Development and Implementation of a Road Safety Behavior Change Program in Cambodia
Background and Objectives
As many Asian countries achieve economic growth, rapid motorization is underway. This is no exception even in Cambodia, a developing country. However, to its detriment, a variety of transportation issues are occurring. Especially in Cambodia, traffic accidents in the surrounding areas have been increasing as a result of the development and upgrading of the main road (National Highway No. 5). As one of these measures, road safety education and behavior change programs were included in the Cambodian government's action plan, and a technical cooperation project on road safety was launched by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Cross-sector collaboration is required in the development and implementation of this behavior change program, especially with people and organizations with strong leadership skills that can lead the collaboration locally.
In response, the project launched a behavior change program team at the International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences (IATSS) in FY2022 in collaboration with the IATSS Forum Cambodia Alumni Association (CIAA) and JICA. Furthermore, a new conceptual framework for behavior change programs was developed from an interdisciplinary perspective based on an understanding of actual conditions in the field and a literature review of behavior change theories.
In 2023, the project's objective is to contribute to the reduction of traffic accidents by materializing the program and conducting workshops at schools in the local pilot area. In particular, the project aims to develop and pilot a behavior change program for traffic safety education with a primary focus on children, who are both vulnerable road users and prospective active road users.
Expected Results
The specific outcome of this research is the development of a traffic safety behavior change program and its implementation in society to reduce the number of traffic accidents in the medium term. In developing this behavior change program, the CIAA, the Cambodian government (Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports), and JICA will collaborate to make the program more relevant to Cambodia's actual situation.
This project will develop a behavior change program for traffic safety education in schools (elementary, middle, and high schools). In particular, after the program is developed, workshops and cross-sector dialogues will be held at local schools in cooperation with the CIAA and JICA, which are expected to actually raise children's awareness of traffic safety, promote behavioral change, and contribute to a reduction in the number of traffic accidents.
The development of such behavior changes programs related to road safety has not yet been fully implemented in the Southeast and South Asian regions, making this study a pioneering effort. Upon the completion of this study, it is expected that such programs will be developed and implemented in other parts of Southeast and South Asia in cooperation with the IATSS Forum Alumni Societies in other countries.
Furthermore, this study can be positioned as an effort to materialize the collaboration with JICA, with which the IATSS has been deepening its relationship in recent years. It is hoped that this collaboration will lead to more active international collaboration with JICA, as well
as with other governments and international organizations.