The country is deeply wounded, but it doesnt even whine.

IMESEVI

Road safety: the silent burden of high motorization and vehicle-oriented policies. Developing countries are facing challenges beyond economic growth. The design of the national development plans can no longer be based only on economic growth, but they should also aim to increase the living standards of the population. Mexico, as some developing countries experienced an accelerated change in demographics and urban expansion associated to the industrialization process during the XX century1. There was an important internal migration phenomenon in search for job opportunities, which lead to an unplanned citys configuration. The economic clusters, in addition to the rapid urban expansion, higher income and vehicle-oriented policies (such as road capacity expansion) are factors that encouraged motorization. In Mexico the motorization annual rate is 9.6% largely exceeding the demographic rate of 1.8%. (CTS Mexico, 2009 and INEGI 2010), but so are the deaths and injuries caused by car accidents. The road accidents are the sixth cause of death among the general population and the first cause among the group of people between 5 and 29 years old, largely affecting the population in productive age. Transportation policies cannot be overlooked, nor road safety should. Adequate mobilization should provide the means to reach safely, effectively, efficiently and sustainably the places required for all types of purposes. Urban policies are unlikely to be just imported and adapted, although some international common standards have been suggested through various organizations such as UN-HABITAT. Urban policies must reflect the configuration of the city they are trying to serve to foster productivity, increase the quality of life and equity. The situation Previous polices that encouraged the use of private vehicles, privileged a few people while raising potential threats to a large majority. For instance, road accidents in Mexico currently account for over 7 billion euros per year that is equivalent to 6% of the federal health budget (Ministry of Health, 2008). Such an investment could provide more than 30 BRT2 lines to improve public transportation and reduce car congestion and thus the risk of exposure to car accidents. Additionally, over 16,500 people died as a result of a car accident in 2011, 70% of the victims where inside the vehicles, while 30% were pedestrians (INEGI). According to the Accidents prevention commission 94% of the accidents occur in urban areas. This fact provides relevant information as of where to begin implementing Garza, G. and Rivera, S. Desarrollo economico y distribucion de la poblacion urbana en Mexico. 1960 -1990. Revista Mexicana de sociologia . vol. 55, No. 1 1990 : censos y poblacin en Mexico. March 1993. Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mexico
1 2

Figures from the BRT line 1 construction, 23 millions of euros per line. www.gobrt.org

policies to prevent vehicle accidents. In Mexico 4 million car accidents take place every year, related injuries add up to one million wounded people and 40,000 with permanent disabilities. The accidents represent thus high costs in terms of productivity, health, disability treatments, rehabilitation, and depression recovery, among others. The direct costs of road accidents have been estimated to represent 1.7% of the GDP in Mexico (IMESEVI). Therefore, impulsive Band-Aids cannot tackle the challenge. According to Massin (2002) there are three determinants of accidents gravity: the vehicle, infrastructure and the human behavior. Cesvi3 Mxico specified that in the country 80% of the accidents are associated to human behavior, while only 13% are associated to infrastructure and 7% vehicle conditions. According to the data and institutions participating to prevent vehicle accidents must of the accidents could be avoided. During 2010, the WHO, the Pan American Health Organization, the National Center for Accidents Prevention (CENAPRA) and the Bloomberg Foundation joined their efforts to develop the Road Safety Initiative for Mexico. There were two selected countries to be the pioneers due to their regional influence and the alarming road accident rates: Vietnam and Mexico. The mortality rate in Mexico related to road accidents was 18.8 per 100 thousand inhabitants in 2010 (CENAPRA), while in countries such as Germany and UK the rates are 7 and 6 respectively. Mexico has focused on problems that were very much known in the international sphere such as fighting organized crime, economic growth and trade. Nevertheless, nowadays international organizations and the federal government are designing policies to reduce the health problems derived from road safety. The Road Safety Initiative for Mexico aims to implement policies and programs, that effectively reduce all the vehicle transit burdens. Road accidents according to Roy Rojas from the WHO are the fastest way to produce poverty and social inequity. The Road Safety Initiative for Mexico is an opportunity to design solutions for countries with similar situations. Although support and advise are provided, results are expected therefore, commitment is required. Rules, programs and other strategies Adequate urbanization policies can strengthen the setup for a balanced, resilient and sustainable development in Mexico. Organizations such as the UNDP have proposed five dimensions to improve the Citys prosperity: productivity, infrastructure, quality of life, equity and environmental sustainability. As I mentioned before, road safety is linked to quality of live, equity and productivity. Therefore, a committed effort is required to define actions that deter irresponsible attitudes towards driving. Basic actions such as, alcoholometry tests, exams to obtain the drivers license, mandatory use of helmet for motorcyclist and seat-belt enforcement were implemented. The results varied in effectiveness, but cannot be the only solution.

