Inception Report February 2012
Inception Report February 2012
Inception Report February 2012
Project Name
National Road Rehabilitation (Osh-Isfana) Project
(123-155 km), IDA financing
Credit N4658-KG Grant N H520-KG
3
Abbreviations
4
KYRGYZ REPUBLIC ROAD SAFETY PROJECT
Inception report
Section 1. Introduction.
1.1 Project start
The contract was signed on 9 January 2012 and the first team member was on site on 16 January.
Other staff concerned with the four tasks under this project have also been mobilised and started work.
Task 3: Capacity building, professional development and equipment for MRSD MIA and the State
Transport Inspection under the MoTC;
Task 4: Preparation of road safety audit guidelines and guidelines for black spot identification and
treatment
1
Asian Development Bank, TA No. 3531-KGZ, Technical Assistance for Improvement of the Road Sector Efficiency in the Kyrgyz
Republic, Final Report Volume 3 Road Safety, April 2004
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Activity 1. Review of the existing situation and preparation of an an Inception Report for the project.
Activity 2. Review all available data on the current road safety situation in the Kyrgyz Republic, and
propose a set of indicators for progress monitoring, including assessment of the required
resources (financial, human, technical, etc.). Once the proposed indicators are agreed upon
with all stakeholders, baseline surveys of such indicators in order to identify the current
situation and to provide a basis for future monitoring and evaluation.
Activity 3. Prepare a preliminary framework for a national road safety strategy and a related five-year
action plan for its implementation. This will include the conduct of a strategy consultation
workshop with all strategic partners and stakeholders, to seek consensus on the framework
proposed.
Activity 4. Prepare a Draft National Road Safety Strategy and Five-Year Action Plan for its
implementation and the corresponding Implementation Strategy/Plan including assessment
of the resources that will be required for its implementation. Also proposals for immediate
actions over the next two years.
Activity 5. Prepare a Final National Road Safety Strategy, a Five Year Action Plan for its Implementation
and immediate action proposals and agreement for approval by the MoTC and other
interested ministries and agencies.
Activity 6. Prepare related materials to support the formal launch of the National Road Safety Strategy
and Five Year Action Plan, including a workshop and road map for the first years.
Activity 2. Management of the Implementation Process. The consultant will assist the MoTC throughout
the process of procuring the accident software and implementation of the new system.
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Activity 2. The development of a professional development programme, curricula, associated training
materials including:
road safety workshop;
a two day course for senior staff;
a train the trainer five day programme;
a five day training programme for all enforcement officers;
quality control and monitoring.
Activity 3. The delivery of the first three training elements under activity two together with assisting the
MRSD MIA.
Activity 4. The delivery of an agreed number of training courses for other officers by the local trainers
note that the consultant will only be involved in this as part of activity five.
Activity 5. The definition of monitoring and evaluation procedures to monitor progress and to ensure
quality in the on-going delivery of local training. As part of this the consultant will attend an
agreed number of the local courses as an observer over a period of two years after the
completion of stage three.
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Section 3. Project organisation
The consortium of SAFEGE, NEA and CAC are fielding a very high calibre of experts for this project. Since
tendering some experts have restricted availability as a result of success in other tenders. Nevertheless, the
consortium will endeavour to ensure that international best practice can be tailored to meet local needs and
circumstances.
Trevor Hall, is Managing Director Road Safety Support, Secretary of United Kingdom Association of
Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Road Policing Enforcement Technology Committee, and the ACPO
National Safer Roads Partnerships Co-ordinator, United Kingdom
A former police officer with 30 years experience, 26 of which were dedicated to roads policing,
Trevor Hall has played a pivotal role in the development and deployment of safety cameras in the
UK since 1989.
During the 1990s Mr Hall became an advisor to the ACPO Traffic Enforcement Technology
committee and interfaced with all private sector industries over Home Office Type Approval issues.
In 1999 he established and managed one of the UKs first safety camera partnerships and in 2004
Trevor was appointed Secretary of the ACPO Roads Policing Enforcement Technology Committee
with a responsibility to provide day-to-day management of the Home Office Type Approval Process
on behalf of ACPO.
In 2007 Trevor set up and is now the Managing Director of Road Safety Support (RSS), which is a
not-for-profit organisation affiliated to ACPO. It was set up to provide a range of support to safer
roads partnerships, police and highway authorities in their casualty reduction efforts. In 2011 Trevor
was appointed as a special advisor to the US National Highway Safety Committee. With colleagues
from Road Safety Support he is also carrying out the retraining of the road police in Moldova.
The details of the proposed work plan are given in Annex 2. It is also proposed to convert 4 weeks on
international staff time to increase the time input for local experts. This is important so that the local experts
will be fully capable of continuing the work after the project has ended. Therefore it is proposed that the
team will increase total work from 120 weeks in the Tech-7 document to 136 weeks, of which 66 weeks will
be from international staff and 70 weeks from local experts. The consultant believes that this will produce a
high quality result for the beneficiaries.
Due to the fact that Michael Sims, who was designated as Team Leader, has become unavailable for a long
term assignment, it has been proposed to replace him with one of the other experts, Anthony Pearce.
Supported by the Deputy Team Leader he will be responsible for drafting and delivering all reports upon
review by SAFEGE. All other experts will duly carry out their tasks (training, analysis, data collection,
workshop organisation, etc.) per their specific competency as demonstrated in their respective CVs (Tech-5
and Tech-6).
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Section 4. Planned work programme
4.1 Task 1: Road Safety Strategy and Five-Year Action Plan Goals and
Objectives
4.1.1 National policy
The primary purpose of a road safety policy is to reduce the negative impact of road transport on life and
health of road users. Road safety policy underpins the development of the strategy and elevates road safety
to the political agenda. The policy elements require prioritising into a logical framework to achieve success.
The principal aim of Task 1 is to prepare an effective road safety strategy for Kyrgyz Republic which will
provide a policy framework within which the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic can act, and an associated
action plan setting out immediate activities over the next five years. This must be something with which all
stakeholders, both governmental and non-governmental, can feel ownership.
The national policy would normally feed into the national strategy but at this stage in the development of
road safety, the policy has not been framed. Therefore it is recommended that since the national policy,
when framed, may modify the strategy, the strategy under development in this project be viewed as an
interim strategy. That is, the national strategy will be flexible.
There are 4 factors that are critical to the success of a national strategy, these are:
political commitment from the head of state down through all Government departments and
agencies (related to a general lack of safety awareness in the population);
developing a sense of ownership amongst all stakeholders in the public and private sectors, without
which there will be no sense of commitment to improving road safety;
adequate funding to enable the successful implementation of a strategy; and
adequate human resources to conduct the safety programme.
These 3 factors are at the apex of the policy hierarchy (Figure 1).
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4.1.2 National strategy
Strategies require a vision. This is an ethical statement that is easily understood by everybody in order to
raise enthusiasm and promote commitment. A vision statement will be developed in the Kyrgyz Republic in
consultation with the stakeholders.
The vision becomes a reality through the development of a strategy. The strategy defines:
priorities;
methodology to solve the safety issues;
actions and tasks to implement the methodology.
The solution to road safety issues however, does not lie within a single scientific discipline nor within a single
agency or organisation. It requires a multi-disciplinary approach and a constructive and dedicated
partnership to succeed. Experience has shown that if this approach is not in place, road safety activities
become fragmented and organisations may even begin to compete for scarce resources. There must a
national will to create a safer road environment.
Commitment to a national policy and strategy by the stakeholders often declines since it is not viewed as
part of their core activities. Unless there is a lead agency with the power to compel other key stakeholders
to fulfil their commitments to road safety, the programme is likely to stall. A Road Safety Committee with its
Secretariat has been created, but this must be reinforced with an effective and efficient lead agency with the
full powers to achieve its task is essential. In short, high political will to combat death and injury on the
roads is essential if progress is to be made.
The question is also posed as to what is the legacy of a project such as this? Will there be a sustainable and
durable road safety programme? Will it attract dedicated professionals who are committed to long terms
success? The answer to this can be yes if the structures are put in place at the start. In addition, it is
desirable to foster the creation of a road safety non-governmental organisation to keep pressure on the
public sector to keep moving forward to cut deaths and injuries.
A five year strategy creates a short term vision at the outset. Ukraine has shown that it is possible to make a
significant impact on road safety in a short time road deaths and injuries have halved in three years
between 2008 and 2011. The development of a sustainable road safety programme will become part of the
cultural development of the nation. Sustainability means the capacity to endure and has the following aims:
Taking a sustainable approach can also improve the performance and profitability through lower costs,
better stakeholder relations and greater innovation. The sustainability of the Kyrgyz Republic Road Safety
Programme will be completely dependent upon the degree to which the process of improving road safety
engages all the stakeholders.
