Towards a Road Safety Development Index (RSDI) Development of an International Index to Measure Road Safety Performance

Abstract: Aim. This study suggests a set of methodologies to combine different indicators of road safety into a single index. The RSDI is a simple and quick composite index, which may become a significant measurement in comparing, ranking and determining road safety levels in different countries and regions worldwide. Design. One particular concern in designing a Road Safety Development Index (RSDI) is to come up with a comprehensive set of exposure and risk indicators which includes as far as possible the main parameters in road safety related to human-vehicle-road and country patterns instead of considering few and isolated indicators such as accident rates. The RSDI gives a broad picture compared to the traditional models in road safety. Challenges. The differences in definitions, non-collection of data, no reliability of data and underreporting are problems for the construction of RSDI. In addition, the index should be as relevant as possible for different countries of the world, especially in developing countries.Empirical study. This study empirically compares the road safety situation and trends between ten Southeast Asian countries and Sweden for the period 1994- 2003. Methodologies. Eleven indicators are chosen in RSDI, which have been categorised in nine dimensions. Four main approaches (objective and subjective) are used to calculate RSDI and determine which one is the best. One approach uses equal weights for all indicators and countries, whereas the other approaches give different weights depending on the importance of indicators.Findings. The thesis examines the RSDI for the ten ASEAN countries and Sweden in 2003. The results from this study indicate a remarkable difference between ASEAN countries even at the same level of motorisation. Singapore and Brunei seem to have the best RSDI record among the ASEAN countries according to the indicators used, while Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam show lower RSDI records. Conclusions. The RSDI results seem very promising and worth testing further applications with bigger samples of countries and from different parts of the world.