"Opasni putevi u Bosni i Hercegovini"

An Op Ed by Marco Mantovanelli,

World Bank Country Manager in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Published in Nezavisne Novine daily, November 15, 2008

 

 

Driving through Banja Luka, Mostar or Sarajevo often reminds me of some Formula 1 race, with souped-up roaring by at crazy speeds. Driving through the country side is a different kind of sport, where avoiding potholes and other obstacles looks more like some rally. This may sound funny to some, but it’s not. It’s serious, deadly serious.   

 

The other day media reported about a 19-year old boy who found his death in a car accident in which two of his friends were seriously injured. They still fight for their lives. I still remember that horrible weekend few months ago when 15 people were killed and many more injured in a series of car accidents. They say it was the deadliest weekend in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the end of the war.

 

Deaths and injuries, as well as property damage from road crashes represents a growing public health, social and economic concern in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Fatalities caused by road accidents are twice higher that in neighboring countries and over five times higher than those of the better performing countries in Europe.

 

In the first six months of 2008, a total of 19,197 traffic accidents have been registered – 1,293 traffic accidents or 7% more than in the same period last year. In this period at least one person was killed every day.

 

Statistics show that traffic accidents in BIH are mostly caused by violations of traffic’s rules and regulations. Speeding is reported to be the single most frequent cause of traffic accidents (about 24%). Poorly maintained roads and usage of old and technically unsound vehicles are some of the other reasons for this deadly statistics.  Often the drivers of these old vehicles are those with lower economic status, and road casualties tend to affect disproportionately the poorest citizens of BH. 

 

Over the past few years, BiH authorities have already undertaken a number of activities aimed at improving road safety. A state-level Road Safety Law was passed in 2006, which has harmonized key road safety rules of the entities. In addition, a state transport strategy and a new state multi-sectoral coordinating body are being established.

 

The World Bank has also supported BiH authorities in their plans to improve road safety management through a series of projects over the past decade. The last one is the Road Infrastructure and Safety Project (RISP) worth USD 25 million currently under implementation. 

 

Yet nono of these efforts alone can produce a lasting solution to this problem Road rehabilitation alone does not work if drivers are still overtaking anytime anywhere. What is needed is improved coordination between the police, hospitals, ministry of education and all other key structures in the country. We also need public awareness campaigns, political commitment, and an action plan that gets implemented. Finally, we need more responsible drivers aware of the risks to themsleves and to others associated to their vehicles driving.

 

Because of the urgency and seriousness of this issue, I would hope that BiH authorities would pay additional attention to the road safety as soon as possible. More efforts in this regard are also needed if BiH wants to transition to standards adopted by European Union Countries. Statistics tells us that every day we lose, we also lose at least one life.