Survey results: Road safety data, data collection systems and definitions [SaferAfrica D4.1]

Africa is the worst performing continent in road safety. In order to improve road safety performance in African countries, many barriers need to be overcome. Among them stands the substantial lack of detailed knowledge on road casualties in terms of their number as well as associated factors leading to road accidents or affecting their consequences. There is a serious lack of road safety data in African countries, and even when data are available (e.g. through the reports of WHO, International Road Federation ‐ IRF, etc.), little is known about data collection systems, data definitions, etc. The objective of the present report is to outline the results of relevant surveys undertaken within the SaferAfrica project as well as existing road safety analysis documents in order to assess the current situation of Africa in terms of road safety data, data collection systems and definitions. In order to assess the needs of stakeholders involved in road safety in terms of knowledge and information tools and convey a clear view of current road safety practices followed in Africa, two‐fold surveys as well as existing road safety analysis documents were exploited. The surveys consisted of a brief questionnaire in order to point out the current status in each country in terms of basic road safety aspects and definitions, followed by an extensive one where, besides other concerns, detailed demands and views of road safety stakeholders, not necessarily directly involved in decision‐making, in each examined African country were recorded. Furthermore, existing road safety analysis documents were exploited; namely the Global Status Report on Road Safety (WHO, 2015) and the IRF World Road Statistics 2016 (IRF, 2016) reports. Finally, aiming to assess the effects of current data definitions and collection procedures a pilot study was delivered on certain countries which were selected based on specific criteria described in the relevant chapter. This first survey addressed an initial approach to identify per country the current status in terms of basic road safety management and data collection practices. Representatives from 20 African countries, mainly from the West, East and South regions of the African continent took part in this survey. Most of the respondents had a significant experience in the field of road safety (over 10 years), thus the information they provided is considered accurate and reliable. Experts from all countries stated emphatically the high importance of data and knowledge to support road safety activities. This is a clear indication of the urgent need for the improvement of data and information availability with regard to the improvement of road safety in African countries. The second survey included questions on road safety management and data collection practices, road safety resources and basic road safety data developed appropriately to reflect the conditions in Africa. This survey was filled‐in by 29 stakeholders from 21 African countries. The majority of the replies were received by governmental representatives. ......