According to the Commission for Global Road Safety, a national road safety strategy and plan is more likely
to be effective if a systems approach is adopted. Key action areas for priority are as follows.
Having quality data is essential to improving road safety unless one understands what is going wrong, one
cannot fix the problems. An understanding of the distribution of injury between road user groups, locations,
and regions is necessary to raise the profile of road safety nationally and to prioritise activity. Robust data
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collection is needed. Road safety targets should be based on an understanding of likely future trends,
otherwise they may be too conservative or may not afford the appropriate level of challenge.
Using as much information as can be obtained at reasonable cost, the second key action is to set out the key
target areas for action. Throughout the CIS including in the Kyrgyz Republic, vulnerable road users suffer
the largest number of deaths and injuries, and are an obvious group for high priority action.
The third priority is to establish the necessary institutional arrangements for implementation of the strategy.
This includes ensuring an adequate capacity to implement and manage programmes, decisions on funding,
and changes to legislation. Highly effective institutional frameworks focus on prevention, base their actions
on scientific evidence, and work collaboratively across government departments, as well as with civil society
and the private sector.
The impact on road safety of Government decisions must always be borne in mind. For example, the
Jogorku Kenesh is considering a bill that would end the state technical inspection of most vehicles. If this is
approved, there will be a need to establish private enterprises that will undertake mandatory technical
inspections to a high and rising standard. These will have to be accredited and monitored, as they are in
other countries2.
It is necessary to establish where actions should best be targeted in the Kyrgyz Republic, but in general all
road safety programmes these should contain measures that:
4.1.7 Funding
New sources of income are needed. Funding for road safety need not be huge demonstration projects, for
example can be very low-cost and have a very high return on investment. Harnessing funding and activity
from the private sector and through international NGOs can make a valuable contribution to supplement
government funding, but it should be seen as an additional source rather than the primary source.
The first phase in the development of the national strategy is to obtain available crash and injury data which
is the first step in the road safety cycle (Figure 2).
2
For example in the UK MOT Testing (named after the Ministry of Transport which set this up in 1960) is managed by an Executive
Agency called VOSA (Vehicle Operator and Services Agency) whose Chief Executive is responsible directly to Parliament, and also to the
Secretary of State for Transport. There are now approximately 19,000 Testing Stations in Britain and 50,000 Ministry of Transport
accredited testers. The UK vehicle fleet is approximately 33 million vehicles.
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Figure 2. The road safety cycle
6 Status-quo 1
analysis
Evaluation
Definition of
priority areas
2
5
Implementation
Definition
of numerical
Definition of
targets
counter-
measures 3
4
Key at risk road user groups will be identified but this requires quality data for example, whether road
crash victims were wearing a seat belt or not is not currently recorded by the police, and it should be. Better
detailed information will enable a better focus on remedial solutions.
Prioritising remedial measures is not necessarily a case of targeting the largest victim group first. Factors
that need to be considered are:
The consultant will discuss the implications of priorities with the stakeholders in order to identify the most
appropriate measures. The strategy will focus on remedial measures and the human resource to implement
them. The Kyrgyz Republic will have, as a result of this programme, a number of trained experts who will be
able to develop and implement measures.
The road safety cycle is continuous. As data quality improves and priorities will change the safety
programme, and strategy will be adjusted to meet the needs of the nation.
Road safety requires long term commitment. Five year programmes are often linked to political terms in
office, but road safety should be viewed as a continuous process. Rather than fixed term programmes it is
suggested that the Kyrgyz Republic consider a flexible approach, particularly in the early stages of road
safety development, by assessing progress on the strategy at a biennial review and adapting the programme
accordingly.
There are many factors that will impact on the effectiveness of the strategy, and the rate at which these can
be developed will affect the rate at which road safety improves. These are:
These groups and factors will all develop at different rates, and, as such, the approach should not expect a
sudden fall in fatality rates in the first year. Above all, changing driver behaviour can take time. In this
respect the road safety vision must embrace a long term commitment. But dramatic improvements are
possible as has been seen in Ukraine.
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4.1.10 Target setting
Research shows that quantitative targets can lead to better programmes, a more effective use of scarce
resources and an improvement in road safety performance. Experience in Europe indicates that targets
assist in putting and keeping road safety on to the political agenda and are an efficient management tool in
defining responsibilities for different levels of administration and among other stakeholders.
top down targets are based on an idealistic objective with little prior consideration of how the
target is to be reached, whereas
bottom up targets are set on the basis of objective data.
Idealistic targets or aspirational targets (for example to reduce fatalities by 50% in ten years despite the
likelihood that it may not be achievable) may undermine the road safety programme when it is not realised.
The consultant will assist the Kyrgyz Republic in developing scientifically sound and objectively based targets
taking in to account the available financial and human resources.
Most targets are set at national level, usually for a ten-year period, but regional and local targets are also
set, especially where the direct influence of national government programmes is limited. In the Netherlands,
for example, regional targets adding up to the national target are required and local authorities are required
to prepare a plan comprising a general package of measures and to indicate budgets, staffing levels and
organization.
Researchers argue that targets should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time
bounded. An example of SMART targets from Sweden is illustrated in Figure 3.
Targets generated in discussion with the stakeholders in the Kyrgyz Republic will be filtered to see if they
meet the SMART criteria.
Once an organisation has analysed its mission, identified all its stakeholders, and defined its goals, it needs a
way to measure progress toward those goals. Key Performance Indicators are those measurements. Key
Performance Indicators are quantifiable measurements, agreed beforehand, that reflect the critical success
factors of an organisation.
For example, the impact of road safety education taught in schools could be assessed by the level of
knowledge and skill of the children, which ideally should lead to improved attitudes and behaviour. It could
also be measured by the number of training sessions undertaken or the number of books published.
However, these indicators are proxies for the prime indicator which is crash and casualty reduction. A proxy
is an indirect measure that bears a relationship to the goal that you are trying to achieve.
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Proxy indicators serve a purpose since they are gathered more readily that casualty data. Another proxy
indicator for improved safety on the highway is speed reduction. A 1 kph reduction in the average speed of
traffic can deliver a 3 per cent reduction in crashes and this is statistically robust. From this proxy, estimates
of crash reduction can be made due to speed control measures. Proxy indicators can help to calculate the
cost benefit of remedial measures.
The consultant will assist the Kyrgyz Republic in the development of a series of performance indicators and a
performance monitoring framework.
Successful interventions may be more likely to attract investment in road safety, than the fact that funding
has just been spent on quantitative activities (e.g. purchased 20 speed guns).
In this section 4.2 we set out the approach for the creation of the crash database for which the consultant
will strive. This is the ideal situation but this must be tailored to the Kyrgyz reality if it is to be effective.
Issues that must be taken into consideration include the following.
Existing systems
There are already existing systems in place. The Road Safety Secretariat was supplied in 2004 with Road
Accident Database Software (MAAP)3. The completion report of that project states:
The Technical Assistance has funded the purchase of office equipment including MAAP for
the initial establishment of the Secretariat. The ADB Road Safety Guidelines for the Asian
and Pacific Region, ADB Road Safety Audit for Road Projects and MAAP manual were
translated into Russian language and distributed in a road safety training seminar. The
training provided under the TA were extremely useful for the Ministry of Transport and
MRSD MIA by increasing their awareness of the work completed by the consultants and
which to be done by the Government. The MAAP site demonstration enabled the relevant
personnel to effectively use MAAP for data entry and database management.
The MRSD MIA informed the consultant that they also have a system supplied under an earlier aid project
(possibly MAAP also), but they are not using this system because the person who was trained for the
software has left the job, and now no one knows how to use this software. As a result the system is lying in
their computers unused, and they have reverted to using an old DOS based system (from the Soviet era)
with 60% manual information and only one form of report.
The Ministry of Health already has a database which is mainly used for annual statistical reports. Data is
collected in different regional polyclinics, and sent either electronically, or by the paper forms. This is known
as a CIF database based on the front end software Microsoft Access and at the back end it is SQL Server.
The registration office for vehicle and driving licences has two systems, one using an old program written in
Foxpro back in 1990 or 1992 and another system which is modern and using operating system such as
Windows XP and Windows Vista with modern database software (possibly Microsoft Access or SQL. They are
sharing this data with the Ministry of Interior Information Department via using a WAN (Wide Area Network
system) over the internet.
There is a central database existing in the country and that is kept by Ministry of Interior's Information
Department. The consultant has not yet seen this system, but has been told that this system does keep all
3
This was supplied under the ABD financed Technical Assistance project Improvement of the Road Sector Efficiency Project ref 3531-
KGZ. See http://www.adb.org/Documents/TACRs/KGZ/tacr-kgz-3531.pdf
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records of vehicles, accidents, injuries, individual registration, properties in country roads and etc in a central
database, which means it has links to hospital data also.
