Road traffic accidents and human security in Addis Ababa E-Book

Yared Debebe

• Herausgeber: GRIN Verlag
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Master's Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: Masters Level, Addis Ababa University (Peace and Security Studies), course: Human Security, language: English, abstract: In this study the causes, effects, and measures being undertaken by authorities, such as Addis Ababa Police Commission, Road Authority, Health Bureau and others, with regard to Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) and its overall linkage with human security in Addis Ababa are examined using mixed methodological approach, i.e., qualitative and quantitative. The findings revealed that, combination of factors contributed for the incidence of RTAs in Addis Ababa; human errors, vehicles defect, poor road design and poor traffic regulation enforcement. The study found the multifaceted effects of RTAs on the economy of households and the state, on the social interaction of victims and family, on the physical safety or the survival of individuals including permanent and temporal health problems. Countermeasures are being carried out authorities starting from creating awareness through education campaigns, improving road designs and enforcement of the traffic regulation of the city, though the rate of RTAs are still raising and occurring frequently. The research concludes that, RTAs have multifaceted effects on human security in Kerkos sub city and /or Addis Ababa and little attention is given to the problem, despite the increase of road crashes from time to time.

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Declaration

I, the undersigned, declare that this thesis is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any other university and that all sources of material used for the thesis have been duly acknowledged.

 _______________

Yared Debebe

 March 2012

This thesis is submitted for examination with my approval as an advisor of the candidate.

 ________________

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor Asnake Kefale (PhD.) for his scholarly advice, help, guidance and comments.

Special thanks are due to Getachew Kassa, Dile Lemma and those who volunteered to share their experience and opinions. My deepest appreciation also goes to Addis Ababa City Police Commission, Addis Ababa City Road Authority, Kerkos Sub City Police Department Staffs, and other organization that helped me to access recorded data and share their opinions.

Table of Contents

Declaration

Acknowledgments

List of Charts, Figures and Tables

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abstract

Chapter One 1. General Framework of the Research

I. Introduction

1.1 Statement of the Problem

1.2 Objective of the Study

1.3 Research Questions

1.4 Significance of the Study

1.5 Delimitation of the Study

1.6 Limitations of the Study

1.7 Description of the Study Area

1.8 Methodology and Methods of the Research

1.9 Ethical Considerations

1.10 Organization of the Study

Chapter Two

2. Road Traffic Accidents and Human Security: Literature and Conceptual Frameworks

2.1 Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) Defined

2.2 Causes of Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs)

2.3 Road Traffic Accidents: Cost Components

2.4 Human Security: A Paradigm Shift

Chapter Three

3. Road Traffic Accidents and Human Security in Addis Ababa

3.1 Causes of RTAs in Addis Ababa

3.2 The Effects of RTAs on Human Security

Chapter Four

4. Road Traffic Accidents as Human Security Threat and Measures Being Taken

4.1 Assessment of Measures Undertaken to Reduce and/or Prevent the Effects of RTAs in Addis Ababa

4.2 Road Traffic Accidents as Human Security Threat

Chapter Five

5. Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1 Summary and Conclusion

5.2 Recommendations

References

Appendix 1: List of Informants

Appendix 2: Questionnaire for Pedestrians

Appendix 3: List of Guiding Interview Questions

List of Charts, Figures and Tables

I. List of Charts

Chart 1: Drivers error as cause of RTAs (Source: AACPC (2010/11) Kerkos sub city report)

Chart 2: Distribution of RTAs by type of roads (source: AACPC Report (2010/11))

Chart 3: Casualties of RTAs in Addis Ababa (source: AACPC Report (2008/09-2010/11))

II. List of Figures

Figure 1: Map of Addis Ababa (source: Google Map)

Figure 2: Interactions within the elementary human-vehicle-environment system (source: Van Elslande et al, 2008)

Figure 3: Classification of accident cost components (source: De leon et al (2005)

Figure 4: Unsafe acts in the system process (source: Van Elslande et al, 2008)

Figure 5: RTAs (health problem) and human security link (source: revised from CHS (2003))

III. List of Tables

Table 1: Some proposed elements of human security (source: Alkire, 2003)

Table 2: Total number of RTAs in Addis Ababa (2008/09-2010/11) and Kerkos sub city (2010/11) (source: AACPC)

Table 3: Total property damage in monetary terms (source: AACPC)

Table 4: Total number of casualties (source: AACPC Report (2008/09-2010/11))

Table 5: Top 10 leading causes of death, 2004 and 2030 compared (source: WHO, 2010)

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abstract

Chapter One1. General Framework of the Research

I. Introduction

People for centuries and millennia have been moving from place to place to pursue their day-to-day activities. To facilitate their movement, people use different ways of transportations including road, air, water, train etc. It is an accepted fact that of all modes of transportation, road transport is the nearest to people. According to WHO (2009) andWade et al (2011),road transportation provides benefits both to nations and to individuals by facilitating the movement of goods and people. It enables increased access to jobs, markets, education, recreation and health care.ECA (1989) and Atnafseged (1996) noted that, road transportations have major advantages compared with others is its flexibility, which allows to operate from door-to-door over short distances at the most competitive prices. In Africa, over 80% of goods and peoples are transported by roads and in Ethiopia road transport accounts for over 90% of freight and passenger movements in the country.

Therefore, road transportation has a direct connection with the day-to-day activities of people, especially in large cities where the distance to be travelled is too far to cover on foot or by bicycle within a reasonable time. According to WHO (2009), however, the increase in road transportation has placed a considerable burden on the people’s lives. The pandemic of road traffic deaths and injuries is the major one. According to Ethiopian Federal Police (2008/09-2010/11) report, each year more than two thousand people die and ten thousand people injured in road traffic crashes. WHO (2009) asserted that road traffic crashes are the leading cause of death and disablement second only to HIV/AIDS for people under 44 years. The continuing advance of motorization in many developing countries is likely to further exacerbate the problem.

Owing to road transportation accidents the lives of peoples’ in developing and developed cities is subject to these negative outcomes. As a result, the individuals’ human security is highly threatened by RTAs that deprives their lives, health, property, etc.The problem of death and injury of road accidents is now acknowledged to be a global phenomenon with authorities in virtually all countries of the world; worried about the growth in the number of people killed and seriously injured on their roads. In the 2009 report of the WHOLee Jong Wook, Director General of World Health Organization described the situation of road traffic crashes as follows:

 Every day thousands of people are killed and injured on our roads. Men, women or children walking, biking or riding to school or work, playing in the streets or setting out on long trips, will never return home, leaving behind shattered families and communities. Millions of people each year will spend long weeks in hospital after severe crashes and many will never be able to live, work or play as they used to do. Current efforts to address road safety are minimal in comparison to this growing human suffering.

The immense upshot and frequent occurrences of RTAs in Addis Ababa are the central factors that motivated the researcher. Hence, the study focuses on investigating the main effects of RTAs on human security, causes and countermeasures to reduce/prevent RTAs in Addis Ababa.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

Despite the growth of RTAs, researchers have not yet seriously examined the linkages among RTAs and human security. According to WHO (2010), road traffic injuries have become the leading cause of death for people aged 15–29 years. Over 90% of road traffic deaths and injuries occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have only 48% of the world’s registered vehicles. Nearly half (46%) of those dying on the world’s roads are “vulnerable road users”: pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. In addition to the grief and suffering they cause, road traffic crashes result in considerable economic losses to victims, their families, and nations as a whole, costing most countries 1–3% of their gross national product; without action, road traffic crashes are predicted to result in the deaths of around 1.9 million people annually by 2020.