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Road Crashes Costing Southeast Asian Countries US$15 Billion Per Year, ADB Studies Say

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (22 November 2004) - If Southeast Asian nations don't start taking road safety seriously, there will be 385,000 road deaths and 24 million injuries in the next five years, incurring more than US$88 billion in economic losses, according to Asian Development Bank (ADB) sponsored studies.

Some 75,000 persons were killed and more than 4.7 million were injured in road crashes in Southeast Asian countries during 2003, according to ADB estimates, with many victims severely disabled for the rest of their lives. Annual economic losses from road crashes are estimated to be around $15 billion, or 2.2% of the region's total gross domestic product.

"Such huge recurring losses are not sustainable and action has to be taken to implement a regional strategy and action plan to improve road safety in the region," says Charles Melhuish, ADB's Lead Transport Sector Specialist.

ADB is helping all 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries draft a five-year ASEAN Regional Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan as part of the ADB-ASEAN Regional Road Safety Program.

The regional strategy and action plan, developed after a regional workshop at ADB with the ASEAN countries and modeled after successful road safety action plans from the around the world, is due for consideration by ASEAN Transport Ministers tomorrow in Phnom Penh.

ASEAN consists of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Road crashes are a growing problem worldwide, resulting in around 1 million deaths and more than 23 million injuries annually, the draft strategy says. Around 85% of these deaths occur in developing countries.

The Asia and Pacific region contributes 44% of global road deaths, although it has only around 14% of the world's motorized vehicle fleet.

"If each of those injured or killed has, say, five family members or dependents reliant upon his or her earnings, there could be 25 million persons in the region being directly affected or suffering economic hardship as a result of road crashes," says Mr. Melhuish.

The economic development of the ASEAN countries, in particular, has spurred rapid growth in the level of motorization and has resulted in a significant worsening of the road safety situation across the region.

Motorcycles, involved in a high proportion of Asia's road accidents, now constitute a large proportion of the vehicle fleet in several countries, ranging from just 3% in Brunei Darussalam to 80% in Lao PDR and 94% in Viet Nam. The proportion may be higher in some of the countries due to under-registration of vehicles.

Official figures of police reported road deaths and injuries are declining in several countries, such as Indonesia and Philippines.

"Official statistics grossly underestimate the actual numbers of persons killed or injured in road accidents," Mr. Melhuish adds.

"Erratic reporting of official road casualties is the most likely reason for declining deaths and injuries rather than genuine year on year reduction in the road death toll."

The ADB-backed research, based on health statistics (such as Ministry of Health hospital admissions), sample surveys and international experience, has found that while police- reported road deaths are usually fairly accurate, the number of road related injuries is often significantly underestimated.

Total police reported deaths in ASEAN in 2003 were 43,259 and 187,343 injured, compared to ADB estimates of 75,193 and 4,745,578, respectively.

The biggest discrepancies occurred in Indonesia and Philippines. Police reported deaths and injuries in 2003 in Indonesia were 8,761 and 13,941, respectively, compared to ADB's estimates of 30,464 and 2.55 million. In the Philippines, police reports suggest 995 deaths and 6,790 road injuries for that year, compared to ADB estimates of about 9,000 and 493,970, respectively.

The percentage of GDP lost annually through road accidents ranges from 0.5% in Singapore to 3.21% in Cambodia, averaging out at 2.23% for the region. Indonesia loses the most in money terms, amounting to $6.03 billion per year (or 2.91% of annual GDP), followed by Thailand at $3 billion (2.1% of GDP).

"Experience shows that road safety needs to be tackled in a comprehensive and coordinated manner and that different types of intervention are effective at different stages of a country's development," says Mr. Melhuish.

The regional plan suggests that the adoption of individual country action plans could lead to a reduction of 42,000 in deaths and 2.9 million injuries in ASEAN over the next five years and $10.6 billion less in terms of economic losses.

"Although it may not be possible to bring about an immediate drastic reduction in the road death and injury toll, it should be possible to slow down the growth, stabilize it, and gradually turn the region's trends into a downward direction," Mr. Melhuish adds.

*Based on local research, health statistics, sample surveys (where available), or international experience.
Source: ASEAN Region Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan, final draft September 2004

Source: ASEAN Region Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan, final draft September 2004

ADB is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social development, and good governance. Established in 1966, it is owned by 63 members - 45 from the region. In 2003, it approved loans and technical assistance amounting to US$6.1 billion and US$177 million, respectively.

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