Ownership of data
The various stakeholders are all concerned about ownership of data and not letting others have access to
their data, but also want data from other participants in the system. Stakeholders seek privacy of their own
data which implies a replicated data management system which will not solve the actual problem of delayed
information sharing. Clearly this issue must be resolved if any progress is to be made.
Clearly various databases already exist so what is needed is to improve the trust level and have some proper
security firewalls on the systems to protect confidential information. Thus, each participant could let the
others have access to their database to enable relevant information to be shared.
Coordination
When a national database system has been set up, who should manage it? Coordination is the prime factor
in resolving this problem. The consultant considers that since there is a Road Safety Coordination Committee
and a Road Safety Secretariat it would be logical for the Secretariat to manage the database.
Having stated these words of caution, we will now look at the ideal situation.
Data is the cornerstone of all road safety activity and is essential for the diagnosis of the road crash problem
and for monitoring road safety efforts. It is important to identify what categories of road users are involved
in crashes, what manoeuvres and behaviour patterns lead to crashes and under what conditions crashes
occur, in order to focus on safety activities.
The data system requires a coding frame for data entry. The example in Figure 4 is a page of the UK crash
recording form known as STATS 19.
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Figure 4. Page 3 STATS 19 recording form.
The coding frame has a comprehensive 100 page instruction manual known as STATS 20 that explains the
requirement for each data entry. We understand that this has been translated into Russian by the earlier
project.
The consultant will review and advise the Kyrgyz Republic on the content of the existing crash recording
form and advise on suitable improvements if required. The consultant will advise on international good
practice and provide examples of other coding frames including the possibility for linking hospital trauma
data with crash records in the database.
Essential components of a crash/casualty data system are a standardised report form and a means of storing
and analysing the data. The UK Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has developed a Microcomputer
Accident Analysis Package (MAAP) to enable users to obtain good data for diagnosis, planning, evaluation
and research purposes and this is in use around the world. This was supplied to the Road Safety Secretariat
(and possibly the MRSD MIA) in 2004. Coded data can be interrogated via a query screen (Figure 5).
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Figure 5. MAAP query screen.
MAAP provides the crash investigator with the latest techniques in crash data storage and analysis and has
tools to identify and analyse problems with crashes, and for isolating common features in crashes.
MAAP's extensive facilities include accident, casualty and vehicle cross tabulations with graphical
presentation of cluster analysis and stick diagram analysis. Data handling within MAAP is based on an Access
or SQL Server database. Crashes can be displayed and analysed by location using scanned or vector maps of
the area concerned using MAAP's Geographical Information System (GIS). The mapping software will enable
the identification of black-spots (Figure 6).
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MAAP is a user configurable product. It has been designed for use by police forces, local authorities,
governments and highway network authorities. It is used as a tool for the storage and analysis of road traffic
accident data. Each copy of MAAP for Windows is configured for the individual needs of each customer, in
particular, adapting the programme to the customer's accident report form, maps and databases.
Sometimes the package is included as part of a road traffic safety project funded by an external agency, as
was done in the case of the Kyrgyz Republic in 2004 by ADB.
Since both MAAP and the Ministry of Health databases are based on an Access or SQL Server database, it
could be envisaged to produce locally software to link these systems to facilitate ease of transfer of data.
Also the consultant will investigate whether it would be possible to improve the ease of access for data in
order to facilitate use of the system.
The following logistical considerations that impact on the development of the data system will be explored,
such as:
Some of the detailed good practice guides are already available in Russian together with other helpful
material.
Knowledge of crash reconstruction will prove helpful to officers as it will assist in developing a focus on crash
contributory factors. Crash reconstruction, as a process commonly applied to motor-vehicle collisions,
determines pre-impact circumstances from physical evidence at the crash scene. A reconstruction is
essentially the application of physics to a collision scenario in order to determine things like vehicle speeds
and impact angles.
Vehicle inspections are another typical part of the crash investigation. These inspections will usually include
measuring the amount of damage and the damage profile of the vehicles. This information is useful when a
crash reconstruction is performed. The mechanical components of the vehicles such as brakes, steering,
tyres, suspension, lights, etc. may also be inspected and tested by a qualified person to determine if the
condition of these components was a contributory factor in the crash.
The more information obtained from the scene of a crash, the greater the chance of identifying effective
remedial solutions.
Road safety may impact upon other police activities, since there is a close linkage between traffic offences
and main stream criminal offences. Traffic officers have a dual role in the detection of both traffic and
mainstream criminal offences. Targeting serious traffic offenders could be used as a tool to help disrupt
mainstream crime, as certain groups of these offenders are highly likely to commit mainstream offences.
This role could be enhanced further through the use of intelligence derived from both road user crime and
mainstream crime.
There is a very close association between driving without a valid licence and other kinds of offending. The
flow of intelligence between traffic officers and other Criminal Investigation Department officers could be
improved, as it is likely that intelligence from road policing could impact on other policing and vice versa.
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4.3.4 Developing training
Road safety is not the responsibility of a single agency, it is the collective responsibility of all agencies
involved in the movement of goods and people, including the travellers themselves, effectively the entire
population of a country. It is a complex issue encompassing a diverse range of problems and solutions.
Roads are the most dangerous environment in which the majority of people will ever operate, yet they feel
relatively safe and society accepts a higher casualty rate than for other forms of transport or environment.
Road traffic accidents generally do not have a single cause. They result from a number of contributory
factors that combine in a way that leads to a road user failing to cope in a particular situation. Road safety
practice is a proactive attempt to identify the contributory factors that lead to road accidents, understand
how they inter-relate and how they can be modified and prevented, to produce a safer environment and
safer road users. Given the number of people to be reached, an effective road safety manager needs to act
as a catalyst, as well as a deliverer of road safety, inspiring and organising others to deliver road safety
activities.
Creating a working partnership of professionals and exchanging information in the development of remedial
safety measures can be very successful. It is even more effective when it is presided over by a senior
engineer or police officer. An examination of the current organisational structure responsible for safety in the
Kyrgyz Republic should lead to improved effectiveness.
After assessing the current operational capability and structures, the consultant will undertake an
assessment of the training and equipment needs and how these will be applied and monitored. There are
many standard manuals (e.g. Strategic Guidance for road safety professional published by RoSPA UK), that
may be suitable with some modification, to the situation in the Kyrgyz Republic.
The creation of a professional development programme, the number of courses, the course levels, the
curricula and associated training materials will be tailored to the needs.
The Road Safety Audit (RSA) is a systematic procedure that brings traffic safety
knowledge into the road planning and design process to prevent traffic crashes.
The RSA is a formal assessment of a road or a road project. This is usually
carried out by an independent qualified auditor or a team of auditors who report
on ways of minimising risks to road users.
The RSA concepts were originally developed and introduced in the UK in 1989.
The benefits of such systematic checking were soon recognised around the world
and many countries have since established their own similar systems. The most
active countries have been Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, and UK.
The RSA can be applied to all kinds of road projects - new road construction as
well as rehabilitation of existing roads. It can be applied to small and large
projects and used on rural as well as urban roads. The RSA can be applied to
specific operating and maintenance activities on existing roads as well as for
systematic assessment of road safety aspects on existing roads and road networks.
Road safety audits aim to identify potential road safety hazards arising from planned changes to the road
layout. Road safety audits are NOT technical checks against design standards or traffic regulations and do
not consider structural safety. In carrying out road safety audits, the audit team should consider road safety
issues for all road users and will ask two key questions of the scheme:
who could be hurt in a collision on this part of the road and how could that happen? and;
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what can be done to reduce the potential for that collision or to limit its consequences?
In order to answer these questions, the audit team must have experience of road safety engineering and a
background in understanding how collisions happen and how to reduce them. These auditors can be in-
house safety experts of the road authority or external specialist consultants.
RSAs are best done by road or traffic engineers who have had experience of undertaking hazardous location
improvement programs as this type of work often enables them to develop better insights into the range of
situations and circumstances that can lead to unsafe conditions. It is preferable that the RSA be undertaken
by members of the road safety unit within a roads department or be overseen by them with the work being
done by a suitably qualified domestic consultant.
There are 5 audit stages. The table below indicates the audit stage, what this stage requires, when to
undertake it, and the information required from it.
RSA procedures and their application will generally be the responsibility of the road safety unit where one
exists, however, in the early stages, before domestic consultants are trained, this may need to be carried out
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by an international consultant. Where a unit does not exist yet, the road authority is strongly advised to
establish a specialist unit within its traffic or planning section. Experience is a key factor in the development
of professional auditors. It takes a number of years to develop an Audit Team Leader and for this project the
level of auditors are as shown below.
