In spite of the efforts being made to extend the public transport system in Cairo and Egypt as a whole, private cars are still the country’s main means of transport.

Greater Cairo, home to one fifth of Egypt’s population and nearly 19 million people, with this figure expected to grow to 24 million by 2027 according to the World Bank, is seeing the completion of new phases of the metro lines that are currently in progress and ongoing projects like the new electric train system, the monorail, and the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system on the Cairo Ring Road, for example.

Yet, because cars still dominate, the government is also constructing new roads to keep up with the rapid increase in the number of private cars and trucks in order to reduce the problem of traffic congestion.

Moreover, according to Ministry of Health statistics, over 4,000 deaths and over 25,000 injuries were caused by car accidents in 2020, and one initiative has now decided to act in a bid to reverse such figures.

The Nada Foundation for Safe Egyptian Roads is a NGO under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Solidarity that aims to promote the cause of road safety and safer transport in Egypt. Since its establishment in August 2014, the foundation has been trying to reduce traffic accidents on roads all over Egypt.

“In 2021, the Nada Foundation in collaboration with Tabdeel, an organisation that spreads awareness about environmentally friendly alternatives, and the Cairo transport authorities stepped up work to assist communities that want a safer street environment and to encourage safer walking, cycling, and collective or so-called non-motorised mobility, thus improving conditions for vulnerable road-users as well as having a positive impact on the environment and the quality of life for all,” said Shehab Abu Zeid, programme manager at the Nada Foundation and coordinator of its Safe Roads for All initiative.

“The group places a special emphasis on road-users at risk like pedestrians, cyclists, users of public transport, the elderly, children, and people with disabilities, as well as those driving two-wheeled vehicles,” he added.

For Mahmoud Atef, a Cairo resident in his mid-30s who has chosen to cycle through the city’s often heavy traffic, the initiative is very welcome, given the obstacles he faces. “The main problem is that there are no designated lanes for bicycles and that puts cyclists at high risk. For car drivers, a bicycle is an extra object on the road that he or she finds it hard to make room for or respect. We don’t have a culture of cycling in Cairo, unsurprisingly in a city with a huge number of cars,” he said.

“Our group is working to collect evidence that can help government and other actors understand the nature of the problem, find solutions, and develop effective strategies,” said Abu Zeid. “It is also bringing to the table the perspectives of the affected communities.”

The idea started with an initiative by Ahmed Shelbaya, CEO and co-founder of the Nada Foundation. “He believes in a collaborative approach among all the stakeholders involved in mobility in general and safe mobility in particular,” Abu Zeid said, adding that in 2018 the Nada Foundation had also tried to set up a group of major private-sector companies that would work to improve road safety, but for various reasons its formation was not completed.

“It was in 2021 that the idea of ​​establishing the alliance came back to him, and he decided to form the group with a limited number of institutions as the nucleus of a more inclusive and extensive alliance in the future,” Abu Zeid said.

Its main objectives include translating visions put forward by the UN and others into national plans such as Egypt’s Vision 2030 and helping to participate in the decision-making process in Egypt by focusing on road-users who are most at risk, ensuring the rights of those who often do not get their fair share of attention in the planning of public space, and helping people to enjoy safer and more efficient mobility and healthier public space.

This is being done through the study and documentation of cyclist and pedestrian routes and the design of streets, as well as by coordinating with the authorities in order to achieve a greater balance of roads and pedestrian areas in cities and to plan them to be more suitable for cycling and walking.

CHALLENGES

Pedestrians face a number of challenges in many Egyptian cities, including busy pavements that sometimes make it difficult to find room to walk.

According to Cairo resident Nadia Hassan, “pavements are sometimes very high in some areas, while in most places they are either busy or cars are parked on them, creating a problem for people wanting to walk.”

 “Sometimes you have to walk in the street for a while and then you go back to walking on the pavement, making walking a hassle for older people. Sometimes you have to cross the street after the widening of the roads for traffic in places like Heliopolis that resulted in some horrific accidents until the installation of traffic lights for pedestrians. But even that has meant walking long distances to cross the street,” she said.

Accidents can be divided into a pre-collision stage, a collision stage, and a post-collision stage, Abu Zeid noted. The pre-collision stage refers to the causes that lead to an accident, which means that it is a potentially “preventive” phase. The post-collision phase refers to how victims of accidents are integrated back into society if they have psychological, economic, or social challenges. The Nada Foundation has so far been involved in the pre-collision phase and in the chain of events that lead to accidents, he said.

“But we seek to expand the role of the foundation to include psychological and legal support for the post-collision phase,” he added.

Meanwhile, road safety is also an international problem, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has drawn up plans under its Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 to serve as a guide for countries to draft their own national plans with the aim of reducing the number of deaths and injuries resulting from road traffic collisions by 50 per cent during the decade.

“This will require the active participation of governments, the private sector, funders, UN agencies, and civil society represented by NGOs, youth groups, and academia” if it is to be carried out, Abu Zeid said.