Experimentation and Road safety Centre (Centro de Experimentacin y Seguridad Vial)

Traffic calming policies, policies that discourage the indiscriminate use of private vehicles, narrower lines to discourage speed may improve the results. It cannot be only about implementing rules and enforce them, although this results quite effective. It also is important to change the mindset towards the responsibilities in the road. Options must also be provided when making the use of private cars less attractive, efficient public transit is required. Road safety and accident prevention require a holistic approach to benefit all the road users, from pedestrian, elderly people, cyclists to larger vehicles. The streets were once a place-making milieu, but nowadays they are essentially roads serving mainly for transportation purposes and storage (parking). Developing countries such as Mexico require people-oriented policies to accurately reduce risk factors and create a better environment. A major obstacle for greater use of public space is fast moving vehicles, the faster they go the least visibility they have and in case of an accidents survival rates are indirectly proportional to the speed of the vehicles4. If road accidents rates can be dropped, we would perceive more than health benefits; it would imply less costs, greater quality of life by enjoying public spaces. Moreover, investment in road safety through infrastructure and traffic calming zones can also benefit those whom do not posses the means to travel by vehicle. Conclusion Current trends show that urban centers are attracting an important percentage of the population, thus urban policies should be planned ahead to impulse sustainable development in all possible areas. Economic growth does not automatically represent prosperity for all. Public investment should be placed to improve the productivity, living standards and economic growth tacking into account the population, the needs and behaviors. Large investments in infrastructure that benefit a few but have proven to create all sorts of costs that affect the greater majority should be discouraged. A rapid pace of motorization is not sustainable, due to the potential associated risks. Road accidents can no longer be ignored, but they must be faced and tackled. Many are the policies that can be implemented form normativity and regulation, to social programs. It can also be done with international expertise but tailor made for local practices. But the fact is that Mexico is facing a challenge that is deterring growth and affecting the quality of life of the population. A broader look into investments is required. If more roads imply more vehicles and more traffic congestion and thus more potential risks, can we affirm that greater pedestrian areas, bicycle lanes and public spaces would build more lively areas? I leave this question open for further research.

Instituto para Polticas Pblicas y Desarroll, Mxico. (2011) Manual integral de movilidad ciclista para ciudades mexicanas. I. La movilidad en bicicleta como poltica pblica. ITPD Mexico

Adriana, You wrote on a major problem (not only in Mexico but also many other emerging economies) presenting data which indicate the level of risks involved. But, you could have also linked road safety to larger developmental issues in a closer fashion. And you point out briefly that distinct policy instruments have been used to tackle this problem in Mexico, but you dont explain those sufficiently. The role of the international actors needs further explication as well. More importantly, your references & citations are not correctly stated. 75

Sources: CTS Mxico (2009). Analysis of the automotive industry in Mexico. Mexico:CTS IMESEVI. (unknown) La memoria de IMESEVI. Iniciativa Mexicana e Seguridad Vial. Esto no es un accidente. Published by CENAPRA INEGI, Population Census, 2010 Instituto para Polticas Pblicas y Desarrollo, Mxico. (2011) Manual integral de movilidad ciclista para ciudades mexicanas. I. La movilidad en bicicleta como poltica pblica. ITPD Mexico. Massin, Isabelle. (2002) La Scurit Routire. E.N.A. | Revue franaise d'administration publique 2002/3 - no103. Pages 451 453 Secretaria de Slaud (2008). Programa de accin especfico 2007-2012 Seguridad vial. Mexico: Subsecretara de Prevensin y promocin de la salud. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. (2012/2013) State of the Worlds cities 2012/2013. Prosperity of cities. World Urban Edition Forum