Report Shows Payoff of Roadway Safety Investments
"This is about improving outcomes for people and communities," said Saul Billingsley, executive director of the FIA Foundation. "We encourage investors, donors, and the international financial institutions to come together to realize the potential of these new investment models."
A new report from the FIA Foundation, a UK registered charity, shows that investing early in safe infrastructure to prevent injuries to motorists pays financial dividends and saves lives. In case studies launched Sept. 22 at the World Bank in Washington D.C., "Investing to Save Lives: An impact investment case for preventing road trauma," the foundation shows the value of strategic investments in preventative road safety measures. The case studies were developed by Social Finance UK and Impact Strategist and examine road safety programs in Australia and Cambodia.
The NTSB highlighted their release on its Twitter feed.
The analysis uses an impact investment approach that is designed to deliver better outcomes and financial return and to measure both. The foundation reported that the Australian case studies demonstrate the powerful financial case for frontloading investment in safer road infrastructure, while in low- and middle-income countries the incidence of road accidents is higher and rising, and there are a range of hidden costs for health care systems, insurers, victims, and their families.
"This is about improving outcomes for people and communities and reducing the impost on government, business and donor agencies of the rising toll of road traffic death and serious injury," said Saul Billingsley, executive director of the foundation. "We encourage investors, donors, and the international financial institutions to come together to realize the potential of these new investment models."
"The catastrophic costs to households of road traffic injuries in countries like Cambodia is too often overlooked, but if we are to achieve the SDGs we must tackle road safety in low and middle income countries head on. We see great potential for social investment to bring greater focus on this important issue from a broader stakeholder group, and open up new funding opportunities for governments," added Mirjam Sidik, CEO of the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation.
The report was launched at the iRAP Innovation Workshop hosted by the World Bank, with report co-author Jane Newman, international director of Social Finance UK, presenting its findings.