Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

Small-scale hazards: The case of road traffic accidents
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URBANIZATION AND
TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
Urban areas are the main locus of traffic accidents, given the
concentration there of vehicles, transport infrastructure and
people. For example, in Latin America, about half of all
traffic accidents take place in the region’s cities, and
between one half and one third of those killed are pedestrians.
In many cities, high accident rates among pedestrians
are related to dense populations and walking as a main form
of transport, so that many people are exposed to traffic
hazard. Exacerbating this vulnerability in many cities is the
failure of transport management systems, which often focus
on planning for cars rather than for people. 28
Uncontrolled and unplanned urban growth can
increase the likelihood of occurrence of traffic accidents.
This is especially the case in many developing country cities
where rapid urbanization and the consequent explosion of
motorized vehicles, unplanned settlements and human
populations seriously threaten road safety (see Box 9.3). In
Europe, urban growth, characterized by geographical dispersal
of the territory within which inhabitants carry out their
daily activities and greater use of private cars, is thought to
increase the risk of traffic accidents, given the diversity of
road uses and increase in travel, traffic flows and crossings of
these flows. 29
Across the globe, there is an evident rise in the use of
motorized forms of transportation in urban areas, although
at differing paces. In particular, with greater affluence,
private vehicle ownership and use have increased in cities
around the world. For instance, car ownership in the 15
European Union member states (EU-15) 30 has trebled in the
last 30 years and continues to rise by 3 million every year. 31
As illustrated by the case of São Paulo Metropolitan Area
(Brazil), increased motorization is accompanied by a number
of negative externalities, including traffic accidents, congestion
and declining use of public transportation (see Box 9.4).
While private car ownership may be on the rise in some
countries, motorization is characterized by an increase in
two- and three-wheeled vehicles elsewhere. For instance, in
India, motorcycle ownership increased 16-fold between
1981 and 2002, while private car ownership increased
sevenfold during the same period. 32 Rates of motorization
are also higher in richer countries, compared with poorer
countries, with lower Human Development Index (HDI)
levels (see Table 9.2).
Urban poverty and vulnerability to injury from traffic
accidents are linked. Although the urban poor have environmentally
friendly travel habits through a dependence upon
non-motorized and public modes of transportation, they are
the main victims of road traffic accidents. 33 Urban transport
systems influence patterns of vulnerability in that they can
force the poor into choosing high-risk transport options. In
Bangladesh and India, a recent study shows that the poor are
killed and seriously injured mainly as vulnerable road users
(i.e. while walking or using two- or three-wheeled transport,
both motorized and non-motorized). 34 In cities where public
transport has become unreliable, expensive or does not
serve areas of rapidly expanding settlements, privately
Box 9.3 Factors threatening road safety in India’s cities
Traffic accidents pose a serious threat to residents of India’s cities. Since 1971, traffic fatalities
have increased fivefold in India. The massive growth in motor vehicles is thought to be the main
factor underlying this rise in traffic accidents. Between 1971 and 2001, there has been a 20-fold
increase in the combined number of cars, taxis, trucks and motorcycles. A number of additional
factors threaten road safety in India’s cities:
• limited network of roads, often narrow, poorly maintained and unpaved;
• unsafe driving behaviour, which results from virtually non-existent driver training,
extremely lax licensing procedures and lack of traffic law enforcement;
• unsafe vehicles;
• inadequate or non-existent traffic signals and signage and lack of traffic management;
• almost complete lack of infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists;
• forced sharing of narrow, crowded rights of way by both motorized and non-motorized
vehicles, pedestrians, animals and street vendors; and
• overcrowding of buses, rickshaws and even motorcycles.
Source: Pucher et al, 2005
Box 9.4 Increasing use of the automobile: The case of São Paulo, Brazil
Comprised of 39 cities, the São Paulo Metropolitan Area has a population of 17 million. It has
experienced not only rapid urban growth over the last few decades, but also a sixfold increase
in its motorized vehicle size between 1970 and 1996. A study of transportation and traffic
accidents in the area (for the period of 1967 to 1997) illustrates how increasing use of automobiles
is causing a range of negative externalities, such as traffic accidents, congestion and
pollution, to sky rocket. The sharp rise in the use of private transportation has been accompanied
by a concomitant decrease in the use of public transportation.
Results from the study indicate that the mobility-income paradigm, where those with
higher income enjoy greater mobility, has been maintained. The individualization of motorized
mobility is evident: between 1987 and 1997 alone, 75 per cent of all additional trips were made
by car. An analysis of changes in mobility by income level between 1987 and 1997 illustrated a
decrease in mobility based on public modes of transportation.
A number of factors are thought to have contributed to the increasingly unsustainable
changes in São Paulo Metropolitan Area’s transport systems, including:
• conflict and lack of coordination between institutions concerned with decisions on land
use, transport and traffic at both the federal and local levels;
• policies supporting automobile use and less prioritization of public modes of
transportation (e.g. 27 per cent of the budget of São Paulo city was used for road
construction between 1967 and 1977);
• lack of integration between modes of public transportation (e.g. only 10 per cent of
trips between the subway and rail are integrated, while there is no integration between
suburban trains and bus services);
• the poor and deteriorating quality of public modes of transportation (service irregularity,
unreliability, increased travel time and discomfort), yet increasing cost of fares; and
• inadequate enforcement and safety education and campaigns.
The transformation of the roadway system to accommodate automobile use is thought to have
increased the vulnerability of pedestrians and non-motorized transportation modes to traffic
accidents.
Source: Vasconcellos, 2005