A Road Safety Decade - The Case for Action Presentation by Rita CuypersA Decade of Action from Road Safety SeminarWednesday 18th June, Abu Dhabi, UAE

In 2006 the Commission for Global Road Safetychaired by Lord Robertson, (former NATOSecretary General) published the Make Roads Safereport with three major proposals:

• A $300 million, 10 year Action Plan should belaunched to promote national road safety capacitybuilding in low and middle income countries;

• A minimum 10% of road infrastructure projectCosts should be committed to road safety;

• A Ministerial Conference on global road safetyshould be held in 2009.

Petition presented to Ban Ki-moon

Moscow Ministerial Conference

19/20 November 2009

www.1300000.net

www.road-safety-conf.net

“New history on road safety will be written in Moscow on November 19-20 2009 at the First Global Ministerial Conference

on Road Safety, to be ensured by the presence of representatives of every country in the world”

“Come to Moscow to participate in History”

New Report calls for a Decade of Action

For Road Safety

The new report contrasts the commitment’s

already made by the international community to

the eradication of malaria. These include:

• The UN Decade to Roll Back Malaria 2001-2010

• A Global Fund launched by G8 with US $2.8 billion funding approved to date.

• Appointment of a UN Special Envoy for Malaria

And yet today road traffic fatalities kill and injure on a greater scale than malaria...and

is forecast to be come the world’s leading cause of death and disability for children

above the age of five by 2015.

DALYS in Developing Countries (Children Age 5-14) (DALYS = Disability Adjusted Life Years)

The Goal of a Decade of Action ... Saving 5 milion lives

The Goal of a Decade of Action ... Saving 5 million lives

The Goal for a Decade of Action...Saving 5 Million Lives

Implementing a Decade of Action

• Institutional capacity building and better data

•Safe road infrastructure – assessment and investment

• Vehicle design and technology

• Interim behavioural targets e.g. for helmets and seat belts coupled with improved enforcement

• Post crash care

‘Towards Zero – Ambitious Road Safety Targets & the Safe System Approach’

2008 Report by the OECD – International Transport Forum with the following mainrecommendations:

• Adopt a highly ambitious vision for road safety• Set interim targets to move systematically towards the vision• Develop a safe system approach• Exploit proven interventions for early gains• Conduct data collection and analysis• Strengthen the road safety management system• Accelerate knowledge transfer• Invest in road safety• Foster commitment at highest levels of government

UN Good Practice Manuals

The UN Road Safety Collaboration hasproduced good practice manuals for thekey risk factors of:

• Non use of helmets• Non use of seat belts• Drink and Driving• Excessive and inappropriate speed

Police enforcement of relevant legislativestandards combined with public awarenesscampaigns have proved effective in reducingroad fatalities and injuries in low and middleincome countries. Successful examples includehelmet wearing in Vietnam and seat belt use inCosta Rica.

Safer Roads are a Key Priority Today, more than 1 billion people in the worldhave no access to roads. The World Bank andthe Regional Development Banks invest over$4 billion per annum in road projects.

But road investment increases exposure to therisk of road injuries unless a coherent action planfor improved road design is also put in place.

The Make Road Safe Report’s 10% recommendation is based on World Bank internal guidelines (from 1979) suggesting that traffic safety funding should constitute 10 per cent of total road project costs, not to exceed US$ 10-12 million per project. If this was applied at least $400m would be available for road safety.

A target for the road safety input of infrastructure projects must also be supported by more systematic rating and assessment of the safety performance of the road network as shown by iRAP’s ‘Vaccines for Roads’ report.

Comparing Risk of Road Infrastructure – Relative fatality risk/km/year

Building Safer Roads is Cost Effective – Results of the iRAP pilots

1 10 100

So why not a Decade of Action for Road Safety?

Recommendations for theMoscow Ministerial Conference:

• Support an action plan of $300 million to invest in capacity building in road injury prevention and implement recommendations of the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention.

• Invest in safer roads by committing at least 10% of project finance to safe road assessment and design.

• Support a Decade of Action for road safety with a global target to reduce road

fatalities by 50% from their forecast level for 2020...which would save five million lives and avoid 50 million injuries.

What Could We Achieve in a Decade of Action?

• Demonstrate measurable success in stabilizing and then reversing the growth in RTIs by pursuing the goal of achieving a 50% reduction in the forecast level of fatalities by 2020

• Encourage countries to implement the recommendations of the World Report on Road Traffic injury Prevention and set interim targets that will contribute to the overall fatality reduction goal

• Raise professional capacity in road injury prevention in low and middle income countries

• Ensure that road safety management and reducing injury levels becomes self-sustaining over the long term

• Provide a common framework for action shared by countries, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGO’s, civil society etc.

Proposed Decade Action Plan

Five Pillars and Budget:

1. Building Management Capacity2. Influencing Road Design 3. Influencing Vehicle Safety Design4. Influencing Road User Behaviour5. Improving Post Crash Care

Global & Regional

$30 million

Assessment & Research

$30 million

Institutional Capacity

$105 million

Injury Prevention

$90 million

Post Crash $45 million

Total $300 million

Interim Targets for UN Member States:

• Creation of lead agency with clear responsibilities and funding• Adoption of national road infrastructure rating systems and 10% rule• Universal adherence to UN Traffic Conventions and main UN vehicle safety

regulations (front/side impact, seat/child restraints, ESC etc)• National programmes against excessive/inappropriate speed, drink driving and in

support of 100% helmet and seat belt use • Adherence to common data systems (30 day rule etc)

Political leaders…

Campaign Resources

www.makeroadssafe.org

-Websites, downloadables and policy information available in:

- Spanish

- French

- German

- Italian

- Russian

- Japanese

- Arabic (in progress)

Join Us...in calling for a Decade of Action

Thank You !