Audit team minimum of 4 s' collision investigation r road safety engineering experience;
leader and
t least 10-da s formal collision investigation r road safely engineering training; and
Completion f t l st 5 road safety audits in the past 12 months as n audit team
leader r memb ; and
A minimum of 2 days continuing professional development in the fields of road safety
audit, collision investigation r road safety engineering in the past 12 months.
Audit team minimum of 1 collision investigation r road saf ty engineering experience; and
member t l st 10-days formal collision investigation r road safety engineering training; and
Completion of at least 5 road safety audits in the st 24 months s audit team
leader, member observer; and
A minimum of 2 days continuing professional development in the fields of road safety
audit, collision investigation road safety engineering in the past 12 months.
Audit Team An Audit Observer should have minimum of 2-days formal training in the fields of
Observer road safety audit road safety engineering.
It is central to the auditing procedures that no member of the audit team has had any connection with the
design of the measures being audited and should maintain this independence throughout the audit process.
The requirement for audit team independence does not preclude direct contact between the audit team and
design team. There may be times where there is clear benefit in allowing this to happen, for example in
clarifying the Audit Brief. The audit team is not permitted to go beyond making recommendations in broad
terms. In making detailed recommendations the audit team may be seen to be taking on design
responsibilities and hence, lose its independence from the design process.
The implementation of safety audit recommendations should produce safer road schemes and reduce the
need for remedial measures at a later date.
Defining a black-spot is not straightforward but generally is a term used in road safety management to
denote a place where road traffic crashes have historically been concentrated. It may have occurred for a
variety of reasons, such as a sharp drop or corner in a straight road, so that approaching traffic is concealed,
a hidden junction on a fast road, poor or concealed warning signs at a cross-road. Black-spots are effectively
crash clusters.
There are four basic strategies for crash reduction through the use of countermeasures. These are:
Single site (black-spot programmes) - the treatment of specific types of crash at a single location;
Mass action plans - the application of a known remedy to locations with a common crash problem;
Route action plans - the application of known remedies along a route with a high crash rate;
Area wide schemes - the application of various treatments over a wide area of town/city, e.g.
including traffic management and traffic calming (speed reducing devices).
The potential for crash reduction using simple low-cost remedial measures at single hazardous sites is
particularly high.
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Sites chosen for further investigation may not necessarily be selected on the number and severity of crashes
reported alone. Sites can be chosen on ranking or 'weighting' of crash severity or traffic flow. Traffic flow
based criteria requires a reliable and constant source of traffic data. Reliable, long term traffic counting
information is difficult and expensive-to acquire and depending on how it is used, bias the crash analysis
towards sites with low traffic flows.
Other factors reflected in crash weighting schemes can include type of road user injured, severity of injury
and crash costs. This approach may favour pedestrian crashes rather than vehicle-vehicle collisions. Length
of road may be a parameter in rural area considerations. However, in general, sites chosen for further study
are for practical reasons, often selected on totals and severity of crashes alone, without reference to any
measure of exposure such as traffic flow.
Given an agreed definition of a high crash site, then with accurate, adequate data and an analysis system it
is then possible to rank selected sites in terms of their crash history. The crash data system must
incorporate this capability.
Although the countermeasures used may need to be different to reflect the differing social, cultural and
economic circumstances of the country concerned, the systematic methods and techniques for identifying
black-spots and analysing the problem are directly transferable to developing economies.
The potential for crash reduction through low-cost, engineering measures at hazardous sites is particularly
high. Simple measures can significantly reduce problems at such sites. For example, the use of road signs
and markings to control traffic through complex intersections, or to provide safe waiting areas for turning
vehicles, can often result in substantial reductions in accidents. Yet, because of lack of funds and poor
maintenance capability known hazardous locations are often left untreated and remain causes of crashes.
Drivers are often presented with misleading information or no advance warning, sightlines may be
inadequate, pedestrians may not be catered for and crashes may occur because of a driver's inability to cope
with the particular combination of circumstances and environment.
By identifying and eliminating the features which make sites hazardous, engineers can improve road safety.
This often means reducing the complexity of an intersection or enabling manoeuvres to be made in stages.
Reducing the number of decisions drivers must make at any one time simplifies the driving task and helps
drivers to progress in safety and comfort with a minimum of conflict with other traffic and pedestrians.
Black-spot treatment is likely to be the most effective and straightforward in countries with no prior
experience of crash remedial work. Many highway authorities in industrialised countries began in this way
and only later moved on to mass and route action plans as experience built up.
Black-spot identification and treatment will be a key component the road safety strategy for the Kyrgyz
Republic.
23
4.4.3 Training and training materials
There are considerable numbers of publications available freely online and which are relevant to this project.
The consultant recommends that one of the project outputs for the Kyrgyz Republic would be a Road Safety
Resource CD containing technical publications, reports and internet links to key safety sites.
Safety audit is a specialist discipline and as has been shown requires a number of years to acquire sufficient
experience to be an audit team leader. It is recommended that this element of training is carried out by a
specialist organisation that can at the same time accredit those attending the courses. For example
companies like TMS, which is an independent company specialising in road safety and traffic management.
This company has previously worked in the Kyrgyz Republic.
24
Section 5. Inception Phase
5.1 Introduction
At the outset of the project the consultant has reviewed the previous reports on road safety in the Kyrgyz
Republic. The most recent major report, dating from April 2004, was the work carried out by BCEOM
financed by Asian Development Bank4. This included an analysis of the road safety institutional
arrangements, and of the road safety situation in 2004. It presented specific proposals for the development
of the road safety management system in Kyrgyz Republic. Particular attention was also given to the issue of
road safety funding and it provided a road map comprising four stages spelling out the immediate actions
required over the following months. Particular recommendations for continuing road safety work in future
ADB-financed projects were also presented.
It is worth reviewing what has changed in the 8 years since that report was written. On the positive side a
functioning Road Safety Secretariat was established in February 2004, and this has been coordinating road
safety work and the activity of various related agencies, as well as setting up the Road Safety Committee. A
lot of positive things have been initiated and completed during that period including the Governments
Resolution 721, which outlines the plans for activities from 2009 to 2011, including the Road Safety
Committees successful initiative to establish cameras on main roads in Bishkek worth 3 million KGS.
On the negative side, however, the number of crashes has increased by 46.9% and the number of killed and
seriously injured has increased by 58.7%.
Recent statements from the Government offer encouragement that there is a commitment to rectify the
negative influences on road safety, and so the project team is encouraged that the situation in the Kyrgyz
Republic will start to improve dramatically. Furthermore, all the unfulfilled recommendations of the BCEOM
report are in the work programme of the current project.
It is well known that the road safety situation in the Kyrgyz Republic requires serious attention. The
following are the statistics over the last decade.
Road deaths and injuries in the Kyrgyz Republic are high in comparison with the other UNECE states5 and
appear to be unduly severe (about 22 fatal crashes per 100 collisions with casualties, and 1 death for every
4
Asian Development Bank, TA No. 3531-KGZ, Technical Assistance for Improvement of the Road Sector Efficiency in the Kyrgyz
Republic, Final Report Volume 3 Road Safety, April 2004
5
It is not fair to compare the Kyrgyz Republic with the European Union because of the very different economic levels. Therefore
comparisons are made with the 56 countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
25
6.6 people injured, whereas in UK it is 1:65). This can result from several causes, most notable of which is
the under-reporting of minor crashes which decreases the usefulness of this important data. Given that the
police services are not readily available in all areas of the country, it is unlikely that people would wait for
them to turn up to a crash and as a result, minor crashes are not reported. With the introduction of
compulsory third party insurance, it could be made mandatory that when there is a minor accident not
involving injury, drivers should exchange information about their insurance policies, as happens in European
countries. Consequently these minor accidents would find their way into the data.
Other possible causes for the apparent severity of the crashes are:
emergency rescue services and emergency treatment of crash victims are not very efficient;
seat belts are not used by vehicle occupants; and
44% of crashes involve hitting a pedestrian who, as an unprotected road user, always suffers more
severely in a crash.
It is difficult to explain the dip in the numbers in 2008. Many countries find that road deaths and GDP
growth are linked when people feel poorer they drive less. Plotting GDP (in $ billion) and the road deaths
(in thousands) the results for the last decade are as follows:
26
In this case, a fall in GDP in 2008 is not the explanation, and it seems more likely that the fall in the number
of crashes and deaths reflects a change in the data collection. In terms of deaths per million population, this
is significantly worse than the average in the UN Economic Commission for Europe area:
At 2,190 deaths per million vehicles the road safety problem in the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the worst in the
world. The following graph shows comparative data for 2009 for the UNECE countries (the latest year for
which comparative data is available it should be noted that the Kyrgyz figure has fallen by 31% since
2009).
