By 2020, road accidents are expected to be the third highest cause of death and disability globally. Transport safety concerns in poor countries have focused mainly on roads and motorised traffic, but in rural areas, transport safety includes a broader set of issues. How does transport safety affect rural communities, and what can be done to improve safety?

The International Forum for Rural transport and Development (IFRTD) explored rural transport safety in five countries to better understand some of the safety and security issues people face. The studies took place in Peru, Madagascar, Cameroon, India and Sri Lanka.

Transport users face significant safety risks in many of the areas studied. The poor condition of many vehicles used for public transport, and of rural roads, contributes to the risk of accidents, as does serious overcrowding. For example, in Cameroon, women traders often travel on top of overloaded trucks to protect their merchandise. This is risky, especially in the rainy season.

Three of the case studies – Peru, Cameroon and Madagascar – highlight the gender aspects of rural transport safety. Women and girls can be particularly vulnerable to harassment on community roads and in public vehicles. In Peru, women and girls experience sexual harassment on buses and report that rape has become increasingly common in rural areas.

Beyond roads and public transport, however, there are many forms of transport and routes that tend to be ignored by government but have major impacts on people’s lives. Community pathways and water crossings are essential for many people to be able to reach services such as health, education and markets. However, a lack of safety and security (especially for women) can limit people’s mobility.

Some key issues from all five case studies include:

• Governments developing rural transport policy tend to focus on major tarred roads, ignoring rural roads, pathways and water crossings.
• Major rural road improvement programmes do increase people’s mobility and can benefit economic development, but also bring new safety concerns: people unused to heavy traffic are at risk, and increased crime can result from greater access to previously remote areas.
• Enforcement of safety rules is poor, resulting in unsafe, uninsured vehicles and drivers. Corruption makes this worse.
• Mechanisms for coping with these risks may mean avoiding travel, which reduces access.

Safety and security affect people travelling and transporting goods in rural areas in many ways: health is impacted by accidents; women may be involved in coercive risky sex; and access to health services in limited. Access to education and potential for economic development is also limited. Rural transport safety could be improved if:

• Rural road programmes integrate safety concerns throughout all forms of transport. Where roads are significantly improved, awareness raising is needed to help people understand the risks associated with increased motor traffic.
• Communities need to be active participants in the design of safety interventions as well as in prioritising, building and maintaining roads and other infrastructure.
• Safety standards are needed and must be better enforced. However, if enforcement is too radical, it could reduce the availability of rural transport. A compromise between existing practices and new regulations is needed.
• The specific risks and vulnerabilities of women and girls using rural transport need to be better understood and addressed.

Source(s):
‘Time to Broaden the Transport Safety Debate. Study on various elements of rural transport safety. A synthesis of pilot case studies from Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar, Cameroon and Peru.’ IFRTD: London, by Didier Young, Granie R Jayalath, Ashoke Sarkar, Maria Gutierrez and Vivien Meli, 2007 Full document.
‘The better the road, the greater the risk: Impacts of road rehabilitation on safety and cultural values’, International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD), by María Teresa Gutiérrez Santayana, 2007 Full document.
'Study on Safety Issues: Rural Waterway Crossings of Sri Lanka’, International Forum for Rural Transport and Development Case Study, by Granie R. Jayalath Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 9 November 2007

Further Information:
International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD)
IFRTD Secretariat
113 Spitfire Studios
63-71 Collier Street
London N1 9BE
UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 77136699
Fax: +44 (0)20 77138290
Contact the contributor: ifrtd@ifrtd.org

International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD)

Other related links:
'Impact of PMGSY Roads on the traffic Safety of School-Going Children in Rural Areas', International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD), by Ashoke K Sarkar, 2007

‘Bayam Sellam: market women and rural highway insecurity in Cameroon’, International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD), by Vivien Meli, 2007

'Evaluation des Problèmes majeurs de Sécurité des Transports en Milieu Rural sur les Hauts-Plateaux de Madagascar', International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD), by Vivien Meli, 2007, by Didier Young

'Transport, the missing link? A catalyst for achieving the MDGs', July 2006, id21 insights #63