Krug: Why we need road safety performance targets, indicators
Posted 6 years ago
On this World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims,
we once again turn our thoughts to the millions who have lost loved ones on the
world's roads this year.
Every day the media bring us news of tragic events, behind
each of which are a grieving family and friends, whose lives are forever
changed.
It is indeed a time to remember and to acknowledge that much
more must be done – and now – to avoid such tragic loss of life.
Two years ago governments around the world set an ambitious
target to drastically reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50 percent by
2020.
Released in May this year by WHO in partnership with members
of the UN Road Safety Collaboration, SaveLIVES: a road safety technical package
gives guidance to governments and their partners on how to advance progress
towards that target.
With its six strategies and 22 interventions, the package
has done the hard work of prioritizing what works.
This includes measures to design roads and vehicles for
safety, manage speed, enforce traffic laws and provide emergency care for
victims following a crash. The package also underscores the relevance of
leadership as the key to success.
Accelerating progress towards safer roads will be
facilitated with the setting of road safety performance targets and indicators,
a process currently underway.
Once finalized, this will mean that governments will know
how far they have come and how far they still need to go to save millions of
lives.
The best way to honour the memory of those who have suffered
on the world’s roads would be for governments to fulfil the commitments they
made at the start of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 before it
is too late.
My colleagues and I wish you a successful World Day of
Remembrance.
This is a statement of
the chair of the UN Road Safety Collaboration Dr Etienne Krug during the World
Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims observed on November 20, 2017.
The statements
and opinions expressed by the author on this page do not necessarily reflect
the opinions, beliefs, viewpoints or official policies of the Road Safety Hub.
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