Road Safety

Our Work

GHAI supports advocates and governments to adopt and implement policies that are proven to prevent needless road crash death and injuries. Using an evidence-based approach, GHAI works with partners to establish sustainable campaigns to achieve health progress. Our activities include:

• Strategic support to civil society coalitions for advocacy and media advocacy campaigns—including political and media landscape mapping, strategic planning and monitoring and evaluation.
• Technical assistance to civil society advocates to identify and strengthen their capacity to change policies that prevent death and injury from road crashes.
• Support to advocacy partners and governments to counter industry opposition.
• Legal analysis and drafting to support local lawmakers creating laws that meet international standards.

Where we work:

Current: Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Uganda, Ukraine and Vietnam.

Past: Brazil, Philippines, Russia, Tanzania, Thailand and Turkey

Our Impact

• The Philippines’ first child restraint bill for motor vehicles was signed into law in 2019, following a locally-led advocacy campaign.
• Road safety advocates in Mexico ensured the passing of the General Law on Mobility and Road Safety in 2022, which reflects WHO best practices on the five priority behavioral risk factors: child restraint systems, drink driving, helmet use, seat belt use and speed.
• The government of Bangladesh approved and notified the Road Transport Rules 2022 containing provisions on setting speed limits for different types of roads, mandatory helmet wearing for drivers and riders, seat belt fastening for drivers and passengers, banning drink driving and in accordance with the Rules, the Government also revised and notified the helmet standards following targeted advocacy efforts of local partners.
  
• The government of Uganda published a series of lifesaving road safety regulations in 2023 on child restraints, drink driving, helmets and seat belt use.
• In February 2023, Colombia approved a law to join the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, the first Latin American country to take this step. A few months earlier, legislation requiring 50Km/h speed limits in urban zones and 90km/h on highways passed into law.

Success Story: Buckle Up Kids to Save Lives in the Philippines

The challenge:

Thousands of people lose their lives on the roads in the Philippines each year — an unbearable toll that includes children. Car seats can reduce the risk of death in a crash by up to 80 percent for small children, but adults in the Philippines traditionally embrace children in their arms.

GHAI’s role:

The Global Health Advocacy Incubator supported a broad coalition of local partners on the development and implementation of an advocacy campaign to enact a national law requiring the use of child car seats.

Results:

The Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act (RA 11229) was passed by the Filipino legislature in 2018 and signed into law in 2019. GHAI is now working with partners to ensure this new mandatory child restraint law is implemented.