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THE FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DE L'AUTOMOBILE
On
the proposal of the World Council for Mobility and
the Automobile
Whereas:
1)
Road traffic crashes result in
at least 1.2 million deaths and over 50 million
injuries each year, and that road traffic deaths
and injuries (RTIs) are forecast to increase by
more than 60% by 2020; Most of this increase is
occurring in low and middle income countries and
although there has been significant progress in
the industrialized countries more effort is required
to reduce the risk of death and injury on the road;
Motorists and all road users have the right to expect
the highest safety standards of road traffic regulation,
vehicle capability for crash avoidance and crashworthiness,
of road construction and design, and post crash
response; Action is, therefore, needed globally
and locally to make roads safe;
2)
The World Report on Road Traffic injury Prevention
published by the World Health Organisation and the
World Bank identifies the key 'risk factors' that
contribute to RTIs, including non use of seat belts,
child restraints and helmets; excessive speed, drink
driving and poor road infrastructure; The UN General
Assembly resolution has supported the establishment
of the UN Road Safety Collaboration and called on
Member States to implement the recommendations of
the World Report; The World Bank, with the support
of the FIA Foundation, has established the Global
Road Safety Facility to facilitate investment in
road safety in low and middle income countries;
3)
The Commission for Global Road Safety has recommended
to the G8 leading industrialized nations that a
$300 million ten year Action Plan for Global Road
Safety be adopted to help low and middle income
countries to develop national road safety strategies
based on the recommendations of the World Report;
The European Union, the European Conference of Ministers
of transport, African Ministers of Transport, ASEAN
Ministers of Transport, the Organisation of Economic
Cooperation and Development and other similar governmental
bodies have adopted road safety casualty reduction
targets, strategies and action plans;
4)
Action is necessary to promote better road user
behaviour through road safety awareness campaigns
to promote seat belt use, respect for speed limits,
and against drink driving combined with appropriate
and transparent enforcement strategies; and that
provision of high standards of driver training and
education especially for young road users and children
is essential to develop a culture of road safety;
5)
Improvements in motor vehicle design and technology
for both active and passive safety will continue
to make cars safer than ever before; Intelligent
'eSafety' systems also have the potential to promote
crash avoidance and emergency response; Harmonisation
at a global level of the US, European and Japanese
vehicle construction standards will contribute to
the spread of safer motor vehicles around the world;
Consumer information initiatives pioneered by automobile
clubs such as New Car Assessment Programmes have
surpassed regulatory requirements and helped to
create a market for safer cars;
6)
Investment in safer roads offers the most potential
to avoid crashes and to reduce the risk of road
traffic deaths and injuries both for motorists and
all road users; Safety rating and assessment of
road networks is urgently needed to inform both
road users and road authorities of the level of
risk and the scope for improvement; The World Bank
recommends that a minimum of 10% of total road investment
project costs should include a road safety component,
however, current levels of investment in the safety
levels of road infrastructure in many countries
falls below this guideline;
7)
The achievement of the Millenium Development Goals
to eradicate poverty, promote health and education
and to promote sustainable development by 2015 will
be undermined by the forecast rise in road traffic
deaths and injuries and, therefore, requires a new
commitment by the international community to promote
road safety especially through greater investment
in safer roads;
8)
The United Nations has designated April 23rd
- 29th 2007 as the first ever Global Road Safety
Week with a special emphasis on young road users;
Young road users and children remain a very vulnerable
group at high risk of fatal or serious injury in
road crashes;
9)
The FIA, and its member clubs, together with
the FIA Foundation for the Automobile & Society,
all play a leading role in global road safety advocacy
and the promotion of safer drivers, safer cars and
safer roads;
Hereby decides:
To
support the United Nations Global Road Safety Week
2007 and to encourage all FIA member clubs to participate
fully in activities associated with the Week and,
in particular, to highlight the theme of the safety
of young road users and children;
To
endorse the recommendations of the Commission for
Global Road Safety, welcome the proposal for a Global
Action Plan, a Ministerial Conference and a Global
Road Safety Charter and to support the 'Make Roads
Safe' campaign to ensure that road safety takes
it proper place on the agenda of the G8, the United
Nations, and other relevant regional groupings such
as the European Union, the Asian Pacific Economic
Community and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development;
To
endorse the recommendations of the World Report
on Road Traffic Injury Prevention and welcome the
establishment of the UN Road Safety Collaboration
and the World Bank's Global Road Safety Facility
which together will be an important catalyst to
greater investment in road safety in low and middle-income
countries;
To
recommend that all countries identify a lead agency
to develop national road safety action plans, adopt
realistic but achievable casualty reduction targets,
develop RTI prevention measures that are based on
local assessment and data, and to work closely with
motoring organizations and other relevant stakeholders
to ensure the effective implementation of the action
plan;
To
support and encourage participation by FIA member
clubs in road safety awareness campaigns, such as
'Think Before You Drive' and other similar initiatives
aiming to promote key road safety messages such
as seat belt, helmet and child restraint use, avoiding
drinkdriving and excessive speed; and to promote
high standards of driver training and education
to promote a culture of safety among all road users.
Continue
to support motoring organizations in their pioneering
role as developers of independent consumer safety
rating systems both for new cars and for roads through
New Car Assessment Programmes (such as the EuroNCAP,
ANCAP etc.) and the International Road Assessment
Programme (IRAP);
To support greater efforts to harmonies at a high
level of protection motor vehicle safety standards
through the United Nations World Forum for Harmonisation
of Vehicle Regulations and to encourage faster deployment
of proven active and passive safety technologies
onto the market by a combination of consumer information,
fiscal incentives and where necessary regulation;
To
support increased investment in the safety standards
of road networks across the world by promoting rating
and assessment systems that will ensure that unsafe
road design is eliminated, and to ensure that a
minimum of 10% of total road project costs are dedicated
to safety engineering and related action plans.
To
support increased investment in campaigns with the
aim of making drivers aware of the risks arising
from the roads, urging them to avoid risky behaviours
such as not using the safety belt, ignoring speed
limits or, in the case of motorbike riders, not
wearing a crash helmet.
To
support the know-how transfer as regards road safety
from the most developed countries to the medium-to-low-income
countries, especially concerning active and passive
safety standards fitted into the vehicles, as well
as road design, building and maintenance.
To
support the development of driver training standards
to ensure an appropriate level of technical training
for drivers, not only at the beginning of their
driving experience but also throughout their life
as drivers.
To review progress on Global road Safety and the
recommendations contain in this declaration at the
FIA General Assembly in 2009.
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