The problem of women’s “road unsafety” in Africa

Different studies have indicated that demographic factors (i.e., gender, educational level, age) plays a role in driving style. Gender has been considered in relation to risky driving behaviour in young drivers and in general, it has been found that, in terms of risk behaviour in road traffic, males are more willing to take risks than female. The data from the World Health Organization finds that many more males than females are casualties of road traffic crashes in Africa. In addition, while gender issues have been considered in a number of policy areas, little progress has been made in the transport and road safety sector. In this regard, this paper explores the involvement and perception of crash risk, attitudes and behaviours of African women, involvement in road traffic accidents, and the role of women in improving safety conditions in Africa. Several data sources were considered by the study and analysed: Road traffic crash data from the WHO road safety report; data on risk perceptions and attitudes from the international ESRA survey; and data on women's participation in the SaferAfrica dialogue platform. According to WHO data, 70% of the road traffic crash fatalities were male (202,029) and 30% of the fatalities were female (84,665) in Africa. For the descriptive comparison at the country by country level using data from ESRA survey, the results show that gender differences are evident in most countries, dependent on the question being asked. Women make up just 20% of stakeholders in Africa according to data from the SaferAfrica dialogue platform.