Transferability of European Methodologies and Tools for Vulnerable Road Users to Emerging Economies

The strong effort that the European Commission and all the Member States are paying to the reduction of road fatalities in Europe is giving significant results. Despite the considerable improvements obtained in the European Countries, the situation in the Emerging Economies is dramatically getting worse. In order to increase the level of Safety of Vulnerable Road Users in Emerging economies, thus contributing to the overall scope of reducing the number of fatalities and the severity of injuries caused by road accidents, a research project (SaferBraIn – Innovative Guidelines and Tools for Vulnerable Road Users Safety in India and Brazil) has been set up. The project started in October 2009 in the framework of the FP7 of the European Commission. This paper focuses on part of the activities of SaferBraIn concerning the analysis of local requirement for Safety of Vulnerable Road Users and the conditions for transferability of European experiences in Emerging Economies. Such objectives are achieved through a process starting from the analysis of Indian and Brazilian situations. The first step is a short analysis of the local road accident databases for the identification of potentials and gaps for effective analysis of risk factors at different levels. The actual situation of road infrastructures, land-use configuration and planning, and the local current road safety management procedures are analysed, in terms of relevant parties, responsibilities and decision-making processes. Then a method for the Transferability Audit of European experiences is defined, allowing to: • analyse similarities and differences between Europe, India and Brazil in terms of conditions of vulnerable road users, infrastructure design, land-use configuration and road safety management procedures; • identify barriers (e.g. cultural, political, institutional, legal, economic) to transferability of methodologies, measures and tools from Europe to India and Brazil; • check the applicability and acceptability of available Road Safety Measures, Guidelines and Tools from European Countries to India and Brazil; • identify the underlying processes influencing failures or achievements in applying practices and methodologies in Emerging Economies compared to their application in Advanced, e.g. European, Countries; • develop measures to counteract diminishing effects in applying Road Safety Improvements originally designed for Europe. A dedicated Curriculum for Transferability Audit from Europe to India and Brazil will be successively defined to be used to verify the applicability of European experiences (measures, tools, etc.) in India and Brazil.