Socio-Economic Costs and Human Impacts of Road Accidents in Azerbaijan

Abstract

Road accidents represent a growing worldwide problem. According to the official statistics, 696 people died and 1,410 were seriously injured in road crashes in Azerbaijan in 2020. The launch of the state road safety program for 2019 - 2023 is an important step towards improving road safety in Azerbaijan. By adopting the program in 2018 the Government of Azerbaijan committed itself to substantially improving road safety. The strategic program aims to improve Azerbaijan’s road safety performance and to reduce the number of road crashes and casualties. The state road safety program explicitly states that in addition to reducing the number of accidents and casualties, decreasing the socio-economic costs that result from road crashes is one of its aims. The lack of information on the socio-economic costs of road crashes is an important knowledge and capacity gap for handling road safety problems in Azerbaijan. The aim of the study is to assess the national socio-economic costs and the impact of road accidents on poverty, shared prosperity, and vulnerable groups. Concerning the socio-economic costs, all relevant cost items are included and quantified to the extent possible, following international standards and best practices. The report is structured as follows: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two presents the methodology for the assessment of the socio-economic costs and poverty impacts of road crashes in Azerbaijan, as well as the data collection methods, including a survey among road casualties. Chapter three presents the assessment of the socio-economic costs of road crashes and chapter four - of the human and poverty impacts. Chapter five discusses policy implications of study results for policy making and presents key recommendations.