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Small-scale hazards: The case of road traffic accidents227lanes for non-motorized vehicles and bus priority laneswould reduce traffic delays by 80 per cent and reduce injuryaccidents by 40 per cent and fatalities by 50 per cent. 57Road designs that cater for non-motorized and publicforms of transportation have been more widely implementedin richer countries. For instance, a review of good practicefor safer cycling on UK roads provides some examples ofinnovative redesign to encourage bicycle use. 58 A dangerreduction benchmark was awarded to Devon County Councilfor experimenting with radical measures to reduce trafficspeeds on a high-speed road. Here, a two-lane road has beennarrowed to a single track with passing places and the oldcarriageway surface has been broken up. This has successfullyreduced speeds and diverted speeding traffic onto moresuitable routes.The integration of safety concerns within road designand construction is also increasingly evident in developingcountries. In one crash hotspot on the main Accra–KumasiHighway in Ghana, speed bumps have reduced the numberof crashes by 35 per cent between 2000 and 2001. Fatalitiesfell by 55 per cent and serious injuries by 76 per cent.Following on from this success, rumble strips have beenconstructed on the Cape Coast–Takoradi Highway, theBunso–Koforidua Highway and the Tema–AkosomboHighway. Speed humps, to slow down vehicles and improvepedestrian safety, have been applied in the towns of Ejisuand Besease on the Accra–Kumasi Highway. 59Separating road users has also proven an effectivemethod for reducing traffic accidents. The banning of motorizedthrough traffic from street markets and fromhigh-density residential areas saves lives, reduces local airpollution and can provide a stimulus for economic development.The historic centres of many cities have been‘pedestrianized’ to encourage tourism-led regeneration.Giving priority on roads to public transport vehicles or nonmotorizedtransport can help to encourage people ontobuses. Curitibá in Brazil, a city often used to exemplify bestpractice in integrated transport and urban planning, has ahigh-capacity traffic management system that provides segregatedbus lanes, priority at traffic lights for buses, as well assafe and fast access for users.Box 9.8 Reducing traffic congestion by integrating land-useand transport planning, SingaporeSingapore is a densely populated urban area (5900 individuals per square kilometre) and thusfaces severe scarcity of land, exacerbated by a growing population. At the same time, increasingaffluence and the consequent increase in car ownership and usage during the 1970s and 1980shas resulted in severe congestion in the island. Cognizant of these issues, the government developeda strategic plan in 1972, focusing on land-use–transportation relationships.A key recommendation of the strategic plan was the development of regional centres toensure greater employment decentralization, thereby reducing congestion in the centralbusiness district and improving home–work relationships. The government has also sought toimprove the efficiency of the public transport system by merging private bus companies andrationalizing their services, and later integrating these with a mass rapid transit system introducedin 1987. A number of measures were also put in place to improve traffic managementthrough controlling vehicle ownership and usage, including the Area Licensing Scheme, whichwas unique in the world when it was introduced in 1975. This scheme required cars enteringdesignated restricted zones during peak hours to pay a fee.A study of the Tampines Regional Centre (TRC) of Singapore illustrated that regionalcentres have a great potential for reducing work travel in terms of distance travelled andnumber of trips generated across the island. In the long term, the promotion of regional centresis likely to result in more efficient land-use relationships and less dependence upon cars.Similarly compact and high-density cities may learn from this strategy; but those facing urbansprawl and low-density suburbs may have to take a different approach.Source: Sim et al, 2001; Willoughby, 2001■ Land-use planningIntegrated land-use and transport planning may alsocontribute to reducing traffic accidents by minimizing thenumber and length of journeys taken. Where safe workplacesand residential and recreational land uses are in close proximity,non-motorized transport or short journeys by car and busare more likely. This also has a knock-on effect in reducingatmospheric pollution and greenhouse gas emissions andprovides a framework for community-building. 60 For instance,Singapore has been successful in cutting car journeys andalleviating severe traffic congestion through its comprehensiveand coordinated land transport policy, which combinesintegrated land-use and transport planning, as well as demandmanagement measures (see Box 9.8).In Costa Rica, the development of a five-year NationalRoad Safety Plan uses a performance-based incentive schemeto encourage organizations and individuals involved in roadbuildingand transport engineering to adopt better practices.A similar approach is being proposed for medium-sizedmunicipalities in Brazil. 61Promoting safe behaviourPromoting changes in behaviour can reduce people’sexposure to traffic hazards. This involves, among others,interventions seeking to enhance driver skills and training,to reduce impaired driving and to promote the use of safetyequipment. Driver training and licensing are importantforms of promoting safe behaviour. The age of qualificationand rigour of testing varies greatly from city to city. Malaysiahas recently increased the legal riding age for two wheelersfrom 16 to 18 years and reduced accidents as a result. 62Education and legislation are both instrumental inincreasing the use of safety equipment in vehicles. The introductionof a helmet-wearing law in Thailand for motorcyclessaw helmet use increase fivefold, head injuries decrease by41 per cent, and deaths decrease by 20 per cent. 63 In theRepublic of Korea, seat-belt use rose from 23 per cent in2000 to 98 per cent in 2001 (sustained during 2002),following a national campaign of police enforcement, apublicity campaign and an increase in fines for non-use. Thisresulted in a 5.9 per cent decrease in fatal road trafficcrashes. 64 Safety equipment can also extend to pedestrians.In South Africa, a pedestrian visibility campaign using reflectivematerial has been added to the uniforms and school bagsof 2500 school children. 65■ Driver impairmentDriver impairment leading to dangerous driving may be theresult of a number of factors, such as alcohol or drugSeparating roadusers has … provedan effective methodfor reducing trafficaccidents”Education andlegislation are bothinstrumental inincreasing the use ofsafety equipment invehicles