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Road Crashes Not Only Cost Lives: They Hurt Economic Growth, New Report Finds

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Cutting road traffic deaths and injuries by half could boost the economy and result in substantial long-term income gains in developing countries -- potentially adding 7 to 22 percent to GDP per capita over 24 years in some – as well as greatly improve social welfare benefits. Those are the main findings of a new report released on Tuesday by the World Bank and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The report, “The High Toll of Traffic Injuries: Unacceptable and Preventable,” which calculated the economic impact of road safety in China, India, the Philippines, Tanzania and Thailand, quantifies how investments in road safety are also investments in human capital. The report indicated that countries that do not invest in road safety could miss out on potential economic boost. The cost of inaction, it said, “is diminished productivity and reduced growth prospects.”

(adapted from the World Health Organization's Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 posters)

Globally, road traffic fatalities disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, where about 90 percent of deaths occur, according to the World Health Organization. Rising incomes in many developing countries have led to rapid motorization, but road safety management and regulations have not kept pace. Death rates from traffic injuries in 2015 reached 34 per 100,000 in the five countries studied compared to an average of 8 deaths per 100,000 for the 35 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to the report. In many low- and middle-income countries, the largest percentage of death and long-term disability from crashes affect prime working age people between 15 and 64 years old. The result is often reduced work force productivity and ultimately, a weaker economy.

“Traffic crashes kill more than 1.25 million people around the world each year and they also take a huge economic toll, with so much human potential being lost,” Michael R. Bloomberg, the philanthropist and former three-term mayor of New York City, said in a statement. “Investments in road safety pay for themselves many times over, and hopefully this new report will spur governments to take actions that save lives.” Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Mr. Bloomberg's charitable activities. 

(graphic courtesy of Bloomberg Philanthropies)

The Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety has dedicated $259 million over 12 years to implement interventions that have been proven to reduce road traffic fatalities and injuries in low- and middle-income countries.

The report calls on policymakers to prioritize cost-effective investments that include: reducing and enforcing speed limits; reducing driving under the influence of alcohol; increasing seat-belt use through enforcement and public awareness campaigns; and integrating safety initiatives in all phases of planning, design, and operation of road infrastructure.

“This it is one of the first systematic efforts to estimate both the potential economic benefits and aggregate social welfare gains of reducing road traffic injuries in low-and middle income countries,” José Luis Irigoyen, the World Bank's senior director for Transport and ICT (Information & Communication Technologies), said in a statement, noting the report was inspired by disease impact studies. “Curbing road traffic injuries would not just be a victory for the transport sector but a significant milestone for global development, with immediate and far-reaching benefits for public health, well being, and economic growth.”

To read the full report, click here or access the link here.