Michelle Yeoh
FIA Foundation Deputy Director Saul Billingsley
Decade of Action panel discussion (l-r) John Dawson, Miguel Nadal, Jean Todt, Jacob Bangsgaard
The latest developments in the FIA Foundation’s ‘Decade of Action’ and ‘50by50’ campaigns have been discussed at a FIA Foundation Policy Forum in Argentina.
Buenos Aires saw the latest stage of the Make Roads Safe campaign’s global tour as campaign ambassador Michelle Yeoh urged automobile clubs to keep up the pressure for action ahead of the Moscow Ministerial meeting. Addressing representatives of dozens of motoring organisations from across the world, the movie star and global ambassador warned against complacency in expecting road safety objectives at the forthcoming Moscow Ministerial Meeting on Global Road Safety would be achieved without a massive effort.
At a working ‘Policy Forum’ organised by the FIA Foundation for its affiliated automobile clubs from across the world the emphasis was on both campaign planning and eventual implementation of a Decade of Action. The meeting, opened by FIA Foundation Chairman Carlos Macaya, reviewed progress in the campaign to secure UN support for action on road traffic injuries. In his opening speech, Mr Macaya praised the achievements of automobile clubs and urged greater efforts:
“We are shaping and leading the global policy agenda on road safety. We are also contributing to finding and implementing road safety solutions. Your automobile clubs have already played a vital role in the Make Roads Safe campaign, delivering hundreds of thousands of signatures for our petition to the UN. Now we need your help to raise political support and awareness of the Moscow Conference and our call for a Decade of Action for road safety”, Carlos Macaya said.
The Foundation’s Deputy Director, Saul Billingsley, and the FIA’s Secretary General, Susan Pikrallidas, outlined the latest stages of the Make Roads Safe campaign, and presented delegates with practical steps for building political support and media awareness of the campaign’s objectives ahead of the Moscow meeting.
Two expert panels then discussed implementation of a Decade of Action. E-Safety Aware President Jean Todt set out the potential for new vehicle technologies to achieve dramatic casualty reductions, while iRAP Chairman John Dawson explained the latest developments in road assessment in Latin America, where a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Inter American Development Bank to mainstream safe road assessments into road infrastructure project design. The session, chaired by Miguel Nadal, Executive Director of the RACC Foundation, also heard from Nani Rodriguez of the Uruguayan road safety NGO Edu Car, campaigning against de-specification of safety measures for children in cars sold in Uruguay and across the continent.
A session on sustainable mobility was introduced with a wide-ranging presentation by Chilean environmental expert Gianni Lopez on the international partnership for clean fuels and vehicles; an overview of a proposed research project by the UN Environment Programme and the FIA Foundation on safe and sustainable road design; and the latest on independent consumer testing of emissions and fuel efficiency performance by the German auto club ADAC. The session also discussed the ‘50by50’ campaign being led by the FIA Foundation, UNEP, the International Energy Agency and the International Transport Forum, aiming to promote a 50% improvement in fuel efficiency across the global vehicle parc by 2050, to offset predicted dramatic increases in the numbers of vehicles.