Vice-President Hon. Dr. Philip Mpango launched Tanzania’s new 3-year Road Safety Plan on Monday including the iRAP Methodology and integration of improved road design and inspection systems with iRAP Certification to improve the safety of the country’s roads.

The Plan, which aims to reduce road crash fatalities and serious injuries, was launched in Dodoma during the inauguration of National Road Safety Week and the commemoration of 50 years of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC).

According to a local news report, Dr Mpango noted that poor road infrastructure contributes to 16 per cent to road crashes and warned that without effective measures, serious road crashes could become the leading cause of death by 2030.

According to police statistics, there were 1,733 road crashes in 2023, up from 1,720 in 2022. Deaths from these crashes totalled 1,647 in 2023, marking a 6.6 per cent increase from the 1,545 deaths reported in 2022. Additionally, injuries rose to 2,716 in 2023 from 2,278 in 2022.

He highlighted a troubling 13.3 per cent rise in motorcyclist fatalities – 376 deaths during January to December 2023, up from 332 in the same period in 2022.

Aligned to the Safe System Approach, the Plan includes measures to identify and upgrade hazardous road locations; improve speed management; address dangerous behaviours like drunk and unlicensed driving and driving without a seat belt; and enhance vehicle safety and legislation.

The launch of the Plan, by the Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT) and the NRSC, is an exciting step following completion of the award-winning Ten Step Tanzania Plan Project last year and launch of the TanRAP Road Assessment Programme.

Jointly funded by the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (UKAid), through the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) of the World Bank, the 30-month pilot project built sustainable institutional capacity for safer roads, as well as impact and partnerships to save lives and reduce serious injuries resulting from road crashes.

Under the guidance of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the project was implemented by a consortium led by the International Road Federation (IRF), and including iRAP, the World Road Association (PIARC) and the Tanzania Roads Association (TARA). It brought together the Government of Tanzania through the MoWT, Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS), Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency (TARURA), Roads Fund Board, National Institute of Transport (NIT), as well as other leading institutions, road safety NGOs and industry stakeholders in Tanzania.

RSA Tanzania participated in the preparation of the new 3-year Road Safety Plan, and two organization members, who are iRAP Accredited – Irene Msellem and Rama Msangi – played a key supporting role.

See the Launch coverage:

• Daily News “VP rings bell on road tragedies”
• Daily News (see 6:13 to end)
• ITV Tanzania (see 1:55 – 3:14)
• TBC Taifa (see 4:05:00 – 4:08:15)

Images credit: Rama Msangi