Combatting the Road Safety Burden in the Developing World: The Case of South Africa

Abstract

An estimated 1.25 million people died globally, as a result of road traffic crashes, in 2013 (WHO, 2015). The majority of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (Peden et al., 2004). Low-income countries have fatality rates that are more than double those in high-income countries (WHO, 2015) and, although global fatalities have plateaued since 2007, the fatalities in low- and middle-income countries are still increasing. According to Perel et al. (2007), road safety in low- and middle-income countries is a neglected research area. This paper aims to assist in closing this research gap. The paper starts with an international road safety comparison on a per country level, followed by a more detailed analysis of different South African provinces. All provinces have shown an increase in population, while six out of nine provinces have absolute and relative (per 100 000 population) reductions in road fatalities between 2005 and 2015. Focusing on the province that reduced road fatalities most, i.e. the Western Cape, road safety measures were proposed, and scenario calculations carried out. The results provide valuable insights regarding the road safety status-quo in South Africa and identifies the most cost-effective road safety measures for the Western Cape Province, going forward.