A new World Bank study has found that with a reduction in road traffic injuries and fatalities, significant long-term income gains can be generated for low and middle-income countries.

The new report, titled ‘The High Toll of Traffic Injuries: Unacceptable and Preventable’, has introduced a new global methodology to evaluate the economic impact of road safety and analyses the cases of China, India, the Philippines, Thailand and Tanzania.

The study found countries that do not emphasise or invest in road safety measures can lose about 7% to 22% in potential per capita GDP growth over a 24-year period.

Low and middle-income countries report nearly 90% of the total global road deaths affecting their productivity and growth prospects significantly.

In 2015, death rates from road traffic injuries were 34 per 100,000 in the countries studied.

The average across the 35 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) during the same year was eight fatalities per 100,000.

“The average across the 35 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) during the same year was eight fatalities per 100,000.”

According to the report, most of the victims of road accidents belong to the working-age population (aged between 15 and 64).

Deaths and injuries due to road accidents remove these affected prime age adults from the workforce, which in turn reduces productivity.

After evaluating detailed data on deaths and economic indicators from 135 countries, the study estimates an average 10% fall in road traffic deaths increases per capita real GDP by 3.6% over a 24-year period.

In addition to GDP gains, a reduction in road accidents and road safety initiatives was also stated to have significant welfare benefits for the society.

World Bank Transport and ICT senior director José Luis Irigoyen said: “Curbing road traffic injuries would not just be a victory for the transport sector but a significant milestone for global development, with immediate and far-reaching benefits for public health, wellbeing, and economic growth.”

The study was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.