In terms of the types of crashes, the data for 2009, 2010 and 2011 are as follows:
2011
2009 2010
crashes crashes % of total Killed as %age
Total Killed Injured
crashes of crashes
Total crashes 4248 4402 4813 1018 6697 21.2%
Hitting a pedestrian 2001 1996 2118 352 1911 44.0% 16.6%
Collision 1241 1262 1492 291 2900 31.0% 19.5%
Rollover 456 489 515 214 845 10.7% 41.6%
Hitting an obstruction 360 432 428 118 704 8.9% 27.5%
Hitting on stationary vehicles 58 87 87 27 151 1.8% 31.2%
Hitting a cyclist 65 56 63 7 61 1.3% 11.2%
Hitting an animal 11 21 19 2 32 0.4% 10.4%
27
The primary victims of crashes in the Kyrgyz Republic are pedestrians, who account for 44% of crashes and
34.5% of deaths, proportions which are among the highest in UNECE area. These figures suggest that
pedestrian crashes are not only located on urban roads, but are also on the high traffic roads. Efforts at
improving road safety should address pedestrian safety as a priority and attention should be particularly
given to speed control in populated areas. In urban areas, low public lighting and absence of clearly marked
pedestrian crossing facilities on the major roads is a major problem throughout the CIS countries.
It is worth noting that the data on people not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash is not recorded.
Research suggests that 61% of people killed in road crashes whilst not wearing a seat belt would have
survived if they had been wearing a seat belt. Seat-belts are most effective in roll-over crashes and frontal
collisions, and in lower speed crashes6. It is therefore interesting to see the high percentage of deaths that
occurred in crashes involving rollovers, hitting an obstruction or a stationary vehicle this suggests that the
very large majority of vehicle occupants were not wearing a seat belt.
"Single vehicle" crashes (rollovers, crash against an obstacle or a parked vehicle) account for about 21% of
all crashes and generate a 41% of fatalities, which indicates a high severity level. Almost two-thirds of the
non-pedestrian fatalities are caused by single-vehicle crashes. These may be related to road and roadside
design and conditions, weather conditions (visibility, slippery road surface), speeding and/or, possibly, drink
driving.
Among the offences identified by the police as playing a part in crashes, speeding ranks high. Policies to
monitor and control speeds, both on intercity roads and in urban areas, need to be implemented, all the
more on sections of roads where rehabilitation is taking place, which may result in higher speeds if care is
not taken to avoid this through road design and equipment.
Because of the geography of the country it is not surprising that road safety problems vary by region:
6
Source: World report on road traffic injury prevention. WHO, 2004.
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/road_traffic/world_report/en/index.html
28
This indicates that there is a particular road safety problem in Chuy oblast, Issyk-Kul oblast and Talas oblast
where not only is the rate of road deaths per million population very high, but also the severity of crashes is
particularly bad. Clearly attention needs to be paid to the causes of this, and steps taken to focus attention
on improving road safety in these areas.
This brief overview indicates the multiplicity of road safety problems that will be addressed by this project.
In 2003 the United Nations Secretary-General issued a report on road safety7 that stated:
Globally, estimates suggest that the economic costs of road traffic injuries amount to $518 billion
per annum. In developing countries, the costs are estimated to be $100 billion, twice the annual
amount of development assistance to developing countries. These costs include direct medical costs,
as well as indirect and longer-term costs. The economic impact of road traffic injuries is especially
damaging, particularly for countries struggling with poverty alleviation and the overall challenges of
development, because economically active age groups are the most vulnerable to such injuries.
60% of the 1 million deaths in 2003 occurred in low-middle and low income countries. $100 billion for 60%
implies an average cost per death of $170,000.
7
Global road safety crisis, report of the UN Secretary General, A/58/228 dated 7 August 2003
29
The Asian Development Bank has published guidelines on how to cost road crashes8. Based on these
guidelines the consultant has made the following estimate of the cost of road crashes in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Allowing for under-reporting of crashes it may be safely assumed that the cost to the Kyrgyz economy in
2011 was around $250 million or 4.3% of GDP13. Not investing in good road safety is bad economics as well
as a disaster for society.
Of the crashes caused by driver fault in 2011, the following were the main causes:
Speeding 39.35%
Violation of the rules of manoeuvring 18.7%
Violation of overtaking rules 15.2%
Driving a vehicle while intoxicated 9.1%
Not complying with the traffic rules 8.0%
Failure to comply with road signs 6.9%
Not keeping a distance between vehicles 4.2%
Violation of right of way for pedestrian crossings 4.0%
Fatigue and asleep at the wheel 1.9%
Failure to give way to vehicles having priority 0.7%
This is typical of the situation in many CIS countries, and globally speeding accounts for 30% of the road
deaths. Seat belt wearing is not included in the statistics and this should be included.
8
Road Crash Costing, Asian Development Bank, Road Safety Guidelines 4.14. http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Road-Safety-
Guidelines/chap4-14.pdf
9
In 2011 the average monthly wage was 8 908 KGS. http://eng.24.kg/business/2012/01/17/22457.html
10
Internationally the average age of the people killed in road crashes is 28-30 implying a loss of 30+ years of productivity. The age
profile of the Kyrgyz Republic is younger, suggesting that 35 years of lost productivity is an appropriate figure.
11
The vehicle fleet is old, and so a low average cost of $4,000 is used.
12
Figures for medical costs, administration costs and pain grief and suffering taken based on Road Crash Costing, Asian Development
Bank, Road Safety Guidelines 4.14
13
Nominal GDP in 2011 was 273.1078 billion KGS = $5.861 billion. URL: http://eng.24.kg/business/2012/01/17/22458.html
30
5.3.2 Drink driving
It can be readily seen that the problem of drink driving is particularly severe in Talas oblast, Osh oblast and
in Issyk-Kul. This should be addressed through focused local campaigns.
The road system in the Kyrgyz Republic provides to 95% of all passenger and freight traffic. The road
network is 34 000 km, including 18 810 km of public roads and 15 190 km of roads in cities, villages, and on
agricultural and industrial enterprises. 53% of the network is asphalt-concrete and 38% black gravel road
and 9% earth roads.
31
A survey of 4 300 km of roads revealed that two-thirds were in very bad condition and 20% are in failed and
have to be rebuilt. This has an obvious deleterious effect on road safety. The following table gives the
number of accidents in each oblast attributed to bad road conditions:
Only drastic and urgent measures can stop the further destruction of the road network. The priority is being
given to rehabilitation of the international transport corridors.
From 2 242 km of the priority projects on international highways, 713 km (32%) have been rehabilitated
and on 753 km of roads (34%) rehabilitation is in progress with financial assistance of $428.9 million (soft
loans from DB, IDB, Eximbank of the Peoples Republic of China, etc.) and with grants of 8.6 million (from
the European Union), $67.6 million (from DB).
Since the start of the rehabilitation of the international transport corridors, not enough attention has been
given to the repair of the internal network which connects the centres of population. Negligible amounts of
repair and maintenance have been carried out because of lack of finance which has brought the condition of
the internal road network to a critical point. The long term figure for road maintenance for countries with
road funds is typically 1.5% of GDP. Nevertheless, the Kyrgyz Republic has a low road density (0.17 km/km2,
compared with PR China at 0.4 km/km2) so the consultant has used a figure of 1% of GDP as the target
level for road maintenance. On this basis it would mean that the expenditure on maintaining road
infrastructure (as opposed to building new roads) should be around 2.8 billion KGS.
Road budget
Total Government Road 1% of Under-
in relation to GDP
Years budget maintenance GDP spend
Government ($bn)
(mln KGS) (mln KGS) (mln_KGS) (mln KGS)
budget
2005 16 813.4 185.2 1.1% 2.460 1 132 946
2006 20 478.9 410.2 2.0% 2.834 1 304 894
2007 34 136.7 1 058.8 3.1% 3.803 1 749 690
2008 44 698.6 1 564.5 3.5% 5.140 2 364 800
2009 48 105.8 1 655.1 3.4% 4.690 2 157 502
2010 51 474.7 1 552.5 3.0% 4.616 2 123 571
2011 61 082.2 1 103.4 1.8% 5.861 2 696 1 593
Road maintenance backlog over 7 years (mlm KGS) 5 996
The deterioration of the internal road system seriously limits development of the countrys economy. The
MoTC must take action to maintain the road surface, and the consultant understands that in 2011 it was
decided to carry out the following works annually:
32
restore 900 km of deteriorated roads with asphalt-concrete covering;
to make major repairs of not less than 100 km of roads;
provide financing up to 250 million KGS for the purchase of road-building equipment.
