If acted upon, insights regarding gender and road safety could help to prevent road traffic deaths and injuries. At present, statistics show a marked difference between men and women when it comes to safety on the roads. Men are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured. In fact, worldwide men account for up to 75% of all road traffic deaths. Some of this difference can be explained by travel patterns, however, men also tend to demonstrate risky attitudes and behaviours more often than women do.
On the other hand, given the same crash configurations, women have been shown to have greater risk of injury. Furthermore, women in many low- and middle-income countries are increasingly car buyers and drivers, requiring more gender-tailored road safety awareness campaigns. Moreover, access to transport is also an issue, in that harassment, fear of violence and other barriers can prevent women from using public transport. To make transport safer, more accessible and more useful for everyone, more women need to be involved in shaping transport that works for everyone. This session addresses issues reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, and Sustainable Development Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions.
Panelists
Moderator
Karla Gonzalez Carvajal
Practice Manager Transport – Europe | World Bank
Introduction
Elizabeth Pollitzer
Director | Portia Ltd.
Panel participants
Mattias Landgren
State Secretary | Ministry of Infrastructure | Sweden
Agnes Binagwaho
Vice chancellor | University of Global Health Equity | Rwanda
Nhan Tran
Head | Safety and Mobility | World Health Organization
Leah Shahum
Founder and Executive Director | Vision Zero Network
Aims of the session:
- Elaborate on the gender aspects of road safety and sustainable transport.
- Offer examples of how traffic planning has benefitted from taking these gender aspects into account.
- Consider ways to close the gender gap in transportation planning and management.
- Identify key priorities for the next decade.