Investigating the socio-economic cost of road crashes in Azerbaijan
EASST partner, the National Automobile Club of Azerbaijan (AMAK) in cooperation with the World Bank have launched a new research project to investigate the socio-economic cost of road crashes in Azerbaijan.
Road traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of death globally and account for over 50 million injuries every year. Unsafe roads also pose a significant drain on economic resources. In the EASST region alone, the economic cost of road casualties is around USD 200 billion annually.[1] The greatest share of mortality and long-term disability caused by road crashes is among the working age population (15 – 65 years).[2] The loss of family breadwinners, the additional burden of care for the injured, and the loss of their economic contribution make road casualties a major cause of poverty. As well as saving lives, safe roads have a vital role to play in economic development and should warrant urgent political attention.
Working closely with the State Road Police, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Emergency Situations, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and many other key stakeholders, AMAK and the World Bank will examine existing data on road crashes and conduct a cost analysis of the impact that these crashes have on social and economic life in Azerbaijan with the aim of securing greater investment in road safety and encouraging safer road behaviour amongst the general public.
This work will complement their research on Disability and Road Safety, published in 2018, which addresses the social and economic impact of living with disability in Azerbaijan highlighting the increased road risk faced by people with disabilities and the lack of accessible infrastructure necessary for a fully inclusive society.
AMAK is currently conducting surveys with around 200 road victims and/or their families to better understand the impact on their lives. They will also conduct a review of existing data and interview key stakeholders to develop a set of proposals addressing the issue.
In order to raise greater social awareness country of the true impact of road crashes and introduce the issue to the agenda of the, AMAK will share the study’s findings through the media via public discussions on TV and radio. A policy report will also be published and shared with relevant stakeholders including government organisations, members of parliament, academia, NGOs, and international organisations at a specially organised workshop at the end of the project. We will also share a copy of the report on our website.
[1] EASST et al, Road Safety in the EBRD region, (2017), https://www. easst.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Road-Safety-in-EBRD-region.pdf
[2] WHO, Road deaths and injuries hold back economic growth in developing countries, (2018), https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/01/09/road-deaths-and-injuries-hold-back-economic-growth-indeveloping-countries
