Improving road safety throughout the world is possible

In general, even though today's roads still claim far too many victims (1.3 million killed and 50 million injured every year), there remains reason for hope.

Road safety has in fact come a long way in the past few decades in Western Europe and Japan, well before the generalization of high-tech progress (Intelligent Transport System -ITS, intelligent vehicles). In spite of increased traffic, the number of victims has been cut in half. Improving road safety is entirely possible, even if it requires sustained investment by all players, including and perhaps most importantly road users themselves.

The Moscow conference: an historical agreement

On November 19 and 20, 2009 all stakeholders – ministries, specialized agencies, international bodies, associations and others – met in Moscow for the first Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Russian Ministry of Transports.

They drafted a common declaration asking the United Nations General Assembly of March 2010 to declare a decade of action (2011–2020) for road safety and made commitments to simple and proven solutions. Millions of lives could be saved.

On March 2, 2010, The UN General Assembly effectively proclaimed 2011–2020 the "decade of action for road safety", endorsing the conclusions of the Moscow conference and reminding us of the necessity of responding to the needs of all road users. The goal is clear: stabilize and then reduce the forecast number of deaths from road accidents.

Commitments for the next ten years

The framework for road safety action was set down at the Moscow conference on road safety. It is based on the experience acquired by several years of pilot programs and must be a reference for all countries. It involves the following commitments:

- Create or reinforce national or regional public bodies in charge of road safety, similar to what was done in the 1960s in most industrialized countries: the Interministerial Road Safety Commission in France (public equivalent of the "Prévention Routière" association), the SNRA (Swedish National Road Administration), the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) in the United States or the JARI (Japan Automobile Research Institute). Automobile clubs and federations also have a role to play. The experience of these countries has shown that health and education authorities in particular must be participants: road safety is not in the domain restricted to transportation authorities and the police

- Launch national programs with far-reaching and fixed objectives defining the roles and responsibilities of all players: agencies and government but also industry, NGOs, insurance companies, etc.

- Devote extra efforts to the protection of vulnerable users: pedestrians, cyclists whether or not motorized, mass transit users, as well as children, the elderly or the handicapped

- Organize data collection in countries where it doesn't yet exist in order to assess the problem, its causes, actions of institutions and organizations and the results of various actions. These data must be able to be compared between countries, presupposing among other things, the establishment of common definitions

- Harmonize traffic regulations and safety standards of vehicles and infrastructures (in particular road signs). Update road legislation and ensure their application in developing nations. This will require huge investments, sometimes radical changes in the "culture" of police forces or the justice system, and undoubtedly international aid

- Encourage organizations, companies and institutions to adopt better management and utilization practices of professional vehicles and ensure adequate driver training

- Reinforce the efficiency of emergency rescue services, train physicians to handle traffic accident trauma victims and equip hospitals as necessary. In this respect, the creation of a single emergency number throughout the world, as eCall is being set up in the European Union, will augment the rapidity of response after an accident for a reasonable investment.

- Implement international cooperation at all scales and all levels to favor technology transfers, and exchanges of data and know-how.

Read also in this section:

- Innovative technologies to improve road safety
- Benefits of the Proactive Partnership Strategy to São José dos Campos, Brazil
- GRSP - Road crashes: An everyday humanitarian disaster
- Road safety: a major national issue in Ghana
- Sweden's Vision Zero: no victims or serious injuries in road traffic
- Road Safety: The World Health Organization defines five priorities

Categories: Sustainable mobility - Public health - Road safety

Keywords: Accidents - UN - safety - Transportation