NEW DELHI: The need to forge partnerships between regions to exchange lessons on road safety management and to address the issue of road deaths was stressed upon at an international workshop here on "Road Safety Education for Developing Countries'' over the weekend.

The workshop, which saw the participation of members and institutions from SAARC and ASEAN countries, brought out the Delhi Declaration that highlighted the need for non-government as well as government organisations dealing with road safety to collaborate.

"The prime focus was creating political will, especially in developing countries, on the issue of road safety management," said Rohit Baluja, president of the Institute of Road Traffic Education, the organisers of the workshop along with Partner Members of the Global Road Safety Stakeholders Forum.

"Road deaths is a global epidemic that needs to be contained without further delay," said Mr Baluja.

With road accidents causing 1.2 million fatalities annually and about 85 per cent of these happening in the developing countries, Mr Baluja said the stress was on learning from the models of success and failure from across the world. With 25 per cent of road deaths happening in India and China, the emphasis was also on learning from the mistakes made by the developed countries on road safety management. Demonstrations were also done on successful road safety initiatives that included one by chief strategist of the Swedish Road Safety Division. Sweden and England are considered to be one of the best models when it comes to road safety.

Forty-five foreign delegates took part in the workshop.

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