International Conference on Traffic & Transport Psychology 2016 Dr Barry Watson The role of traffic & transport psychology in addressing the global road trauma problem

Overview How are we performing globally in road safety? What are our current road safety goals? Why is there a gap between our goals and our performance? What strategies are required to bridge this gap? What role can traffic & transport psychology play? Priorities for future research & implementation

Globally 1.25 million die as a result of road crashes every year It is the # 1 cause of death among those aged 15-29 Source: WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2015

Road safety manage-ment Safer roads and mobility UN Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) Road safety manage-ment Safer roads and mobility Safer vehicles Safer road users Post-crash response The UN Decade of Action is the primary global avenue by which road safety is being addressed. In 2010, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety, with a goal to stabilize and then reduce the forecast level of road traffic fatalities around the world by increasing activities conducted at the national, regional and global levels. GRSP – and by extensión this training – is focusing on the Safe Road Users pillar. But there is an inconnectedness to the pillars which we will explore.

Our collective challenge Source: WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2013

Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all: 3.6. By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable: 11.2. By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport . . . The Sustainable Development Goals are another major international framework which seeks to address road crash injury and death. The SDGs also highlight that road safety is not just a public health concern. It needs to be integrated into overall urban planning. The recent UN Resolution on Improving Global Road Safety acknowledged these ambitious targets and called for renewed action by governments and other stakeholders

SDG target requires 4X rate of improvement on Decade of Action Goal (millions killed) Source: Perkins, ITF

These infographics help to highlight where the problem is most acute: in low and middle-income countries, specifically in Africa. Should this continue, we will not achieve the goals of the Decade of Action. Road safety targets are now included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) We are behind in terms of reaching global targets of reducing road crash deaths by 50% by 2020 (UN Decade of Action 2011-2020) Source: WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2015

Factors contributing to the gap in road safety performance

Rapid motorization Between 2007 and 2010, the number of registered motor vehicles increased globally by 15% Between 2010 and 2013, the global fleet increased by a further 16% - 67 million vehicles in 2014 alone Many of these new vehicles are motorcycles or other motorized two and three-wheelers Impacts: Road use has out-stripped infrastructure developments Vulnerable road users are highly involved in crashes Sources: WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2013 and 2015

Representation of vulnerable road users among fatalities 49% 50% 64% Source: WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2015

Disproportionate funding for road safety Globally, road crashes are estimated to cost LMICs between 1 – 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) Among Asian countries, the estimated cost of crashes is US$735 billion, representing 3.3% of GDP Within the Africa region, the estimated cost of crashes ranges from 1% to 9% (in Angola) of GDP Spending on road safety varies across countries, but is not commensurate with economic impacts of crashes Road crashes are sometimes seen as the inevitable collateral damage arising from economic development Sources: WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2013; Wismans et al, 2014; Road Safety in the WHO African Region, 2013

Slow uptake of evidence-based policies and practices Between 2008-11, 35 countries adopted additional road safety laws Only 28 countries (7% of worlds pop.) had comprehensive laws across all 5 risk factors Source: WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2013

Challenges in enforcing laws (1) Many LMICs don’t conduct road policing in a good practice manner: Insufficient human resources devoted to road policing Insufficient equipment to conduct breath testing, speed enforcement etc Limitations in legislation eg. police to not have power to randomly pull-over and/or breath test drivers Operations generally focused on apprehension rather than deterrence Corruption is endemic in some areas leading to widespread punishment avoidance

Challenges in enforcing laws (2) The specific deterrent effect of road policing is further undermined by lack of: Certain, severe and swiftly applied penalties and sanctions A comprehensive driver licensing and/or vehicle registration system enabling the application of penalties Graduated penalties to deter repeat offending Offender rehabilitation programs Difficult to achieve a widespread, general deterrent effect Road policing is often held in low regard by the community in many countries

Piecemeal use of technology Road infrastructure quality and related technology varies across most LMICs In large cities, the use of technology is generally focused on managing traffic congestion, rather than safety Many LMICs (80% of all countries) have not adopted international vehicle safety standards Automated enforcement is often limited in scope and its effectiveness undermined by: limited ‘backroom’ capacity to process infringements lack of comprehensive driver licensing and vehicle registration systems

