title: Commentary: Status of road safety in Asia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this article is to assess the status of road safety in Asia and present accident and injury prevention strategies based on global road safety improvement experiences and discuss the way forward by indicating opportunities and countermeasures that could be implemented to achieve a new level of safety in Asia.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study provides a review and analyses of data in the literature, including from the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank, and a review of lessons learned from best practices in high-income countries. In addition, an estimation of costs due to road transport injuries in Asia and review of future trends in road transport is provided.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data on the global and Asian road safety problem and status of prevention strategies in Asia as well as recommendations for future actions are discussed. The total number of deaths due to road accidents in the 24 Asian countries, encompassing 56% of the total world population, is 750,000 per year (statistics 2010). The total number of injuries is more than 50 million, of which 12% are hospital admissions. The loss to the economy in the 24 Asian countries is estimated to around US$800 billion or 3.6% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This article clearly shows that road safety is causing large problems and high costs in Asia, with an enormous impact on the well-being of people, economy, and productivity. In many Asian low- and middle-income countries, the yearly number of fatalities and injuries is increasing. Vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists combined) are particularly at risk. Road safety in Asia should be given rightful attention, including taking powerful, effective actions. This review stresses the need for reliable accident data, because there is considerable underreporting in the official statistics. Reliable accident data are imperative to determine evidence-based intervention strategies and monitor the success of these interventions and analyses. On the other hand, lack of good high-quality accident data should not be an excuse to postpone interventions. There are many opportunities for evidence-based transport safety improvements, including measures concerning the 5 key risk factors: speed, drunk driving, not wearing motorcycle helmets, not wearing seat belts, and not using child restraints in cars, as specified in the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. In this commentary, a number of additional measures are proposed that are not covered in the Decade of Action Plan. These new measures include separate roads or lanes for pedestrians and cyclists; helmet wearing for e-bike riders; special attention to elderly persons in public transportation; introduction of emerging collision avoidance technologies, in particular automatic emergency braking (AEB) and alcohol locks; improved truck safety focusing on the other road user (including blind spot detection technology; underride protection at the front, rear, and side; and energy-absorbing fronts); and improvements in motorcycle safety concerning protective clothing, requirements for advanced braking systems, improved visibility of motorcycles by using daytime running lights, and better guardrails.
authors.affiliation: a SAFER Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers University , Gothenburg , Sweden.
authors.forename: Jac
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wismans
authors.affiliation: a SAFER Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers University , Gothenburg , Sweden.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Skogsmo
authors.affiliation: a SAFER Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers University , Gothenburg , Sweden.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nilsson-Ehle
authors.affiliation: b Swedish Transport Administration and Chalmers University , Gothenburg , Sweden.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lie
authors.affiliation: c School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg , Sweden.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thynell
authors.affiliation: d Institute of Transport Economics (TØI) , Oslo , Norway.
authors.forename: Gunnar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lindberg
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D012449:Safety / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*
keywords: NCAP; countermeasures; epidemiology; regulations; restraints; road users; safety; serious injuries