprsomeeting-roadsafetyevent/

To see how iRAP partners are working to make roads safer in Asia and the Pacific, and countries leading the way with 3-star or better policy, click here.