3.6 Policy Coordination

Lack of awareness by policymakers of the need for RSE can be an impediment in improving this sector.It is often the case that there is ad hoc road safety education already taking place.A national road safety council(NRSC),or similar body has a vital role to play in coordinating road safety nationally,to increase efficiency and prevent duplication of effort.This is especially important when there are limited resources available in this sector.

Many government and nongovernment organizations(NGO)can play a role in RSE.Obviously,the ministry of education is an important player,but also ministries of health,police,etc.,can play a part.Highlighting of accident problems,and even a network national accident database,and even a national accient database,can help to direct activity in all organizations towards the same target.

For the development of road safety within a country,it is essential that information,ideas,and examples of good practice are disseminated among professionals working in the field.At the very least,if there is no NRSC in place,this could be done within the appropriate ministry.Information could be shared by:

1) regular meetings or seminars;
2) a newsletter;
3) membership of overseas road safety organization to keep abreast of current international advances;and
4) training-external and in-house.

In some countries,the private sector(e.g.,banks,insurance companies,manufactures,and distributors)are willing to invest in road safety as part of their corporate responsibility and/or marketing and public relations,strategies.The association of insurance companies in India has funded development of road safety education materials.Businesses may be willing to finance publication costs in return for sponsorship credit or company logos printed on the publications.
Although it is generally recommended that there should be an increase in road safety tution through schools,police teams already in existence in many countries do have a role in supplementing this,and supporting topic work.However,one problem that the officers face is that they are unlikely to stay in one section of the police for a long period.
Valuable resources are lost by training officers for this specific role and then losing their expertise.Consideration should perhaps be given to road safety being a career position within the police.

(Source---asian development bank Road safety guidelines for the Asian and Pacific Region)