ASEAN + China Road Safety Building Workshop 2024 – A successful collaboration between MIROS, WHO and CATARC

14 January 2025
Road traffic deaths and injuries remain global health challenges and development. Given that millions of people were killed or wounded in road crashes every year, road safety is a major concern on a global scale. Many nations still face high rates of traffic fatalities and injuries, especially in low- and middle-income nations, despite notable advancements in certain areas. The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), as the ASEAN Road Safety Centre and its partners co-organized the ASEAN+China Road Safety Capacity Building Workshop on 10–12 December 2024 in Guangzhou, China. It brought together representatives from the ASEAN Member States who are responsible for vehicle safety legislations in their respective countries. The main objective of the workshop was to provide participants with practical information and skills that they can apply in their home countries, thereby increasing the capacity of UN member states to implement the UN's road safety legal framework.
According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023, an estimated 1.19 million road deaths were reported in 2021 with 92% were from low- and middle-income countries. Subsequently, it cited that about 79 UN member countries were reported to have no legislation on vehicle safety. With the high number of countries identified without having such crucial regulations, MIROS and WHO had taken a proactive initiative by proposing a capacity building workshop with the aim to encourage and enhance the knowledge of laws and regulations among the ASEAN Member States officials. MIROS and WHO also co-hosted the workshop with UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the International Motor Vehicle Inspection Committee (CITA) and China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC). The training module emphasized individuals with responsibilities in traffic and safety management, particularly those intricately linked to country policy and regulation development. Furthermore, the initiative aimed to gather a diverse group of participants who play pivotal roles in shaping and implementing policies related to traffic, safety, and overall governance. Thus, we are happy that the workshop invitations were well received by officials from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Viet Nam.
Apart from underscoring the importance of harmonizing vehicle inspection and regulation in the ASEAN region, the workshop also emphasized collaboration between ASEAN and China in terms of expertise and support regarding various types of collaboration such as in vehicle regulation testing. Plans are on the way with China to invite ASEAN to collaborate in joint research and experience sharing, for example, on common characteristics of traffic crashes and Asian human body signs, in order to contribute to the development and evolution of related international recommendations.