Vulnerable Road Users in the Asian and Pacific Region

Abstract

T his book on vulnerable road users (VRUs) has been produced as part of a regional technical assistance project (RETA 5620: Regional Initiatives in Road Safety) under Asian Development Bank (ADB) Contract No. 95-367. A companion book, Road Safety Guidelines for the Asian and Pacific Region, is intended as a source of reference and guidance to the region’s senior decision makers with responsibility for road safety. Analysis of available data shows that VRUs are involved in a high proportion of traffic accidents in some countries of the Asian and Pacific region. A specific effort was made to try to quantify the nature and scale of the road safety problems facing these road users and to 1.1 ADB Regional Technical Assistance Project Plate 1.1 (above): Pedestrians exposed to risk in the traffic stream. Plate 1.3 (below): Typical cycle-rickshaw in Bangladesh. Plate 1.2 (right): Vehicles in conflict in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). 1VULNERABLE ROAD USERS identify examples of good practice in provision of safety facilities for this group. The definition of vulnerable road users varies depending on the context of a particular study. For the purpose of this volume, which addresses the needs of the Asian and Pacific region, the main focus is on: 1. pedestrians; 2. pedal cyclists and other nonmotorized vehicles; and 3. motorcyclists. This publication has two main objectives, as follows: i. to try to assess the involvement of VRU groups in Asia’s high accident rate; and ii. to identify and summarize general design considerations of VRU facilities in the region and, in particular, to identify successful innovative measures already in use. Although the main focus of this publication is on current engineering practices, these measures in isolation do not necessarily solve all VRU safety problems. Consequently, complementary enforcement and educational measures are also briefly discussed. Because of the limited availability of detailed data, the publication is not always able to explore specific casualty types within each VRU group, such as the very young or very old, who may have a higher risk of being involved in accidents. The publication focuses most on pedestrian safety, as pedestrians are the road users at greatest risk in most countries, and considerable research and information was available for this group of VRUs. Serious efforts have been made to address pedestrian safety. By comparison, the review of facilities available for nonmotorized vehicles (NMVs) and motorcycles has been limited by the lack of attention given to them.