The ISET Policy Institute, as host to the Technical Secretariat of the Eastern Partnership Road Safety Observatory (EaP RSO), successfully conducted the first regional webinar on "Collecting Road Traffic Injury Data Based on the MAIS3+ Injury Scale" on May 30, 2025.

The online event brought together road safety professionals, policymakers, and data specialists from across the Eastern Partnership region to address critical challenges in serious road injury data collection and reporting. The webinar focused on implementing the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS3+) definition, which the European Commission adopted to harmonize the counting of serious injuries across member states.

Tamar Sulukhia, Head of the EaP RSO Technical Secretariat, opened the session with an introduction to the Observatory's mission and activities. The event featured welcome remarks from high-level representatives, including Sarah Lynch, Road Safety Policy Officer from the European Commission, and Elena Lungu, Senior Transport Specialist from the World Bank, highlighting the importance of standardized injury data collection in achieving global road safety targets.

The webinar showcased expertise from internationally recognised specialists. Maria Segui-Gomez, Coordinator of the WHO Global Road Safety Status Report 2023 and International Road Safety Consultant, presented on the 50% reduction target for serious injuries, European policy context, and the definition of MAIS3+. She provided examples of progress in achieving greater convergence between police and health data systems.

Emma MacLennan, Deputy Head of the EaP RSO Technical Secretariat, delivered a comprehensive presentation on why MAIS3+ data is essential for road safety improvements, exploring the relationship between quality data, trauma registration, and care systems. She demonstrated how good data guides public health strategies and ensures effective resource utilization.

Jonathon Passmore, Regional Advisor for Road Safety at WHO, concluded the technical presentations by addressing the role and limitations of road police in collecting injury data. He offered practical suggestions for improving police practices and emergency service coordination, along with strategies for better alignment between police and health data systems.

The training webinar addressed persistent challenges in road safety data collection, including underreporting, misreporting, and the lack of standardized methods across different countries. These issues have made it difficult to accurately monitor and compare road safety performance across the region.

The event concluded with an interactive Q&A session, allowing participants to engage directly with the expert speakers and discuss country-specific challenges and solutions. The webinar served as a crucial capacity-building initiative for EaP RSO member countries working to improve their road safety data collection systems in line with European and international best practices.