UN General Assembly discussion on road safety
On 2 March 2010, the UN General Assembly is scheduled to discuss and hopefully adopt a new resolution on road safety. Sponsored by the Government of the Russian Federation, and building on the "Moscow Declaration", the resolution is likely to call on Member States to declare 2011–2020 the "Decade of Action for Road Safety". Its goal is to halt or reverse the increasing trend in road traffic deaths and injuries around the world. A Plan of Action for the Decade calls upon Member States to among others:
- increase action to address the causes of road traffic crashes;
- set ambitious targets for the reduction of road traffic fatalities by 2020;
- increase resources for road safety;
- provide technical support using successful experiences from others; and
- monitor progress on a number of predefined indicators.
The resolution is likely to underline the importance of Member States to continue using the 2004 World report on road traffic injury prevention as a framework for their road safety efforts, calling for action on five main risk factors: the non-use of seat-belts and child restraints; drinking and driving; the non-use of helmets; excessive speed; and the lack of appropriate road infrastructure. It will likely call upon countries to pay particular attention to the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, those groups considered most vulnerable on the roads.
Members of the UN Road Safety Collaboration have developed a draft Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011- 2020. Sincere thanks to the many stakeholders who have provided feedback on the draft plan. The plan will now be revised according to this feedback and finalized for the end of the year. If you have queries regarding the plan, please write to traffic@who.int.