A new report by the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, has praised the work of the FIA Foundation as a leading partner in road safety collaboration.
The report, examining the implementation of General Assembly resolution 58/289 on improving global road safety, provides a review of global road safety activities since 2004, spurred by the first ever World Health Day dedicated to road safety, the launch of the joint WHO/World Bank World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention and the passage of UN resolution 58/289.
It remarks on the considerable momentum created within a collaborative framework of governments, NGOs, international agencies, donors, research agencies and the private sector towards meeting the objectives of the resolution, which seeks to facilitate closer international co-operation on road safety within the UN framework. Within this framework, the FIA Foundation has played a leading role.
The United Nations Road Safety Collaboration, established as a result of the resolution, has met twice since October 2004, bringing together 42 organisations, including the FIA Foundation, to share their experiences and expertise on road safety. Discussion has led to the identification of specific areas where efforts can be concentrated to improve road safety: helmet wearing, inappropriate and excessive speed, drinking and driving and the use of safety belts and child restraints. To address these, a series of “how to” manuals will be produced providing guidance to countries on how to implement the recommendations identified in the World Report. The development of the manuals is being led by the FIA Foundation, World Bank, WHO and Global Road Safety Partnership.
The Working Party on Road Traffic Safety of the Economic Commission for Europe has been working on revising the consolidated resolutions on road traffic and on road signs and signals. The revised resolutions are intended to take into account the situation in as many different countries as possible in order to make them as broadly applicable as possible. They will include measures to be adopted by member states to address alcohol, speed, education, traffic rules, vehicle inspections, driver training and infrastructure development.
The report recommends that the United Nations reaffirm its commitment to the global road safety crisis. It recognises that there is a new willingness amongst international organisations to acknowledge and tackle the global road safety crisis, yet warns also of the danger of losing the momentum for action created over the last year.
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