According to the official transportation statistics, automobile-related deaths rank the 11th most common type of death in low and middle-income countries although these countries have less than half of the world’s vehicles. Also over 90% of fatalities caused by road accidents around the world are happening in these countries. Lack of proper road maintenance and enforcement of road safety related laws are major factors that contribute to high rate of road accident deaths.
In Myanmar, road infrastructure of the country is of low quality and deterioration of roads caused by insufficient maintenance is the largest insufficiency. Road related deaths in Myanmar reached over 4000 in 2014 and traffic accidents contributed to one third of injuries reported by hospitals. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated through regression analysis that the actual number of road fatalities in Myanmar may have been between 6,200 and 8,200 in 2013. Although the country’s motorization rates are low compared to other Southeast Asian countries, the fatality rates can be considered high and are expected to double by 2020 if actions are not taken. As the country develops and more people own motor vehicles, it is very likely that the number of injuries and death continue to increase
The most common cause of fatal accidents is due to motorcyclists not wearing helmets. Helmet usage depends on the local police and authorities’ efforts. Achieving increased helmet usage is a particular problem in the rural areas of all countries and Myanmar is no exception. Although there are educational programs being conducted by the police in some regions, these programs need to be expanded to be effective.
The worrisome driver behavior also increases the risk of crashes. Due to poor pedestrian facilities, there is no signage or lighting at the crossings to ensure the safety of pedestrians when crossing. Drivers usually do not give way to pedestrians at crossings.
Motorcyclist and pedestrian deaths made up the majority of annual fatalities, a common situation across Southeast Asian nations. Action to reduce fatal crash risks for these two groups (and three-wheelers) should be of the highest priority.
Road safety has been ignored for many years and there is a lack of knowledge of the situation regarding road safety in Myanmar. Compared with other countries, there is also limited information and understanding within the country. Existing weaknesses in road safety management include poor data analysis and evaluation, weaknesses in legislation, insufficient funding for safety management, lack of capacity to identify dangerous road user behavior and improve the safety standards of new vehicles, and limited resource allocation among departments responsible for road safety.
In Myanmar, road users and their behaviors are considered the only issue affecting road safety. The safe system approach considers that road users are vulnerable and make mistakes and that they share the responsibility for road safety with those who provide the roads, vehicles, and relevant services. This approach means that road system providers share a major portion of the responsibility for crashes. This is not understood in most developing countries including Myanmar. While continued efforts to improve road user compliance are essential, Myanmar also has to improve performance in other core safe system areas.
At present, road safety management is still inadequate. A systematic approach and long-term plans are required to achieve road safety goals. Building road safety management capacity while developing knowledge across organizations and political levels will be difficult and demanding. However, Myanmar’s road safety arrangements need improvement in order to meet good international practices. The prioritization of actions and planning of activities and schedules will be essential. In the short and medium terms, police enforcement of helmet wearing, correct behavior of drivers and riders at pedestrian crossings, licensing of drivers and riders should be increased. For long term, working groups should be established to drive road safety management at the national and regional levels and implement priority interventions.
Building road safety management capacity while developing knowledge across organizations and political levels will be difficult and demanding and changing organization and community cultures to implement actions will be a considerable challenge. However it is essential for the country to develop the knowledge and undertake the necessary interventions as soon as possible to prevent the increase in fatality levels and road accidents
