The Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety

The Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018 estimates that more than 22,000 people are killed in road traffic crashes in Thailand every year. Motorcycle riders are the most vulnerable and contribute 74% of the total deaths on Thailand’s roads.

Having good road safety laws and regulations and enforcing them has been found to be important in reducing road traffic injuries and fatalities; this includes having laws and regulations that meet international best practices/standards and adaptable to the Thai context to address the five pillars, namely road safety management, safer roads and mobility, safe vehicles, safe road users, and post-crash responses, as well as addressing key risk factors. Meanwhile, responsible and proactive media reporting on road safety is an important mechanism for raising awareness on road safety among the general public and promoting specific policy changes.

Thailand is one of the five countries included in the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety which is being conducted over five years (2015-2019). Under this Initiative, WHO support the implementation of the following two components:

1. The Legal Development Programme (LDP), and
2. The Journalism Fellowship