World Health Organization together with Ministry of Health and Ministry of Interior Join Efforts to Reduce Mortality from Road Traffic Accidents

• Click Here to view Road Safety Efforts under Vision 2030

Saudi Arabia had the worst road traffic fatality rate of any high-income country in 2016. That year saw the launch of Vision 2030, an ambitious programme of policy reform, new legislation and cultural change aimed at rebalancing the country’s economy, growing its private sector and increasing its global engagement.

Improving road safety is a key strategic objective of Vision 2030. The Traffic Safety Committee’s report assesses progress made so far under this strategic objective.

The National Ministerial Traffic Safety Committee, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the George Institute for Global Health and Road Safety Analysis, has documented progress made in road safety in Saudi Arabia since 2016.

Main findings of the report shows that there has been an impressive improvement in road safety in Saudi Arabia. Road traffic fatalities fell by 35.4% between AH1437 (2015–16) and AH1440 (201–19), and the fatality rate per 100 000 population declined by 40%.

Research indicates that along with specific road safety measures, other policy measures including the implementation of VAT on fuel also helped to bring about this change.

However, there is still much to do. Traffic injury is estimated to cost US$3.2bn (SAR 12.3bn) per year – 1.7% of GDP. Urban crashes account for 70% of all injury collisions, with 60% of casualties in the 19–40 age group and males 5.6 times more likely than females to be killed in a road traffic crash.

Saudi Arabia is making significant progress in addressing its traffic safety problem. Legislative and policy changes are backed up by widespread implementation, all facilitated by focused political leadership and high levels of accountability across government. Saudi Arabia has examined the performance of leading nations and set its sights on bringing its road safety performance up to international standards.

There is still a long way to go...

Saudi Arabia still has one of the highest road fatality rates of any high-income country. But if the energy, momentum and resourcing that have been applied to traffic safety in the last few years can be maintained during the next decade, then the roads will be significantly safer for the citizens that use them.