The level of financing for repair and the maintenance of roads should remain at level not less than 3 billion
KGS. It must be borne in mind that loans, even soft loans, need to be paid back, and in some CIS countries
the road budget has been entirely consumed by loan repayments.
Of 1 807 settlements in the country 1 646 (91.1%) are served by bus service, and the other 161 settlements
have no passenger communications. A considerable proportion of the rural settlements are not provided with
an all-weather road surface. The World Bank, in turning the Millennium Development Goals into practical
measures, identified that every village should be within 2 km of a road that is available all year round. It is
estimated that one billion rural dwellers in developing countries do not have all-season access to main road
networks14. This is important because settlements that do not have a connection to a good road are poorer,
less healthy, less well educated, and with poorer services than those with access to a road. A major
programme is needed in order to provide all-weather access to all villages.
The currently used traffic lights are generally obsolete, and some of them are either dismantled or
inoperative. Of the 420 traffic lights made in the Kyrgyz Republic up to 1990, 41 are
inoperable, dismantled and in need of major repairs. Of the 43 000 installed road signs more than 34 000
(80%) require replacement.
The issue of the upgrading of traffic control devices, traffic lights, equipment and enforcement cameras have
been twice reviewed by the traffic police. It was decided in 2009 to spend 3.7 million KGS for this work and
the Ministry of Finance allocated funds for their gradual modernization but this was postponed as a result of
the events of April 2010. It is important with the implementation of projects for the rehabilitation of roads
that traffic control must keep pace with the rehabilitation of roads in the country.
The consultant notes that the Government has announced15 that it intends to make proposals on the
implementation of surveillance systems on the roads of national importance. The consultant would be
pleased to provide operational recommendations or solutions based on international good practice on this
issue.
The road transport sector can have a strong influence on road safety in a country. If the quality of vehicles
is very good, fewer accidents will occur due to technical failures. If professional drivers are properly trained,
the chance of accidents as a result of drink driving or speeding will be lower. If road transport companies
have actively implemented a road safety policy/code of conduct, the smaller the chance that an accident will
occur because of driver fatigue after too many hours of driving. If a country accedes to and implements the
UNECE road transport and road safety agreements, safety standards will improve and road safety statistics
may be expected to improve as well.
14
World Bank Technical Paper No 436, Design and Appraisal of Rural Transport Infrastructure Ensuring Basic Access for Rural
Communities, Jerry Lebo and Dieter Schelling, April 2001
15
The new Government programme "The stability and decent life" has been developed into an action plan for 100 days to implement
this Government programme. .
33
Unfortunately none of the above is valid for the Kyrgyz Republic. The quality of the vehicles is very low and
the sector does not follow international developments (e.g. implementation of the digital tachograph). In the
meantime the sector has faced strong competition from Chinese road freight operators as a result of the
improved road connections with that country. In the table below one can see the growth of Chinese trucks
coming into the Kyrgyz Republic.
According to some statements, these Chinese trucks are frequently overloaded, transporting up to 90 tons of
goods where the limit according to Kyrgyz legislation is 44 tons16. This leads to road deterioration and
unsafe traffic conditions.
As a country the Kyrgyz Republic should accede to UNECE transport agreements. Both the EU Project on the
Coordination of National Transport Policies17 in 2007 and the TRACECA Regional Road Safety Action Plan
identified the international agreements that can improve road safety to which the Kyrgyz Republic had not
become a contracting party:
1. European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road (ADR)
1957
2. European Agreement concerning the work of crews of vehicles engaged in international road
transport (AETR) 1970
3. European Agreement on main international traffic arteries (AGR) 1975
4. Agreement concerning the adoption of uniform conditions for periodical technical inspections of
wheeled vehicles and the reciprocal recognition of such inspections 1997
The Kyrgyz Republic has only ratified two of the UNECE conventions: Convention on Road Traffic 1968 and
Convention on Road Signs and Signals 1968, but the implementation of these agreements leaves much room
for improvement according to the 2011 road safety assessment of the TRACECA LTSS project.
One issue that should not be neglected is the lack of safe and secure parking areas in the Kyrgyz Republic.
As shown in Figure 7 below, trucks now have to park on or close to the road which may lead to dangerous
traffic situations. New road construction projects should therefore include these parking areas, based on a
country wide assessment of their future locations.
16
Times of Central Asia, 12 January 2012
17
EuropeAid/122076/C/SER/Multi
34
Figure 7. Typical truck parking area
The Road Fund was established in by the law On the Road Fund in January 1999, and according to the law
its sources of income are:
The consultant has been unable to obtain data on the amount of revenue these sources represent, but it is
clear that MoTC has not been receiving the funds that it should have received. The Government cannot hope
to have safe roads if it does not fund the road sector properly. The Government should abide by its
obligations under the Road Fund Law and not divert funds to other uses.
In addition, national road safety measures (as against single road construction project contents) need to be
properly funded. The Road Fund has never been an effective funding instrument, and there can be no
certainty at all that it will soon become one. Furthermore, new construction and emergency repairs (e.g.
after flooding) are likely to be a constant heavy drain on any funds made available for road works. Other
possible sources of finance, that might be reliably ring-fenced for use in national road safety initiatives
include:
A percentage of third party insurance premium paid annually by motorists (or a fixed sum added to
the premium). A pre-condition is that third-party insurance becomes mandatory for all motor-vehicle
owners the consultant understands that this is now being introduced. A possible solution in the
Kyrgyz Republic would be to exchange part of the sales tax on insurance fees agreed with the State
35
(which is of 15% in total) against a percentage of premium to be directly allocated to road safety.
Apart of the profit from vehicle inspection fees paid periodically by vehicle owners to the newly
authorised vehicle inspectors (once the bill On making amendments and addenda to the Law of KR
on Common Technical Regulations of vehicle safety becomes law.
A percentage of fines for offences against the critical road safety rules (speeding, drinking-and-
driving, non-use of seat-belt, etc.). The level of fines is far too low, even given the low GDP/capita
of the country for example a fine of 200-500 KGS for not wearing a seat belt has no effect in
changing behaviour, which is particularly unfortunate when a very large number of lives could be
saved if vehicle occupants wore seat belts.
Funds raised from private enterprises, especially transport firms and large enterprises that generate
a lot of traffic or own a large vehicle fleet.
Funds raised from the public, directly or through NGOs.
Grants from international organisations, international donors or banks (this will not be sustainable,
but may be used for seed money, training, or investments).
It is to be noted that taxes on insurance premiums and profits from vehicle inspection fees represent only
very small sums of money for an individual to pay, but it is a growing source of income as the numbers of
vehicles on the roads are increasing, and it is revolving as insurance and vehicle inspection have to be paid
for periodically. Also, the financing system for road safety management needs to be thought of in the long
term (for example, a periodical procedure of re-assessment of fixed fees or taxes is needed to prevent
erosion in time).
The important issue of funding for national road safety improvement will be discussed with responsible
officials and stakeholders throughout the project.
The consultant has observed that drivers in the Kyrgyz Republic are ill-disciplined and frequently show no
respect for the police and do not fear enforcement of the law. Politicians, lawyers, and important business
people are immune because they can make the police officers life very difficult if they were to be punished.
This leads to arrogant, unreasonable and dangerous driving because the driver knows he cannot be touched
by the police. In this situation there is no equality or justice and this leads to very bad and dangerous
driving. The Government must make it clear that no one, not even ministers, is above the law.
The consultant is pleased to note the Government announcement 18 that it plans to develop and adopt
regulations to establish surveillance centres within the structure of police in Bishkek police department and
in Osh (through mechanisms of public-private partnership). The consultant has considerable expertise in
PPPs and will be happy to assist the Government in this area.
5.3.9 Policing
The MRSD MIA is central to the management of road safety in the Kyrgyz Republic since it is responsible for:
18
The new Government programme "The stability and decent life" has been developed into an action plan for 100 days to implement
this Government programme. ..
36
The consultant has observed that the MRSD MIA service is inadequately resourced, poorly equipped, and the
staff are not well paid. These factors combined with the lack of driver discipline discussed above lead
inevitably to a very unsatisfactory road environment. Task 3 of the current project is designed to improve
radically the training and resources of the road policing services. In particular, Task 3 Activity 1 of the
current projects Terms of Reference includes assessing, the equipment and materials needed by the MRSD
MIA and the State Transport Inspection under the MoTC and prepare a schedule and specifications of
agreed items to be purchased under the project and from current MRSD MIA and the State Transport
Inspections budgets.
It is worth noting that on 27 January 2012 the Minister of Finance, Akylbek Zhaparov stated that the
Government will raise money to finance reforming the law enforcement agencies. He commented that the
salary of policemen is the smallest in the country. He stated that the Government is considering an increase
of financing for law enforcement agencies.
