56707 Dangerous Roads: Russia's Safety Challenge Patricio V. Marquez and Anthony G. Bliss more than in the United States, higher than in other Eastern Key Messages 1 European countries such as Poland and Hungary, and higher than the average for Commonwealth of Independent States In 2008, there were nearly 30,000 road (CIS) countries (Box 1). traffic deaths and about 271,000 non- fatal road traffic injuries in Russia. Box 1: Comparing Russia's Road Fatalities with Road traffic deaths in Russia are five Other Countries, 2008 times higher than in countries with the Country Mortality rate due to best road safety records in the world. road traffic injuries, One-third of car crashes in Russia are per 100,000 people caused by speeding vehicles and close Russian Federation 21.1 to 40% of all road fatalities are among Commonwealth of 15.0 (2007) Independent States (CIS) pedestrians. average Although Russia has made significant Poland 14.3 progress since 2006, a stronger, United States 12.3 multisectoral response is needed to European Union average 11.0 (2007) reduce the still high number of road Hungary 9.9 New Zealand 8.6 fatalities. Australia 6.8 Germany 5.4 Dangerous Russian Roads: Causes and Costs Great Britain 4.3 Sweden 4.3 As in many countries of the Europe and Central Asia The Netherlands 4.1 Region (ECA), vehicle ownership in Russia has grown Source: ITF/OECD (2010), ITF/WHO-EURO/World Bank/OECD faster in the last decade than the decline in the rate of (2009), WHO (2009). fatalities per vehicle. At the same time, road safety policies About 72% of all car crashes in Russia occur in urban areas. and interventions have not kept pace with the boom in Data for 2008 show that the majority of traffic deaths are motorization. In 2008, the motor vehicle fleet in the country among car occupants (52%), followed by pedestrians exceeded 41 million cars, up 24% from 2004, and the (36%), motorcycle drivers and passengers (5%), truck and number of drivers licensed increased by 40% during this bus drivers and passengers (4%), and cyclists and others period. (4%). The high percentage of pedestrian deaths in Russia contrasts sharply with other European countries (in France In 2008, Russia saw nearly 30,000 road traffic deaths and and Germany, for example, pedestrian deaths account for about 271,000 non-fatal road traffic injuries. While these only 12% of total road fatalities) and shows that Russias figures represent a drop of 13% from 2004, Russias road transport system is limited in its ability to cope with the traffic mortality rate is still five times higher than what is increased road traffic and vulnerable road users. seen in several European Union (EU) countries, about twice More than 50% of all road traffic deaths are among people 1 This Knowledge Brief is derived from the report, "Confronting ,,Death aged 15-44, the most economically productive age group. on Wheels: Making Roads Safe in Europe and Central Asia," World Children and the elderly are also particularly vulnerable, Bank, 2009, and incorporates the findings of a preliminary 2009 report especially as pedestrians. "Road Safety Performance. National Peer Review: Russian Federation" coordinated by the International Transport Forum, with participation of the World Health Organization and the World Bank. ECA Knowledge Brief One-third of car crashes in Russia are caused by speeding result of drunk driving. Fines have been increased ten-fold vehicles. The possibility of a pedestrian being killed rises for driving without seat belts. A law has been enacted to eightfold as the speed of impact with a car increases from make the offense of crossing into an oncoming lane 30 kilometers per hour (km/h) to 50 km/h. Head-on punishable with license revocation. Anti-alcohol campaigns collisions due to driving into oncoming lanes are a major are being conducted under the Program. Other positive cause of road crashes - in the first half of 2010, close to 250 developments include improvements in the safety of cars people died in the Moscow, Nizhni Novgorod, Krasnodar and the introduction of new road signs on speed limits, and Perm regions due to head-on collisions. Drunk driving, pedestrian zones, speed humps, and parking restrictions. which accounts for 10% of all road crashes in Russia, along with poor road conditions and bad traffic management, also More recently, draft legislation proposals were developed to contribute to road traffic injuries and deaths. The use of cell reduce speed limits on city roads from 60 km/h to 50 km/h, phones and texting devices while driving is another growing and to 30 km/h around office areas and 20 km/h in risk factor. residential areas and schools. Traffic calming measures, intelligent transport systems, and tougher requirements for The economic costs of motor vehicle crashes are severe. drivers to give way to pedestrians, have also been initiated. They include direct costs associated with emergency A 3D social advertising video urging drivers to exercise treatment, long-term care, insurance administration, and care on roads was filmed for release in movie theaters in legal actions, and indirect costs associated with productivity mid-June 2010 when a massive social awareness campaign losses in the workplace and in households. Property damage named The Last Oncoming Lane was launched. Emergency and travel delays are some of the other costs. medical services are being re-organized under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Estimates by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Development and the technical guidance of the Djanelidze 2005 indicated that the cost of road crashes in Russia Research Institute of Emergency Medicine in St Petersburg. absorbed 2.