Limited evidence-base and research capacity in LMICs Road crash data collection and reporting systems are generally poor in LMICs making it difficult to: Quantify the full scale of the problem Understand current and emerging issues Evaluate the effectiveness of interventions Research capacity in LMICs is generally limited, particularly in the behavioural area Historically, most road safety research has occurred in high income countries Transferring road safety interventions to LMICs can be problematic due to contextual differences

Strategies to reduce the gap in global road safety performance

Global funding opportunities It is hoped that the inclusion of road safety in Sustainable Development Goals (2016-30) will: Encourage poor-performing countries to invest more in road safety Influence the agendas of bilateral/multilateral development and aid agencies Unlock new sources of funding for road safety Most recent UN Road Safety Resolution included proposal to establish a voluntary Global Road Safety Trust Fund Other initiatives are attempting to establish new sources of ‘catalytic’ funding e.g. FIA High Level Panel for Road Safety Need to capitalize on the limited but important sources of philanthropic funding

Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (2015-19) Builds on Road Safety in 10 Countries (RS10) program BIGRS is a US$125 million program focusing on: 10 priority cities in Africa, Asia and Sth America 5 priority countries in Asia and Africa Strong focus on addressing key risk factors of: drink driving, speeding, motorcycle helmet wearing, and seat belt and child restraint use

BIGRS Partners

Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (2015-19) The program is using a holistic approach involving: Supporting civil society to advocate for stronger road safety laws and their implementation Enhancing the capability of road safety authorities, particularly road police Enhancing road environment safety and city design, with a strong focus on the needs of vulnerable users Enhancing the adoption of vehicle safety standards Enhancing public transport Monitoring and evaluation

Repositioning road safety as a ‘safe mobility’ issue Historically, road safety has been managed as a ‘silo’ issue in most countries Need to align road safety with broader transport, health and environmental agendas to unlock further community and political support for: Positioning vulnerable road user safety as a sustainable transport issue Promoting the value of public transport as a safety initiative Reducing the car-centred nature of cities

The need for partnerships When the 64th General Assembly of the United Nations passed the resolution proclaiming the Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020), it stated: “The solution to the global road safety crisis can only be implemented through multi-sectorial collaboration and partnerships”

About GRSP GRSP was founded in 1999 in response to the global road trauma problem Our mission is to contribute to a sustainable reduction in road crash death and injury We are hosted by the IFRC, the largest humanitarian organization in the world This gives us access to 190 National Societies and 17 million active volunteers Our role is to build partnerships between government, private enterprise and civil society organizations We are currently active in almost 40 countries

GRSP’s Members

Promotion of strong, evidence-based road safety laws and policies GRSP’s key strategies Promotion of strong, evidence-based road safety laws and policies Capacity building of government and civil society organizations Creation and dissemination of global knowledge

Advocacy & Grants Programme The Road Safety Grants Programme launched in 2012 is a competitive grants process open to civil society organizations and government agencies Current priority cities (Addis Ababa, Bandung, Bangkok, Bogota, Fortaleza, Ho Chi Minh City, Mumbai, Sao Paolo and Shanghai) and priority countries (China, India, Philippines, Tanzania and Thailand) Maximum value of competitive grants CHF120,000 for up to 24 months To date 48 grants awarded in 8 countries, total value of USD 3.8 M

Strengthening Road Policing Develop/strengthen strategies & other policing documents Data training workshops Risk factor enforcement training workshops On-the-ground operational observations & coaching Support professionalization of road police forces Build communication skills Advocate for road policing resources

How can traffic and transport psychology contribute to closing the gap in global road safety performance?

