Automóvil Club de Costa Rica has published a manual on Road Conflict Observation in Latin America.

“The Manual de observación de conflictos viales para la prevención de siniestros de tránsito en ciudades de América Latina” aims to help support and inform key road safety stakeholders in Latin America, thereby working to reduce and prevent injuries and fatal traffic incidents.

The Swedish technique of Road Conflict Analysis heavily informs the manual. This technique evaluates events that are not accidents but are still safety related, and was applied to Latin America for the first time by ITDP researchers. The published output focuses on several different areas:

1. Road safety in the context of Latin America and the Caribbean
2. Road accidents, sustainable urban mobility and the vulnerability of road users
3. The background methodology and its Swedish origin
4. Implementation of the methodology
5. Application cases in Mexico and Costa Rica

ACCR’s President, Danial Coen, stated, “This manual is the result of a joint effort between the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), the Costa Rican Road Safety Council (COSEVI), the FIA, the FIA Foundation and the Automóvil Club of Costa Rica (ACCR). The objective of this guide is to offer Latin American authorities, technicians and specialists in mobility and road safety, a useful and adaptable tool to improve road safety in their cities, through a preventive approach that prioritises human life over motorised mobility.”

The manual was launched at the COSEVI auditorium.  Attendees of the launch event included Carlos Ávila, Vice Minister of Transportation and Road Safety of Costa Rica, Gonzalo Peón, Director of the ITDP, Frank Fotia, President of FIA Region III, and Daniel Coen, President of ACCR.

The manual is available here.