Aiming to make the world a safer place
Every six seconds a person is killed or maimed on the world's roads, meaning that crashes kill on the scale of malaria or TB, which is why April 23-29 has been designated United Nations Global Road Safety Week...
The first United Nations Global Road Safety Week has two major focuses - cutting the road death toll among children and action from the international community to cut road deaths globally, particularly in third world countries
The focal point for UK involvement is a free 'Make Roads Safe' Rally and conference being held on Monday, April 23 at One Great George Street, Westminster, London. The first United Nations Global Road Safety Week has two major focuses - cutting the road death toll among children and young drivers and action from the international community to cut road deaths globally, particularly in third world countries.
More than 1.2 million people are killed and 20 to 50 million more injured annually on the world's road and now a global campaign is being waged to put road safety on the international political agenda.
The 'Make Roads Safe' campaign was launched last year by the independent Commission for Global Road Safety to demand action by the international community to cut the toll of road crash tragedy - second only to HIV/AIDS as an international killer of young men (RoadSafe: winter 2006/7).
The 'Make Roads Safe' campaign is calling for recognition by the world's richest nations, collectively known as the G8, and the international community that global road traffic injuries represent an urgent public health emergency and a major development challenge. It wants action by the UN, G8 and major aid donors to:
- Fund a global Action Plan to improve road safety in developing countries
- Ensure that at least 10% of road budgets provided by the World Bank and other major lenders is devoted to road safety
- A UN summit to agree high level political commitment to action on global road traffic injuries
The London Rally is being supported by RoadSafe as well as the Commission for Global Road Safety, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the British Red Cross, the RAC Foundation and the FIA Foundation.
Apart from the rally, conference speakers, who will focus on international as well as domestic road safety issues, will include: Prince Michael of Kent, patron of the Commission for Global Road Safety; Lord Robertson, chairman of the Commission for Global Road Safety; Max Mosley, president of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile; Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander and Tony Bliss, lead road safety specialist at the World Bank.
The event will also involve Formula One world motor racing champion Michael Schumacher.
During the Week, it is expected that hundreds of initiatives - local, national, regional and global - will take place to promote safer driving.
For example, in Scotland the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents is holding a series of events, particularly focusing on young drivers.
Meanwhile, residents of Ridgway Place, Wimbledon, in London, are organising their own local campaign.
Meanwhile, since last year the Commission has been calling on the public to join its campaign by signing an online petition at www. makeroadssafe.org and to raise awareness in offices, communities and schools and by writing to MPs.
Further details about the Make Roads Safe Rally are available at www.makeroadssafe.org