With a comprehensive level of enforcement of traffic laws with no corruption this would be at least self-
financing. There are 782 traffic police officers whose monthly salary is understood to be 10 000 KGS.
Doubling police pay would therefore cost around 93.84 million KGS (just over $2 million). Making the taking
or offering of a bribe an offence with a prison sentence should very considerably increase the Governments
revenue from penalties, and therefore this seems to be good sense economically. This issue should be
investigated further.
Dealing with corruption19 must be part of a social contract between MRSD MIA and society. Looking at the
experience of CIS countries in tackling police corruption there are two alternatives:
some have suggested closing the MRSD MIA and rebuilding the service from scratch as was done in
Georgia;
raising police pay so that they have a decent salary, retraining them, and making taking or offering
a bribe a serious offence with a prison sentence, as is being done in Moldova.
The current projects Terms of Reference focuses on improving the equipment and training of the police
service rather than rebuilding it from scratch, and it is proposed to use the same police training team that is
working in Moldova20.
Creating more objective and effective enforcement may include the introduction of automated systems of
control (speed cameras, red light cameras etc) and the recording of accidents (which will be tackled by the
current project). The Governments 100 Days Action programme includes making proposals on the
implementation of surveillance systems on the roads of national importance which would certainly help the
situation. Another important action will be improved certification of driving schools, which will bring an
improvement in new drivers training.
Beyond the Terms of Reference there is a need to review and study all aspects of MRSD MIA training in all
areas of traffic management including:
With MRSD MIA collaboration these issues will also be addressed by this project.
19
According the latest report of Transparency International (TI) Kyrgyzstan is still one of the most corrupted countries in the world. The
report says Kyrgyzstan shares 164th place of 182 countries in the corruption rating (alongside Guinea, Yemen and Cambodia) just like it
was in 2010. The Republic has 2.1 points and it had 2 points in 2010. This expert rating of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)
defines corruption level from 0 (high level of corruption) to 10 (corrupted officials are almost absent). Countries with the rating below 3
are in the zone of very high corruption.
20
For further information see Road Safety Enforcement and Traffic Policing in Moldova, a report published by FIA Foundation for the
Automobile and Society, and the Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport, with the support of the World Bank.
37
5.3.10 Crash investigation, plotting of accidents and data analysis
Data is the cornerstone of all road safety activity and is essential for the diagnosis of the road crash problem
and for monitoring road safety efforts. It is important to identify what categories of road users are involved
in crashes, what manoeuvres and behaviour patterns lead to crashes and under what conditions crashes
occur, in order to focus on safety activities.
Accident research involves both macro and micro studies with respect to the casualty population. Macro
studies record and investigate road accidents at a national and international level, whereas micro studies
utilise in-depth and forensic investigation techniques to examine a much smaller number of crashes, but to a
much greater level of detail. To tackle successfully the future road casualty problem, it is necessary to
combine the macro and micro data in order to formulate strategies properly.
Macro
The level of detail recorded by macro or national road casualty reporting systems is normally sufficient to
describe the overall characteristics of the accident and the injured casualty population. However, due to the
huge number of incidents that occur, it is not practical for much more than an overview of the key facts to
be documented. The generic details of injury traffic crashes are typically collected by national police forces
under the direction of their governments. Statistically the crash information is structured to describe the
collision, vehicle and casualty details. This is the primary source of data used to monitor trends over time
and to prioritise road user types by their casualty frequency both with respect to the number of casualties
and the distribution of their injury severity outcomes.
Micro
In order to develop strategies and countermeasures which reduce the numbers of deaths and injuries on the
road, a more detailed understanding of the nature and characteristics of the crashes than is routinely
recorded at the national (macro) level is often required. So called in-depth or micro accident studies typically
investigate a relatively small number of traffic crashes in a great amount of detail. For many years, multi-
disciplinary teams of scientists, engineers, trauma specialists and health experts have all collaborated to
investigate road traffic crashes to understand more about their causes and the causes and mechanisms of
the resulting injuries.
The consultant understands that the Kyrgyz Republic does not have a comprehensive set of traffic
engineering practices or centres of excellence on traffic engineering. This is demonstrated by the following
points.
Speed limits prescribed do not correspond to the requirements of the road environment the Soviet
system of 60 kph in any kind of settlement, 90 kph on single carriageway roads outside settlements
and 120 kph on dual carriageway roads does not necessarily reflect the speeds appropriate for the
road conditions.
Parking management does not exist. Vehicles are commonly parked on pedestrian footpaths as well
as on traffic islands, near intersections and where there are parking restrictions.
Even when parking bays are permissible, the mode of parking is not generally defined i.e. whether
parallel, perpendicular or angular.
Un-controlled pedestrian crossings at many places on high speed corridors were not in line with
good practice. Such crossings pose a great threat to pedestrians particular when the road markings
have worn off and the warning signs are badly placed.
38
Road signs and signals are frequently not in accordance with the Convention on Road Signs and
Signals, 1968, to which the Kyrgyz Republic is a party21:
- there is a multiplicity of different styles of road signs, which creates confusion for the driver;
- the positioning and number of signs installed at one junction should be the minimum
necessary to inform the driver what is required;
- there is incorrect use of signs;
- there are non-standard signs (positioning, reflectivity, size of signage and symbols) were
observed;
- problems with the positioning of signals and their visibility have been observed.
At many intersections/junctions there are conflicting situations between pedestrians, trolley buses
and other vehicular traffic.
Many warning signs to give early information of approaching junctions and intersections are missing.
These are crucial, particularly during winter months when it is snowing, or when snow becomes
accumulated at junctions, making them non-visible.
Bus stop arrangements are often ad-hoc,
Rectifying signage problems is an important and very low cost measure for improving road safety.
Task 4 of the current project will start the rectification of a number of these problems through the
preparation of road safety audit guidelines and guidelines for black spot identification and treatment. There
is a need for capacity building for relevant officials to understand the importance of traffic engineering
centres.
The setting up of appropriate procedures is an essential tool for improving the safety of road infrastructure.
Road safety impact assessments demonstrate, on a strategic level, the implications for road safety of
different planning alternatives of an infrastructure project. They play an important role when routes are
being selected. Road safety audits should identify, in a detailed way, unsafe features of a road infrastructure
project.
The safety performance of existing roads should be raised by targeting investments to the road sections with
the highest accident concentration and/or the highest accident reduction potential. To be able to adapt their
behaviour and increase compliance with traffic rules, in particular speed limits, drivers should be made
aware of road sections with a high accident concentration.
Network safety ranking has a high potential immediately after its implementation. Once road sections with a
high accident concentration have been treated and remedial measures have been taken, safety inspections
as a preventive measure should assume a more important role. Regular inspections are an essential tool for
preventing possible dangers for all road users, including vulnerable users. Regular inspections should also be
carried out during road works.
The current project aims to align major Kyrgyz road infrastructure with the international good practice. For
new road projects road safety impact assessments should be carried out at the initial planning stage and
before the infrastructure design is approved. The impact assessment should indicate the road safety
considerations which contribute to the choice of the proposed solution. It should further provide all relevant
information necessary for a cost-benefit analysis of the different options assessed. Road safety audits should
form an integral part of the design process of the infrastructure project at the stage of draft design, detailed
design, pre-opening and early operation.
21
Apart from the Convention on Road Signs & Signals, 1968, the Kyrgyz Republic has also ratified the Supplement to the 1968
Convention on Road Traffic, 1971, and the Supplement to the 1968 Convention on Road Signs & Signals, 1971.
39
There are currently 464 878 vehicles of which 83% are passenger cars, 12% are trucks and 5% are buses
and minibuses. The vehicle fleet is increasing at an annual average rate of 6.5%. In ten years the fleet has
increased by 77%. There are around 100,000 cars of Soviet construction built in the 1990s or before. Over
the last 10 years the proportion of trucks that are over 10 years old has increased from 28% to 41%, and
buses over 10 years old from 30% to 48%. It is widely accepted that older vehicles are less safe.
All vehicles are required to pass state technical inspection. All trucks, cars and special cars, vans, pick-ups on
their base, motorcycles (including scooters and cycle-cars), trailers and semitrailers, which are permanently
or temporarily registered shall be inspected once a year. Vehicles used to transport passengers (buses,
trolley buses, cars, taxis and trucks, equipped for the systematic transport of people), regardless of
ownership, as well as specialized vehicles for the transportation of dangerous goods shall be inspected twice
a year.
On 29 December 2011 Jogorku Kenesh gave first reading to a bill proposed to conduct a mandatory
inspection of the vehicles carrying dangerous good and passengers in accredited diagnostic centres. This
initiative would end the technical inspection of all other vehicles which is likely to endanger lives if more
unsafe vehicles are allowed on the roads. If this is approved, there will be a need to establish private
enterprises that will undertake mandatory technical inspections to a high and rising standard. These will
have to be accredited and monitored, as they are in other countries.