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or To this end, all federal roads have been rated and actions are about US$26 billion annually. Road traffic victims are being taken on the most dangerous highways such as the seven times more likely to need hospitalization compared ones from Moscow to south Russia (M4 Don Highway), with victims of other types of trauma, and they account for from Moscow to Kiev (M3 Ukraine Highway), and from 75% of all types of injuries and 60% of severe trauma cases. Moscow to Saint Petersburg (M10 Scandinavia Highway). The provision of medical services for traffic injuries and other traumas in 2003 absorbed approximately 0.27% of Some Issues Remain to be Resolved Russias GDP or about US$1.2 billion. In spite of scaled up efforts by the Government and the Russia Responds to the Road Safety Challenge significant improvement in road safety performance achieved since 2006, road conditions in Russia are still very The Russian Government has been implementing the dangerous vis-à-vis other developed countries. As President Federal Targeted Program for Ensuring Road Traffic Safety Medvedev emphasized in a national speech on August 6, 2006-2012. About US$2 billion was earmarked to fund this 2009, poor road infrastructure, bad organization of road Program over 2006-2012, with 43% of the allocation traffic, and insufficient regional and local efforts hinder coming directly from the Federal budget and the rest from further improvements. Exacerbating the situation are the the general budgets of sectoral ministries and regional absence of effective education programs for drivers, governments. The Program aims at reducing road fatalities particularly young drivers, the weak performance of the in the country by 33% compared with 2004 levels. A traffic police, and the unsatisfactory condition of emergency multisectoral Government Commission for Road Safety led medical services in some regions. by the Ministry of Internal Affairs is coordinating this effort. "The national economy lost US$175 billion The main components of the Program include establishing a from traffic accidents over the past five years. comprehensive legislation framework and strengthening That is comparable with overall health care enforcement-related laws and regulations. New legal blood expenditures of the same period." and breath alcohol content limits (0.3 g/l and 0.15 g/l, respectively) were introduced in 2007 and the penalty for ­ Dmitry Medvedev failure to submit to medical examination (in alcohol-related President of the Russian Federation driving offenses) was increased from disqualification from August 6, 2009 driving for 18 months to two years. Other offenses that are now penalized with prison terms include causing death as a ECA Knowledge Brief Countries that have successfully reduced road traffic Intersection controls, crash barriers, signs, markings, traffic- injuries and fatalities - such as, Australia, Great Britain, the calming measures around schools, and road maintenance are Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United States - effective interventions. have adopted a safe systems approach which is anchored in the long-term vision of eliminating road deaths. Under this Vehicle design and safety equipment: Daytime running approach, improved road safety results depend on three lights for cars and motorcycles, and other safety inter-related elements: institutional management functions, technologies such as electronic stability control systems, interventions and results.2 seat belts and airbags, contribute towards reducing road traffic crashes and fatalities. Russia has in place most of the elements of the safe systems approach but additional efforts are required to strengthen Enforcement of legal measures to improve road user institutions and governance capacity for road safety, behavior: These include issuing graduated driving permits including the lead agency capacity to better coordinate and for teenagers, requiring six months of driving with learners manage an effective multisectoral response. permits, curfews prohibiting driving between midnight and 5:00 a.m., and passenger restrictions on the first year of Strengthening Institutional Management driving after getting a license. Mandatory seat belt use helps reduce road traffic deaths and serious injuries once a crash Sustained support from the highest levels of government is has occurred; requirements on the use of motorcycle and needed to: bicycle helmets protect against fatal head injuries. Strengthen the results focus of the lead agency and coordinate arrangements among sectoral Setting and enforcing speed limits reduces road traffic institutions and different levels of government. injuries by up to 34%, particularly among pedestrians, Promote active engagement by business, cyclists, and motorcyclists. The introduction of speed professional and non-government entities. cameras has led to a 14% reduction in fatal crashes and a Implement policy reviews and institutional 6% reduction in nonfatal crashes in developed countries.3 reforms to improve legislation and enforcement Road traffic injuries are also reduced by setting and practices, accountability and capacity of enforcing legal blood alcohol limits and minimum drinking- organizations, and the testing and licensing of age laws, using checkpoints to randomly stop drivers to drivers and vehicle safety standards. detect