The role of traffic & transport psychology in LMICs Ensuring a focus on the needs of all road users in planning and managing the road transport system Addressing misconceptions about road user behaviour change Applying theories and methods from psychology (and related disciplines) to build a stronger knowledge base in relation to: Understanding the factors influencing road user behaviour Designing more effective interventions Conducting more context-appropriate evaluations

Ensuring a focus on the needs of all road users The main road transport priorities for many LMICs remain: the provision of more extensive road infrastructure, particularly for motorized vehicles the use of technology to manage traffic congestion The needs of vulnerable road users are often overlooked The adoption of safe-system principles is limited due to perceived costs and lack of understanding/training Traffic and transport psychologists need to draw attention to the needs (and limitations) of all road users

Traffic psychologists need to contribute to the ongoing refinement of safe system thinking SAFE ROADS SAFE VEHICLES SAFE INTERACTIONS Safe Speeds Separation of different users Exposure control SAFE ROAD USERS

Addressing misconceptions about changing road user behaviour Harsh penalties are required to make people comply with traffic laws Compulsory skills-based driver training is effective in reducing novice driver crashes Fear-based public education encourages people to adopt safety behaviours Covert traffic law enforcement is more effective in changing behaviour than visible operations

Application of theory to improve practice in LMICs: a case study (1) GRSP is drawing on deterrence theory to inform the design of standard operating procedures and training programs for road police Research utilizing deterrence theory highlights that road policing is most effective when it is: Conducted in an intensive, random and sustained manner (to increase the public’s perceived risk of detection) Utilises both highly visible static operations (to promote general deterrence) and mobile operations (to reduce punishment avoidance) Conducted in association with mass media and public education campaigns (to reinforce the general deterrent effect)

Application of theory to improve practice in LMICs: a case study (2) GRSP is drawing on principles of Procedural Justice to enhance road policing policies and practices: Voice - enabling road users to communicate their perspective Neutrality - ensuring policing decisions are based on the facts, not other factors Respect - ensuring police demonstrate respect to the public Trustworthiness – ensuring police demonstrate a concern for the welfare of the public To enhance the effectiveness of road policing and build community support for the traffic laws

Research and development priorities for enhancing road safety in LMICs

Give more attention to the role of social and cultural factors in LMICs Historically, there has been a strong focus in traffic psychology on the role of individual and group-based influences on road user behaviour Research into broader social and cultural factors has mainly been undertaken in high income countries Growing interest in characterizing traffic safety culture Societal Community Relationships Individual (Adapted from Ward et al., 2010)

Encourage stronger compliance with road rules and regulations Need to develop and evaluate strategies to enhance traffic law enforcement in LMICs targeting: Adoption of strong, evidence-based policies and laws Improvements to road policing policies and practices Implementation of effective offender management systems Need to address problems unique to rapidly motorizing countries e.g. proliferation of motorcycles and e-Bikes Need to develop, implement and evaluate culturally appropriate public education strategies, particularly those involving social media

Better understand and manage the travel needs of people Economic development in low and middle income countries is creating a strong demand for: Increased access to motorized transport Private motor vehicle ownership Research in this area needs to focus on: Understanding people’s travel needs in a holistic way Identifying facilitators and barriers to different forms of road transport in LMIC settings, particularly: Formal and informal public transport Walking and cycling

Develop technological solutions appropriate for LMICs Much of the research into intelligent transport systems and vehicle automation is occurring in high income countries and has a strong car-based focus Rather than be a panacea, some technological solutions may further increase the safety gap between the rich and poor in LMICs Research needs to focus on technological solutions that: Fit with the infrastructure available in LMICs and the dominant modes of transport Can be implemented in a widespread, equitable manner

Conclusion (1) A major gap exists between our global road safety goals and current performance A ‘business as usual’ approach will not solve the problem New strategies and approaches are required, particularly in low and middle income countries Traffic and transport psychology has an important role to play in bridging the gap

Conclusion (2) Priorities for research and intervention in LMICs: Give more attention to the influence of social and cultural factors on road user behaviour Implement and evaluate strategies to encourage stronger compliance with road rules and regulations Better understand and manage the travel needs of people in a context-sensitive way Identify technological solutions appropriate to LMICs

Dedicated to the sustainable reduction of road crash death and injury Dr Barry Watson Email: barry.watson@ifrc.org Tel.: +41 79 708 4763 Global Road Safety Partnership c/o International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies P. O. Box 372 17, chemin des Crêts CH-1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland Tel: +41 (0) 22 730 42 49 Fax: +41 (0) 22 733 03 95 E-mail: grsp@ifrc.org Website: www.grsproadsafety.org