The Asia-Pacific Road Safety Observatory (APRSO) and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), held the third session of their Road Safety Capacity Building Program Webinar Series last Tuesday. The theme of the webinar series is “Strengthening and Diversifying Financing and Implementation for Road Safety.”

The session on “Private Sector and Partnerships” brought together 126 participants who heard from private sector speakers on how collaboration can support safer and more sustainable transport across Asia and the Pacific.

Elizabeth Waller, Transurban’s Head of Road Safety, explained how the company requires new projects to follow Safe System principles. This approach lifts the capability of designers, contractors, auditors, and others involved in delivery. She also addressed the idea that safety always costs more, noting that when safety is built into the design from the start, it can be both affordable and a clear advantage in competitive bids due to savings across the project’s life.

Jerome Carslake, Program Director of the National Road Safety Partnership Program at the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC), pointed out that one of the strongest funding opportunities in road safety comes from early choices, particularly in vehicle purchasing. These decisions shape safety outcomes for many years and prevent the far higher costs that arise when organisations try to fix safety issues later.

Ken Nishino, Deputy Project Manager for Road Planning at ALMEC Corporation, shared examples from Thailand and Kenya showing how commercial vehicle safety improves when governments and operators work together. Regulators can set clear systems such as Thailand’s Transport Safety Manager model, while operators invest in training, equipment, and ongoing supervision.

Upcoming Session 

The Road Safety Capacity Building Program webinar series continues with the next session as detailed below: 

Title: Innovative Funding Mechanisms

Date: 16 December 2025 Time: 3:00–4:30 p.m., GMT+8 

Access webinar details and registration here. 

The grant fund for this series was received from the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and Pacific (JFPR), financed by the Government of Japan through ADB.