alcohol, and running mass media campaigns to Secure sustainable and adequate funding for reduce drinking and driving.4 Other measures, such as lead agency and key stakeholders and license revocation and suspension, markedly reduce strengthen their management and operational fatalities from alcohol-related crashes. Measures to outlaw capacity to achieve safety targets. the use of cell phones and texting devices by young drivers Enhance nationwide road traffic injury are starting to show positive results in countries such as the surveillance systems to collect data, better United States. understand the nature and characteristics of the problem, and evaluate the results of Emergency medical care systems: Effective post-crash interventions. medical care and treatment can prevent deaths and limit the severity of injuries. Frances Service d'Aide Médicale d'Urgence (Emergency Medical Assistance Service, Effective Interventions with a Results Focus SAMU), and the effective service arrangement established in some Russian regions such as the Chuvash Republic and Integrating road safety in all phases of planning, design, Voronezh are good practices in this area. and operation of road infrastructure: Analyses of road networks safety performance conducted at the planning Cost and effectiveness of road safety interventions: As stage of new road construction, complemented by road shown in Figure 1, a strategy that simultaneously safety audits and safety impact assessments, help improve implements multiple road safety interventions produces the project design. Also, reviews of high road traffic crash most health gains for a given investment. concentration sections help target investments towards places with the highest crash reduction potential. 2 Bliss, T and J. Breen J. 2009. Implementing the Recommendations of 3 the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention. Country guidelines Elvik, E., and T. Vaa, eds. 2004. The Handbook of Road Safety for the Conduct of Road Safety Management Capacity Reviews and the Measures. Amsterdam: Elsevier. 4 Specification of Lead Agency Reforms, Investment Strategies and Safe Peden, M., R. Scurfield, D. Sleet, D. Mohan, A. Hyder, E. Jarawan, System Projects. World Bank Global Road Safety Facility, Washington and C. Mathers, eds. 2004. World Report on Road Traffic Injury D.C. Prevention. Geneva: World Health Organization. ECA Knowledge Brief Figure 1: Cost-Effectiveness of Road Traffic Injury Prevention Strategies in Europe and Central Asia (international dollars per disability adjusted life year (DALY) saved, 2005) Average cost per DALY saved $- $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 $70,000 Enforcement of speed limits (via fixed/mobile cameras) Drink-drive legislation & enforcement (breath-testing) Legislation & primary enforcement of seat belt use Legislation & enforcement of helmet use by motorcyclists Legislation & enforcement of helmet use by bicyclists Speed cameras + breath-testing Seatbelts + motorcycle helmets Speed cameras + breath-testing + seatbelts Speed cameras + breath-testing + motorcycle helmets Seatbelts + motorcycle helmets + breath-testing Seatbelts + motorcycle helmets + speed cameras EurB Seatbelts + motorcycle helmets + speed cameras + breath-testing EurC Seatbelts + motorcycle helmets + speed cameras + breath-testing + bicycle helmets Note 1: Countries in the WHO European region with low child and low adult mortality (EurB): Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Tajikistan, FYR Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Countries in the WHO European region with low child and high adult mortality (EurC): Belarus, Estonia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. Note 2: "International dollar" is a hypothetical unit of currency that has the same purchasing power that the U.S. dollar had in the United States at a given point in time. The year of 1990 or 2000 is often used as a benchmark year for comparisons that run through time. Figures expressed in international dollars cannot be converted to another country's currency using current market exchange rates. Instead they must be converted using the country's purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rate used in the study. Source: Chisholm and Naci, 2008. Conclusion Federation. These efforts have the potential to help society as a whole and to provide a good practice example to other Building on the ,,Moscow Declaration, which was ratified former Soviet Union countries. Programs funded by the by all participating countries at the First Global Ministerial Russian Government to develop the road infrastructure offer Conference on Road Safety held in 2009, the UN General a window of opportunity to scale up and improve road Assembly approved on March 2, 2010, a resolution safety in Russia over the medium term. declaring 2011-2020 as the "Decade of Action for Road Safety" with the goal of stabilizing and ultimately reducing About the Authors the forecast level of global road fatalities by 2020. Patricio Marquez is a Lead Health Specialist in the Europe and Central Asia Region, and Tony Bliss is the Lead Road Accumulated local and worldwide experience can be used Safety Specialist in the Energy, Transport and Water to strengthen ongoing road safety efforts in the Russian Department of the World Bank. "ECA Knowledge Brief" is a regular series of notes highlighting recent analyses, good practices and lessons learned from the development work program of the World Banks Europe and Central Asia Region http://www.worldbank.org/eca