SafeTREC Seminar
The commitment of the IDB on Road Safety
Néstor H. Roa
Chief of Transport Division, Inter-American Development Bank
Friday, November 13 , 2015
12 - 1 pm, PST
2614 Dwight Way (at Bowditch)
2nd Floor Conference Room
Berkeley, CA 94720
POWERPOINT AVAILABLE: 
The IDB Road Safety Strategy.ppt
eScholarship link to PDF: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7792h2c9
ABSTRACT
Today, in the Latin America and the Caribbean region there is one real and immediate threat that takes away thousands of lives each year, yet often remains unacknowledged: the ever increasing problem of road traffic incidents arising from lack of road safety. In this region around three hundred people are killed in road accidents every day, more than twice as many as in developed nations. Road accidents are the main cause of death for children between 5 and 14 years of age and the second cause of death for young people between 15 and 29. Lack of road safety affect the population in general, but, is more pervasive in urban areas and among high vulnerability groups, such as pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists, children and the elderly. The Inter-American Development Bank assigns high priority to this problem and consequently has created its Road Safety Strategy which aspires to minimize human, social and economic losses resulting from inadequate road safety practices. The Bank is promoting initiatives that encourage coordinated policies and programs that incentivize the participation of all sectors, to prevent and reduce road fatalities and injuries within the region.
SPEAKER BIO
Néstor H. Roa works at the Inter-American Development Bank since 2001. He is currently Chief of the Transport Division. Prior to his current assignments, Mr. Roa have had several responsibilities within the Bank, including the coordination of the operational activity for the Transport Division for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean and Team Leader and Team Member for several transportation, energy and telecommunication projects. Before joining the Bank, Mr. Roa had a successful career in the Colombian public sector , where his last position was Director and Commissioner of the Communications Regulatory Commission. He also worked at the National Planning Department where he was Director of Infrastructure and Energy, Chief of the Transport Division, Chief of the Infrastructure Policy Division and Transport Specialist. He has also worked in the Colombian private sector.