Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- UNECE, UNICEF and the Ministry of Internal Affairs launched the Road Safety Performance Review -  RSPR which provides a detailed assessment of the road safety system in Uzbekistan, including the level of compliance with United Nations road safety legal instruments, and pinpoints concrete measures to save lives. The Uzbek and Russian versions of the report will be available bу the end-June 2024.

“The sphere of road safety in Uzbekistan has never been studied by international independent experts. UNECE and UNICEF initiated this kind of cooperation which will contribute to the improvement of road safety system in the country”, noted Colonel Olim Saidov, the Head of the Road Safety Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

RSPR highlights good practices in road safety and emphasizes the importance of accession to and implementation of key United Nations road safety related legal instruments, as an effective means for improving road safety system at the national level and local levels. Also, the review identifies the most critical aspects for the development of the national road safety system and offered recommendations for its improvement.

“In the past decade, the Government of Uzbekistan has demonstrated long-term commitment to improve road safety,” said Nenad Nikolic, UNECE Regional Advisor. “However, with road crashes remaining in the top five causes of death in the country, there is a clear need for a systematic improvement of the national road safety system, with a focus on the most vulnerable road users”.

In Uzbekistan, the number of road accidents and fatalities remains very high, more than 45% above EU average. Such figures bring huge economic costs, and depending on the sources of data for Uzbekistan, different estimates of socio-economic costs range from 2.6% to 3.8% of GDP.

Given the rapid motorization and growing economic activity in Uzbekistan there is a critical need to address road safety in a holistic way by implementing targeted actions at all levels to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries, along with the related human, social, and economic costs, and the burden on the health sector.

“In Uzbekistan, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death of children and young adults aged from 5 to 29 years. These deaths are largely preventable and evidence-based solutions exist,” said Geoffrey Ijumba, Deputy Representative, UNICEF Uzbekistan. “UNICEF will continue close collaboration with the government to build the capacity of implementing partners, raising awareness within communities, and mobilizing resources through local and national partnerships”.

In Uzbekistan, the political will to improve road safety is a strong basis for further improvements. Implementation of the recommendations provided in the Review will help in improving the road safety system in Uzbekistan.

The findings of the Review should be used to design an effective road safety strategy, actions, and interventions in the future. The results could also be used to improve road safety behaviour, strengthen local knowledge and research and development capacity, promote road safety ownership and accountability, and raise public awareness of the benefits of improving road safety in Uzbekistan.

The Road Safety Performance Review (RSPR) is designed to help beneficiary countries to strengthen the road safety system and effectively address and improve national road safety records. It identifies gaps in national institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks, in technical, financial and statistical capacities, and any other economic or social problems preventing the country from establishing or upgrading road safety management system. Assessing all elements of the road safety management system and the linkages between them is critical for any country seeking to improve its current performance levels.