Technical Note on Road Safety in Haiti
The IDB has been a predominant partner supporting Haiti development efforts for many years. Nowadays, the IDB is the main source of investment for the country. Considering the vital weight of road transport sector in the socio-economy of the country, the IDB has concentrated a large part of investment efforts in rehabilitating and improving national road infrastructures. In the same time, a rapid increase of motorization and relatively higher speeds have contributed to increasing the number of traffic fatalities and injuries. In 2017, road injuries were the fifth cause of mortality in Haiti. The Road Safety situation of the country is preoccupying with many Vulnerable Road Users involved, in particular pedestrians and motorcyclists. The country is facing multi-sector challenges to address this Road Safety situation. Despite recent efforts, high political will has not been continuous in promoting a multi-sector coordination and the success of technical efforts remained mitigated over the last years. Road user awareness is still weak in the country. Risk factors include dangerous driving, bad safety conditions of vehicles, together with limited law enforcement and poor maintenance of safety devices on the roads. In this context, the Road Safety situation of the country may be getting worse in the coming years if no action is taken. However, the new Decade provides with a unique opportunity to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including significant progress in reducing the burden of traffic crashes. The IDB has already initiated vital investments in modernizing crash data collection, promoting institutional dialogue and supporting capacity building in the area of Road Safety. Future actions to address Road Safety challenges in Haiti in the framework of the five UN five pillars would require a range of investments in the area of political commitment, institutional coordination and technical efforts. A change of political paradigm from making roads for travelling faster to making roads safer for all users is highly needed at national level. This technical note on Road Safety in Haiti present the current situation of the country and provides with recommendations for future actions on Road Safety.