Better data for safer roads: the powerful mission of road safety observatories

Reliable safety and traffic data are essential to assess the full nature of the road safety problem, measure the real economic costs associated with road crashes, and design the most cost-effective road safety interventions. Responding to this need, the World Bank and GRSF has expanded its scope of activities through the establishment of Road Safety Observatories – a formal network of government representatives to share and exchange road safety data and experience in order to reduce traffic injuries across countries in the region. First in Latin America (OISEVI) and now in Africa (ARSO) and Asia-Pacific (APRSO), these Observatories are improving road safety data and information systems and expanding the use of data for better targeting of road safety treatments, countries can achieve better monitoring, more rigorous evaluation, and more effective advocacy.