International Road Assessment Programme Launch to Address Road Safety

The IndiaRAP programme aims to address the highest risk roads around the country in partnership with national and state agencies.  The programme will be led by local experts, using local research and resources, supported by the global International Road Assessment Programme that includes partners in more than 80 countries. International Road Assessment Programme together government, investment, research and NGO partners from across the country,” said International Road Assessment Programme.

Programme Measures

IndiaRAP will provide policy, performance tracking and investment tools for governments to measure and manage road safety infrastructure and optimize investments across the country.  The IndiaRAP team will also build local capacity and expertise by connecting Indian road safety experts with colleagues from around the world. The programme will be guided by the International Road Assessment Programme’s evidence-based Star Rating methodology and investment planning tools which provide a simple and objective measure of the level of safety which is ‘built-in’ to the road for vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians. Five-star roads are the safest while one-star roads are the least safe.

Theme Safety

“‘Safety above all’ is a core FedEx belief and, we are committed towards sharing our safety expertise and global reach to make our roads safer.  As one of India’s leading transportation companies, we are proud to support the launch of IndiaRAP,” said Hemant Pimplikar, managing director of Sales for FedEx Express in India. “FedEx is also a key supporter of the UN Road Safety Collaboration and the Global Alliance of Non-governmental Organizations advocating for road safety and road accident victims. FedEx support for all these projects is part of the FedEx Cares initiative, involving FedEx team members from around the world volunteering their time and talents to support local communities.  FedEx will invest $200 million in more than 200 communities by 2020 to create opportunities and deliver positive change around the world.

Projects

The establishment of IndiaRAP builds on a series of road assessment projects that have been completed since 2010 in collaboration with various organisations including global institutions, government agencies, public works departments, research institutes, local engineering firms and automobile associations to assess the safety of Indian Roads. To date, International Road Assessment Programme teams have undertaken star rating assessments on more than 10,000 km of roads, across several states in India.

“We are excited to host the programme and as an independent, not-for-profit organization focused on capacity building, research and regional cooperation in the infrastructure sector, we are well placed to lead the partnerships needed to make roads safer,” said K L Thapar, AITD chairman.  “IndiaRAP will play an important role in mobilizing the scale and results needed to meet national road safety targets.  With project level activity across several states, the national programme will bring together all the partners with a single focus on improving the safety of road infrastructure across India.”