Development Bank pushes for better road safety

The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development has issued a new Environmental and Social Policy which includes a specific reference to Road and Traffic Safety.

The policy is available here and the section related to road safety in Performance Requirement 4 requires the client to:

•  identify, evaluate and monitor the potential traffic and road safety risks to workers and potentially affected communities throughout the project life-cycle and, where appropriate, will develop measures and plans to address them. For projects that operate moving equipment on public roads and other forms of infrastructure, the client will seek to prevent the occurrence of incidents and injuries to members of the public associated with the operation of such equipment.
•  take into consideration relevant EU road and traffic safety management standards* identify road safety measures and incorporate technically and economically feasible and cost-effective road safety components into the project design to mitigate potential road safety impacts on the local affected communities. Where appropriate, the client will undertake a road safety audit for each phase of the project and routinely monitor incident and accident reports to identify and resolve problems or negative safety trends. For clients with vehicles or fleets of vehicles (owned or leased), the client will provide appropriate training to workers on driver and vehicle safety. The client will ensure regular maintenance of all project vehicles.