The system of driver training and assessment needs to be reviewed and probably remodelled. Driver training
and assessment systems at all levels are complex and have a direct linkage to:
legislation
road environment
driver and road user behaviour
vehicle maintenance and control.
Generally worldwide these issues are the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport which should have a
continuous system of research leading to the updating of the rules. In the United Kingdom, for example, the
Department for Transport has an entire section which deals with the subject - the Driver Standard Agency
(DSA) deals with certification of instructors, training schools, curricula etc.
The administration of the driving licence system is not effective because it is subject to corruption at all
levels. Therefore there is a need to review current practice of driver training at all levels tools and systems
of training and assessment and the audit of driving institutions. Based upon this review the following should
be considered:
22
Source: EU Twinning Project on road safety UA 07/PCA/TP/09
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Legislation and standards
1. Traffic legislation needs to be updated based upon the needs of traffic efficiency and safety.
2. Standards of Traffic Control Devices and Road Geometrics should be produced similar to the "Manual
of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)"
3. Both legislation and standards should take into consideration the:
UN Convention on Road Traffic 1949/68
UN Convention on Road Signs and Signals
Consolidated resolutions on Road Traffic Signs and Signals 2010
4. Sign the following UN conventions and fully implement their provisions LTSS:
European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road (ADR)
1957
Vehicles Regulations Agreement 1958
European Agreement concerning the work of crews of vehicles engaged in international road
transport (AETR) 1970
European Agreement on main international traffic arteries (AGR) 1975
Agreement concerning the adoption of uniform conditions for periodical technical inspections of
wheeled vehicles and the reciprocal recognition of such inspections 1997
5. Establish a mandatory road user insurance scheme.
Safer infrastructure
6. Implement a programme to define routes for freight / through traffic, avoiding residential areas. LTSS
7. Require local road authorities to report annually on cost-effective measures taken to improve safety
of their roads. LTSS
8. Implement a programme to provide safe and secure off-road parking for trucks. LTSS
9. A major programme is needed in order to provide all-weather access to all villages.
10. It is important with the implementation of projects for the rehabilitation of roads that traffic control
must keep pace with the rehabilitation of roads in the country.
Finance
11. The level of financing repair and the maintenance of roads should remain at level not less than 3
billion KGS.
12. The Government should abide by its obligations under the Road Fund Law and not divert funds to
other uses. Also road safety measures need to be properly funded.
13. Establish a road safety fund and/or other means to ensure finances are sufficient and sustainable to
maintain improvements to road safety over the long term LTSS.
Safer vehicles
14. Ensure that all vehicles are tested regularly to check they conform to safety standards. LTSS
15. Ensure that vehicles used to transport dangerous goods meet the standards with respect to all
technical requirements. LTSS
16. Ensure that motor vehicle safety regulations as recognised internationally are applied with respect to
all vehicles. LTSS
17. At a national level the issue of vehicle type certification needs to be addressed. The methods of
vehicle inspection need to be reassessed.
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41
Safer road users
18. Establish and enforce legislation to cover the following road safety risk factors LTSS:
Seat Belts (front and rear)
Child restraints
Mobile phone use
Speed
Drink
Drugs
Motorcycle helmets
19. Inform the public about traffic law through public awareness campaigns and the driver training
process. LTSS
20. There must be one single department that specialises in driver training and assessment.
21. Special operating procedures are required for certification of driver training schools.
22. Officers giving driver licenses as well as instructors of motor driving schools must undergo
specialized training and certification.
23. The implementation of traffic legislation must be strictly adhered to openly, fairly and without
corruption.
24. The methods of training should always follow developments in the field of education and applied
psychology, and therefore be adjusted to the requirements of the moment and of local conditions.
25. Liaison meetings between representatives of driving schools, instructors and the authorities
responsible for organizing driving tests should be encouraged so as to improve the standards of
tuition.
26. The Government should endeavour to supplement training whenever possible by measures taking
into account current educational trends, such as, for example, computer training modules and the
use of driving simulators.
27. The Government should take all appropriate steps to ensure that tuition in the driving of motor
vehicles is given as far as possible in accordance with the minimum conditions set standards.
28. Professional tuition should be given only by instructors approved by the competent national
authority.
29. Encourage road transport operators and Government Ministries and Departments to adopt
appropriate health and safety measures with respect to their drivers. LTSS
30. Road safety awareness programmes should be brought to rural areas especially in villages close to
major roads.
31. Greater emphasis should be placed on using safety devices:
helmets and seat belts.
be visible, be seen during dark hours.
drive within safe speed limits.
32. Efforts at improving road safety should address pedestrian safety as a priority and attention should
be particularly given to speed control in populated areas.
33. Particular attention needs to be given to Chuy oblast, Issyk-Kul oblast and Talas oblast where not
only is the rate of road deaths per million population very high, but also the severity of crashes is
particularly bad.
34. Problem of drink driving is particularly severe in Talas oblast, Osh oblast and in Issyk-Kul. This
should be addressed through focused local campaigns.
Traffic management
39. Focus needs to be placed on the development of a comprehensive traffic management system which
should deal with:
optimising road use.
providing safety in road use
40. Traffic management needs to be defined with clear roles and responsibilities of the different traffic
management agencies.
41. In line with the recommendations of the United Nations there should be one lead agency on road
safety the Coordination Council should be reconstituted and be given a string mandate.
Traffic engineering
42. Science of traffic engineering was adopted in the US/UK in 1930. Today traffic engineering centres
exist in most cities and highways of the developed world. The Kyrgyz Republic needs to create traffic
engineering centres under the road maintenance agencies to be coordinated with traffic police.
43. Road safety impact assessments should be carried out at the initial planning stage before the
infrastructure project is approved. They should form an integral part of the design process of the
infrastructure project at the stage of draft design, detailed design, pre-opening and early operation.
44. Systematic methods of data collection and scientific analysing techniques should be used to enable
the potential development of effective measures for road safety improvements.
45. Policies to monitor and control speeds, both on intercity roads and in urban areas, need to be
implemented, all the more on sections of roads where rehabilitation is taking place, which may result
in higher speeds if care is not taken to avoid this through road design and equipment.
46. Speed limit signs must be installed at regular intervals and based upon engineering principles or
engineering judgments.
47. There is an urgent need to develop a parking management strategy.
Enforcement
48. Training of traffic inspectors on road traffic violations, crashes and traffic engineering should
become mandatory.
49. All serious and fatal accidents should be scientifically investigated to establish the actual causes and
consequences so that the correct remedial measures may be proposed.
50. Enforcement agencies must lay emphasis on the following violations:
speeding
the use of seat belts
parking
red light jumping
tailgating
crossing stop lines and pedestrian crossings
misuse of pedestrian facilities
rash & negligent driving
43
long (protruding) load
use of mobile phones while driving
vehicle standards
drunken driving.
51. The Government must make it clear that no one, not even ministers, is above the law.
52. The Government must decide how to tackle police corruption, for example:
the Government has suggested closing the MRSD MIA and rebuilding the service from scratch as
was done in Georgia;
raising police pay so that they have a decent salary, retraining them, and making taking or
offering a bribe an offence with a term of imprisonment as is being done in Moldova.
Other issues
60. Seat belt wearing is not included in the statistics and this should be included.
61. Establishment of a national road safety Non-Governmental Organisation to continue to campaign for
road safety issues.
62. Road safety demonstration projects have been very successful in many parts of the world at cutting
road crashes, deaths and injuries. Such programmes could be developed to improve driver
behaviour and road safety in the most unsafe oblasts.
63. The adoption and implementation of a national road safety strategy incorporating these issues.
44
Section 6. Reporting
The Terms of Reference lists 24 reports to be prepared:
It is foreseen that all reports will be submitted on time or early with the exception of the two following:
As a result of the prolongation of the work of the TRACECA Land Transport Safety and Security project24 the
projects key expert Alaster Barlow was not available until 22 February. On arrival his first task will be the
assessment of training needs of the MRSD MIA.
A report Road Safety Auditing Blackspot Identification and Treatment under Task 4, Activity 1 has been
drafted and is being translated.
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Section 7. Work Plan
7.1. Time Schedule
The work schedule may be divided into two parts. During the first 3 months there is a lot of assessing the
existing situation and report writing 11 of the 24 reports are to be delivered in the first 13 weeks. After that
there are periods of training, where the time schedule is flexible to suit the needs of the MoTC and MRSD
MIA. The time schedule is given in Annex 1.
46
Annex 1. Time schedule
47
Annex 2. Staff Assignments
48