as part of the Partnership for Healthy Cities
The city of Bangkok, Thailand announced the installation of 10 new speed cameras at three accident-prone areas of the city. Bangkok is one of 54 cities in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Partnership for Healthy Cities. Each city in the Partnership has pledged to enact one of 10 proven policies identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as effective in protecting people from exposure to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injury risk factors.
Thailand's roads are the second deadliest in the world, according to the most recent Global Status Report on Road Safety (2015) published by WHO. The report found that 83% of traffic crash deaths in Thailand are among the most vulnerable road users—pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists—much higher than the global average of 49%. Early findings from traffic data collected by the Partnership-supported cameras showed that one in five motorcyclists drives above the speed limit.
"Since 2015, Bloomberg Philanthropies has partnered with the City of Bangkok on road safety," said Kelly Larson, lead for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) and the Partnership for Healthy Cities. "They have shown an outstanding commitment to reducing road traffic fatalities throughout the city and these new speed cameras are an additional strategy to reduce road crashes. We look forward to our continued collaboration and utilizing data gleaned from these cameras to make roads safer for all road users."
Ariella Rojhani, director of the Partnership for Healthy Cities at Vital Strategies, said, "Speeding is one of the main risk factors for traffic injuries and fatalities around the world. The city's decision to deploy the latest technology to measure this problem complements other road safety efforts such as campaigns to encourage helmet use and reduce drink driving. We applaud the data-driven approach of the city's Partnership speeding initiative, which has the potential to save many lives."
The cameras are located in Lat Krabang District at Chalongkrung Road and Chalong Krung Alley 33 (both directions); Lat Krabang District at Romklao Road and Rom Klao Alley 50 (both directions); and Pravet District at Chaloem Phrakiat Ratchakan Tee Kao Road and Chaloem Phrakiat Ratchakan Tee Kao Alley 12 (both directions).
Through the Partnership, cities work alongside Bloomberg Philanthropies, WHO and implementing partner Vital Strategies to deploy solutions to save lives and improve environments where people live, work and play. The Thai capital, which is also one of the 10 cities in BIGRS, will use the newly installed cameras to measure precisely which vehicles are speeding and by how much, among other data. This information will help inform road safety policy, communication campaigns and infrastructure redesign. The cameras will also be used to support speeding laws.
NCDs—such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases—and injuries, including those caused by road-traffic crashes, kill 44 million people globally each year and are responsible for almost 80 percent of global deaths. With the majority of the world's population now living in urban settings, cities are uniquely positioned to transform the fight against diseases and injuries by implementing policies to significantly reduce exposure to risk factors.
For more information on the Partnership for Healthy Cities, visit: https://partnershipforhealthycities.bloomberg.org/
About the Partnership for Healthy Cities:
The Partnership for Healthy Cities is a prestigious global network of cities committed to saving lives by preventing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with WHO, as well as Vital Strategies, this initiative enables cities around the world to deliver a high-impact policy or programmatic intervention to reduce NCD risk factors in their communities. For more information, visit: https://partnershipforhealthycities.bloomberg.org/
About Vital Strategies:
Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. Our team combines evidence-based strategies with innovation to help develop and implement sound public health policies, manage programs efficiently, strengthen data systems, conduct research, and design strategic communication campaigns for policy and behavior change. To find out more, please visit www.vitalstrategies.org or Twitter @VitalStrat.