To implement it, financing, an appropriate legal framework, speed limits, especially within residential communities and around schools and universities, building capacities, human dimensions in street planning, advanced technology, and a focus on middle and low-income countries are all required. The WHO plan was also preceded by another from 2011 to 2020, which was unable to achieve its goals, especially in Africa. This continent has the lion’s share of traffic accidents and resulting casualties, Abu Zeid said.

There are also problems in collecting data. “One of the most important challenges that we face in the issue of road safety in Egypt is the multiplicity of data issued by the authorities concerned. There are different standards according to the nature of the work, so an important step is to standardise data collection and the criteria by which data are collected,” he added.

According to WHO statistics, in 2021 over one million deaths around the world were caused by road accidents. Between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability as a result of their injury. Road traffic accidents cost many countries three per cent of their GDP, and while 93 per cent of the world’s fatalities on the roads occur in low- and middle-income countries, about three-quarters of those involved are males.

Among the main reasons behind road accidents are speeding, drink-driving, motorcycle drivers not using helmets or car drivers not using seatbelts, unsafe road infrastructure, distracted driving (using mobile phones while driving), and unsafe vehicles.

Abu Zeid said that the Nada Foundation is working to reduce such figures in Egypt. “Last week, we participated in a workshop organised by the WHO and the ministries of the interior, health, and transportation and the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) to find out the state of road safety in Egypt and to overcome the challenges that stand in the way of translating the WHO plans into effect,” he said.

ACTIVITIES

Among the activities organised by the foundation so far has been raising public awareness through four campaigns, including the Back to School and Road Safety campaign, the Art for Road Safety campaign, the Road Safety Week campaign, and finally a campaign entitled In Memory of Traffic Accident Victims organised last November.

The foundation has also contributed to building capacity among young people and children, as road traffic accidents are a main cause of death for people aged between five and 29 years old. The project includes a road safety ambassadors programme targeting youth and a road safety champions programme targeting children. The foundation has also participated in research in cooperation with the WHO, the African Development Bank, and the African Road Safety Programme, among others.

Among the greatest challenges are the multiplicity of sectors responsible for the issue of road safety in Egypt, including the health, transport, interior, and planning sectors, which means that there is no single body responsible. Road-users may also be blamed for accidents instead of analysing the system as a whole and enforcing safety standards, meaning that human behaviour is not the only cause of accidents.

“The lack of human, technical, and financial resources dedicated to the cause of road safety is also a problem. National strategies are limited or not applied in many places,” Abu Zeid said. “The initiative is the result of individual efforts, and in order to achieve both sustainability and institutionalisation, it needs technical support and independent financial resources in order for it to play its role efficiently.”

Ahmed Osama, a professor of engineering specialising in road safety and the manager of a Website collecting data about road problems in Egypt, said there were many roads that needed attention to avoid further accidents.

“After analysing the data we have been gathering for a year, we found that there are many problems on Egypt’s roads. They are exemplified in the lack of lanes for public transport and cyclists in most areas. There are not enough pedestrian crossings, bridges, or tunnels. On some of the new roads, drivers are speeding, which is very dangerous for pedestrians. Even the pavements in the middle of the streets that should be a refuge for pedestrians are too narrow for a person to stand on and are sometimes slanting, making it difficult to use them,” Osama said, adding that surveys have been carried out both among the public and specialists.

“Inter-city roads are given more attention in terms of development,” he added.

PRESCRIPTIONS

Effective interventions for better road safety in Egypt include designing safer infrastructure and incorporating road safety features into transportation planning, improving the safety features of vehicles, improving post-accident care for the victims of crashes, enforcing laws, and raising public awareness, the WHO has said.

Abu Zeid also has some practical solutions, including the need for greater will among all the stakeholders to reduce the number of accidents. There should be a responsible national organisation to coordinate the enforcement and management of safety standards in all sectors. Data systems should be integrated horizontally and vertically, and NGOs, the youth, academia and the private sector should be involved in policy formulation, he said.

“This June there will be a high-level UN meeting to talk about road safety. We hope that a representative of Egypt will be present,” he added.

For Osama, Egypt’s urban streets should be reviewed by experts, including so-called “hot-spots” for accidents in Nasr City and Heliopolis in Cairo. “Together with a group of Masters students, I conducted research that provides recommendations to develop these streets,” he said, adding that the data was still being updated.

Meanwhile, there are various things that can be done now to improve road safety.

“There are two methods: the proactive approach and the reactive approach, the former being the preferred. Experts in road safety and road engineering should be consulted before the construction of roads. The opinions of pedestrians should be noted. This is done in many countries, and the analysis of their views is a key to road development,” Osama said.

“Last but not least, advanced technology should be applied, like video analysis and artificial intelligence and the use of crowdsourcing Websites. This information could also be a source of policy recommendations,” he concluded.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 27 January, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.