Republic of Mauritius- A National Road Safety Observatory set up

The signing ceremony was held in the presence of the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Mr Alan Ganoo, the Vice-Chancellor of the UOM, Mr Dhanjay Jhurry, as well as other personalities at the Core Building in Ebène.

In his address, the Minister underlined that with the signing of this MoU, the UOM has established an important partnership with the TMRSU, a key stakeholder of the National Road Safety Strategy 2016-2025.

He also pointed out that under the MoU, the UOM will be able to enhance its support to promote research, development and innovation with a range of highly competent technical staff from various fields of expertise, including the TMRSU, as well as develop a new high-tech research and training facility, with state-of-the-art IT, communication and teaching resources.

The Minister highlighted that yearly in Mauritius, there are around 150 fatalities and 3 500 injured people due to road traffic crashes; therefore, reducing the number of killed and serious injury crashes is a top priority for the Government. The Road Safety Observatory, he added, through the scientific study of the road and traffic system, can contribute in finding ways of doing so.

This Observatory, he underscored, will focus on three main pillars, namely research, capacity-building and outreach. In addition, it will enable the Government to monitor progress towards targets, identify best practices as well as ensure that new regulatory and other safety actions result in reducing the number of crashes and injuries significantly.

For his part, Mr Jhurry, pointed out that the UOM will carry out research on four road safety topics, notably: measuring the socio-economic costs of road traffic accidents; understanding pedestrians’ use of crossing facilities; investigating the performance of different road lighting technologies and their effect on road safety and; understanding road users’ behaviours and attitudes in Mauritius. The findings, he added, will be uploaded on the website of the Road Safety Observatory.

The National Road Safety Observatory

The role of the NRSO will be to lead research into road safety issues; develop effective and regionally appropriate responses; develop and deliver comprehensive and effective training; coordinate, monitor and report data and; serve as a centre of excellence and a hub for practical advice.

The NRSO will also be responsible to create a website, which will serve as a repository tool for the research findings to be shared with all stakeholders involved in road safety.