160 A triumph and a miracle: developing and applying sub national public policy for road safety in Ecuador

<h3>Background</h3> In Ecuador, statistics reveal a harsh reality: nine lives lost, and fifty-two individuals injured daily in road traffic fatalities,¹ with 66% of these tragedies happening on urban roads.² In 2014, the responsibility for traffic, transportation, and road safety shifted to the 221 municipalities in Ecuador. Despite local governments addressing transit and traffic management, road safety remained neglected. Until June 2022, not a single municipality had a dedicated road safety policy. Movidana, a civil society advocate, took the initiative to pioneer sub-national public policy development, positioning road safety as a pivotal element for city development. <h3>Objective</h3> This presentation aims to elucidate the process behind creating a crucial public policy tool, legally termed as an ‘Ordinance.’ The objective is to encourage widespread adoption and harmonization of minimum guidelines based on international best practices for road safety. <h3>Policy Analysis</h3> The Safe System Approach, emphasizing four of the five pillars of road safety, constitutes the focus for the development of the ‘Ordinance’. <h3>Policy Implications</h3> The policy’s success hinges on effective implementation at the local level, requiring municipalities to embrace a paradigm shift in their approach to road safety. The proposed policy includes elements such as defining minimum data collection, devising a road safety plan, implementing a speed management program, and establishing crash response protocols. By institutionalizing road safety as a local public policy, municipalities not only commit to prioritizing road safety but also establish a legal precedent for future administrations. Simultaneously., it enables citizens to demand the enforcement of the measures adopted in the Ordinance. <h3>Conclusions</h3> In conclusion, Ecuador, like other Latin American countries, recognizes the urgent need for sub-national governments to legislate and integrate road safety. Municipalities require legislation that makes road safety a cross-cutting concern in all local government actions. Despite the challenging journey, the approval of the ordinance in the municipalities ‘The Triumph’ and ‘Miracle’ demonstrates efficacy, implementing measures such as the Speed Management Program to date. The current challenge is to motivate other municipalities to adopt this transformative public policy. <h3>References</h3> Transport Statistical Yearbook 2022 (INEC, 2023). Tandem &amp; others. (2022). Vías Urbanas Más Seguras.