The Commission for Global Road Safety Patron HRH Prince Michael of Kent speaks at the Bibliothèque Solvay
EC Vice President Kallas
The Commission for Global Road Safety, led by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, has met in Brussels to review progress in its efforts to raise road safety on the international agenda, and to discuss its future role in supporting the implementation of the Decade of Action.
Lord Robertson chaired the first meeting of a newly re-constituted Commission, held at the Bibliothèque Solvay on October 26th, and welcomed the achievement of two of the Commission’s own recommendations: the Global Ministerial, held in Moscow in November 2009, and the approval of the Decade of Action by the United Nations. The Commission also reviewed the significant progress in its objectives of raising safe road infrastructure on the agenda of the Multilateral Development Banks, attempting to influence and improve safety policy in the Banks’ massive road lending programmes; and efforts to increase international funding for road safety. Participants at the meeting included some members of the original Commission which served from 2006-2010 and produced two influential ‘Make Roads Safe’ reports, such as General Victor Kiryanov, Head of Road Safety in the Russian Federation; Karla Gonzalez, former Minister of Transport in Costa Rica; and Ambassador Fuad Al Hinai, the Sultanate of Oman’s representative at the UN. New members included Professor Fred Wegman of SWOV and Colin Jordan, a former President of the World Roads Association, PIARC. All the members, who serve in an individual and independent capacity, paid tribute to the work of outgoing members of the Commission.
The Commission for Global Road Safety agreed to prepare a third ‘Make Roads Safe’ report which will include new policy recommendations to encourage the success of the Decade of Action. The report will be published at an event in London on 12th April 2011, one month before the global launch of the Decade of Action for Road Safety.
Lord Robertson said: “Our Commission has been both innovative and influential in recent years. Now that we have successfully encouraged the international community to unite for the Decade of Action our priority must be to put in place the policy measures, funding and accountability to enable a real breakthrough in injury reduction during this critical decade. The role of the Commission for Global Road Safety has been, and continues to be, to critically examine the efforts of the international community and its institutions, and to make ambitious but achievable recommendations that can contribute to saving peoples’ lives”.
The Commission’s Patron, HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO, joined Commission members and EU policymakers for a dinner at the Bibliothèque Solvay on the evening of October 26th. The guest of honour was the European Commission Vice President, and EU Transport Commissioner, Mr Siim Kallas.
HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO said: “It is the view of our Commission, and indeed many road safety experts, that we have the potential to save up to five million lives in the Decade of Action. But this will only happen if serious efforts are made to make road safety a priority across the world. Governments, industry, non-governmental organisations and ordinary road users must all have a role in making this happen”.
EC Vice President Kallas recently announced the European Union’s own proposals to reduce road fatalities by 50% between 2011-2020. Mr Kallas said: “Without such action, road trauma would continue to impose a massive burden on the European society and economy. Moreover, without a continued and strong political commitment, road fatalities and accidents would inevitably start to rise again. May it be clear that the European Commission wants to strongly support the contents of the UN programme for "a Decade of Action for Road Safety".
The Commissioner, who was presented with a road safety Decade ‘Tag’, the new global symbol for road safety, also committed to address the issue of safe road infrastructure and the role of the European Commission in funding road programmes in developing countries. “"The Commission will ensure that requests for funding from the EU funds related to road infrastructure within Member States incorporate safety requirements. An extension of this principle to external aid will be explored", he said.