A high level road safety seminar to promote the “Make Roads Safe” campaign was held in Shanghai on Friday 29 September. The meeting examined the major road safety challenges facing the Asian Pacific region where road deaths per vehicle are currently twice the world average. In 2005 an estimated 440,000 people were killed on the region’s roads. This death toll is forecast to rise to 660,000 by 2010 amounting to two thirds of the world total. The Shanghai meeting examined the potential of safer roads, vehicles and drivers to reverse this deteriorating road safety situation.
Delegates were also invited to attend a reception hosted by Ferrari team principal, Jean Todt at the Chinese F1 Grand Prix. Former World Champion and Member of the Commission for Global Road Safety, Michael Schumacher spoke to the seminar participants and urged them to support the Make Roads Safe campaign. “Motoring clubs”, he said “can play a key role in lobbying for the implementation of the recommendations of our Commission’s report”.
Participants included CEOs and Presidents from motoring organisations from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Sri Lanka as well as representatives from the Shanghai Municipal government, the Chinese Ministries of Communication and Security, the China Automotive Technology & Research Centre, the World Health Organisation, BP China, Bridgestone China, and NCAP China.
Speakers at the seminar included Tony Bliss, the World Bank’s Senior Road Safety Specialist, John Dawson, Chairman of iRAP (& FIA Foundation Trustee) on road infrastructure safety, Christian Gerondeau, President of the French Federation of Automobile Clubs (& Foundation Trustee) on the French experience of reducing road traffic fatalities, Lauchlan McIntosh of the Australian Automobile Association on the role of New Car Assessment Programmes and David Ward, the Foundation’s Director General on the Make Roads Safe Report and developments in the Asia Pacific Region.