The Belize Road Safety Initiative aimed to reduce road traffic fatalities and injuries in Belize through a multi-pronged approach. The initiative found that Belize's road network lacked safety standards, enforcement was insufficient, and agencies lacked coordination and capacity to properly address the problem. An assessment of 600 km of roads revealed 70% were rated only 1-2 stars for safety. Through projects targeting road improvements, driver education, and emergency response, the initiative helped reduce road traffic fatalities and injuries by approximately 35%, though continued work is still needed as fatalities increased on non-intervention roads. Lessons learned included the benefits of comprehensive reviews, stakeholder engagement, collaboration, and having a champion to lead the efforts.

1. Presented by: Glen McCarvell, Operations Officer
World Road Congress, Seoul, South Korea
THE BELIZE ROAD SAFETY INITITATIVE

2. 2
Country Context
• Total area 23,000 km2
• Population 360,000
• Road network 4,516 km
• Vehicle fleet 55,000
• Major safety deficiencies
• 15 agencies responsible
for road safety

3. 3
The Problem
• 4th leading cause of death
• Death rate = 24/100,000
• 75% of fatalities are males
• 30% of fatalities aged 16–29
• Economic impact 1.26% GDP

4. 4
Investment Planning Approach

5. 5
Capacity Review

6. 6
Issues and Constraints
• Agencies lacked capacity to support interventions
• Accurate crash data not available
• Under-investment in road maintenance
• Driver training and vehicle standards not uniformly applied
• Low levels of enforcement
• Legislation requires updating
• Road safety statistics not uniformly collected
• User knowledge of road use risks generally poor
• Emergency medical services not at good practice standards

7. 7
Road Assessment Programme

8. 8
iRAP
• 600 km surveyed
• 70% of network 1-2 stars
• Demonstration Corridor options

9. 9
Project Appraisal
• Capacity Review & iRAP Investment Plans presented at workshop
• Analysis included engineering, social, gender & environment
• Economic analysis focused on quantifiable costs and benefits
• Main criteria applied was reduction in KSI
• Estimates of KSI developed from iRAP model
• Without Project model predicted 2,340 KSI over 20 years
• With Project model estimates 1,870 KSI
• ERR = 28.8%

10. 10
Road Safety Project

11. 11
Project Implementation
Pillar Achieved Target
Road Safety
Management
753 staff trained 1000 staff trained
Safer Roads 71 km of 3-Star roads 82 km of 3-Star roads
Safer Road
Users
616 teachers trained 800 teachers trained
9,850 pupils trained 15,000 pupils trained
2 patrol vehicles delivered 2 patrol vehicles delivered
30 officers trained 70 officers trained
1800 youth trained 3000 youth trained
2nd road safety campaign
under preparation
5 biannual campaigns
Post-Crash
Response
2 ambulances delivered 2 ambulances delivered
450 first responders trained 650 first responders trained

12. 12
Results Focused

13. 13
Results thus far
• Original Target RTF
reduction = 20%
• Revised Target RTF
reduction = 35%
• RTF reduction to date
≈ 35%
• RTF on rest of network
up 25% or more

14. 14
Lessons Learnt
• Capacity Review & iRAP are effective tools
• Wide stakeholder engagement entrenches ownership
• Collaborate with related efforts to maximise existing resources
• Consider climate change variability
• Have a champion

15. 15
Thank You!