IIRU joined the Global Road Safety Decade of Action Working Group Meeting

On February 24th, 2010, the working group meeting for Global Road Safety Decade of Action (2011-2020) was held in Washington, DC. IIRU was invited to attend this conference organized by the FIA Foundation. The objectives of this meeting were to disseminate information from First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held in Moscow in November 2009, and identify strategies for the Decade of Action and mechanisms for continued coordination of activities. Over seventy representatives from governmental sectors, private sectors and non-governmental organizations participated in the meeting.

In the opening presentation, Nancy Carter-Foster from U.S. Department of State called for greater international collaboration and cooperation in support of increased global road safety and reducing the number of life lost due to road crashes. Dr. David Sleet from Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) addressed the burden of road traffic injuries around the world and the importance of injury surveillance. In reframing road infrastructure and land use, speakers in the panel discussion suggested the governments should raise public awareness, develop capacity and set a goal of intervention for institutions to follow.

Panelists stated that road safety is a development priority and highlighted the need to accelerate the transfer of knowledge to low and middle-income countries, and to help scale up their road safety investment to unprecedented levels. Another panel discussed that all-inclusive approaches to road safety should include technology and the proper training to implement technologies, including collection and use of statistics, low cost safety improvements, safety toolkits and pedestrian safety.

At the conclusion of the meeting, all NGO representatives agreed that 1) infrastructure, 2) vehicle safety, 3) police enforcement and 4) technical assistance & management system are the key points to develop sustainable strategies for Decade of Action. IIRU looks forward to working with partners in the global road safety community and contributing towards a successful Decade of Action.