 |
|
| Register Login |
| 2010 | |  |
|
| The Road Safety Foundation will continue to work with corporates, their employees and, as a key strategy for 2010, focus on key responsibilities of individual road users. Each individual that puts up their hand to behave in a responsible manner on the roads, takes us one step closer to safe roads. Let's work together to make our roads safe! |
| |
| |
|
| | |
| CLARE VALE –RSF ROAD SAFETY AMBASSADOR | | |
|
| 
The Road Safety Foundation is excited and proud to announce that, Clare Vale, South Africa’s only female driving in the Wesbank V8 Supercar Series, has accepted the invitation to become a Road Safety Ambassador. In her role as Road Safety Ambassador Clare will be creating awareness about the road safety challenges in South Africa and offer education and advice, which is vital to change the road safety situation in South Africa. One of the main focus areas will be road safety awareness among female road users under the banner of Women in Road Safety, a forum of the RSF. "We need to get the right messages to road users and through our Road Safety Ambassadors we will be able to extend our reach. We look forward to working with Clare and sharing her expertise with SA road users.” said RSF Director, Petro Kruger. “Road safety is an issue of critical importance in South Africa,” said Clare. “I’m totally committed to supporting the RSF and I am looking forward to making a contribution in any way I can.” |
| |
| |
| Make Roads Safe "Decade of Action" report launched to save 5 million lives | | |
|
| Lord Robertson, Felipe Massa and Michelle Yeoh show their support for a Decade of Action for Road Safety Governments in all countries must combat the world’s fastest growing public health emergency by committing to a road safety ‘Decade of Action’ which would save 5 million lives and prevent 50 million serious injuries, says the new report by the Commission for Global Road Safety launched in Rome on 5 May. A coordinated UN action plan for road safety is urgently needed with road crashes set to become the leading cause of disability and premature death for children aged 5-14 across developing countries by 2015. Make Roads Safe campaign ambassador, movie actor Michelle Yeoh joined Ministers from developing countries, senior UN and World Bank figures, and celebrities including F1 driver Felipe Massa, at the report launch in Rome to highlight the hidden epidemic of road traffic injuries and to urge UN action on road safety. The ‘Make Roads Safe’ report, endorsed by the world’s leading road safety experts, urges UN governments attending the first ever global governmental conference on road safety in Moscow in November, to support a ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’ between 2010-2020. During the Decade the international community should invest in a $300 million action plan to catalyse traffic injury prevention and re-focus national road safety policies and budgets. Road crashes already kill more people in the developing world than malaria, at an economic cost of up to $100 billion a year, equivalent to all overseas aid from OECD countries: - More than one million people are killed on the roads of developing countries every year, and tens of millions are injured, a toll set to double by 2030. Road crashes are already the leading global cause of death for young people aged 10-24;
- Road crashes have now overtaken malaria as a major killer in developing countries;
- They are forecast to be the number one cause of disability and premature death for children aged 5-14 in developing countries by 2015, according to WHO projections.
To tackle this growing epidemic, the Commission for Global Road Safety makes a number of key recommendations: - The UN should approve a ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’ and governments should collectively commit to reducing the forecast 2020 level of road deaths by 50% (from 1.9 million to below 1 million a year). It would have a similar status to the current UN Decade to Roll Back Malaria;
- Achieving the 2020 target could save up to 5 million lives and prevent 50 million serious injuries – a $300 million international fund should be established to encourage and support road safety interventions;
- Interim targets and strategies should be established to promote 100% helmet and seat belt use in every country by 2020, together with other road safety interventions;
- The World Bank, regional development banks and other donors should dedicate at least 10% of their road investment budgets to road safety;
- The UN Secretary General should appoint a UN Special Envoy for Road Safety to raise the profile of the issue.
Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, Chairman of the Commission for Global Road Safety, said: “Five million lives are at stake over the coming decade. We have the tools and the vaccines to save these lives. Now we need the international community to demonstrate the political will to succeed. The forthcoming ministerial meeting in Moscow can be the turning point marking a new direction for global road safety. We must respond to this preventable epidemic with urgency and determination.” Michelle Yeoh, Make Roads Safe Global Ambassador, said: “Over the past year I have traveled in many countries and seen the terrible impact that a lack of basic road safety can have on people’s lives. A child is killed or maimed on the roads every thirty seconds. These tragedies are so sad, and so unnecessary, because we have the ability to prevent this. It is time for the talking to stop. It is time for real action to make roads safe.” Felipe Massa said: “We must do more to tackle road traffic injuries, the biggest killer of young people around the world. By promoting seat belt and helmet use, enforcing drink driving and speeding, and improving road and vehicle design we can really make a difference. I am pleased to support the Make Roads Safe campaign and the call for a Decade of Action for road safety.” It is the second report from the Commission for Global Road Safety, led by Rt. Hon. Lord Robertson of Port Ellen. The Commission was established to examine the framework for, and level of, international cooperation on road safety, and to make policy recommendations. One key recommendation for the first ever Ministerial-level global conference on road safety, was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2008. Following the report launch, Michelle Yeoh introduced a special screening of her documentary film ‘Turning Point’ which is the result of a year spent travelling around the world discovering the extent of the road safety epidemic. The film was also shown on the BBC. |
| |
| |
| Three-point seat belt celebrates 50 years | | |
|
| The Road Safety Foundation wishes to congratulate Volvo, as one of its founder members, for saving hundreds-of-thousands of lives and preventing millions of serious injuries over the past 50 years. Volvo became the first manufacturer to fit three-point front seatbelts as standard in all of its cars as early as 1959. And it was the first car company to fit rear seatbelts as standard in 1967, many years before wearing them became compulsory. Swedish inventor, Nils Bohlin invented the three-point seat belt - not the first but the modern seatbelt – which is now a standard safety device in most cars. Early tests showed that the belt was effective in restraining the body in high-speed crashes and in preventing ejection. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that in America, the seat belt saves over four thousand lives and prevents over 100,000 injuries a year. Bohlin was recruited in 1958 by Volvo to become its first safety engineer. He came from the aerospace industry and had seen the stresses that the human body undergoes in high-speed crash situations. He also understood the limitations of existing restraint devices. Following a year of extensive testing and engineering, Bohlin realised that a strap across the chest and another across the hips restrained people efficiently. His simple solution also allowed a person to buckle up with just one hand. Thank you Volvo and Mr Bohlin for making each trip a safer one. That is, of course, provided you use your seat belt, but then again why wouldn’t you? ENDS Contact – Petro Kruger 012 348 2297 / 083 386 6963 |
| |
| |
| Bridgestone SA supports Decade of Action for Road Safety | | |
|
| CEO of Bridgestone South Africa, Yujiro Kanahara, supports the "Decade of Action for Road Safety". But many developing countries need international assistance if they are to improve road safety and develop their own home-grown technical expertise. The solution: a ten year, $300 million Action Plan, combined with a global target to cut by 50% the predicted increase in global road deaths between 2010 - 2020.
In developing countries the number of people killed on the roads is predicted to rise by at least 80% over the next 20 years. We can avoid this terrible prediction, and save millions of lives, if the 2009 UN Ministerial Conference on global road safety commits to take serious action. We know what works: making vehicles safer and designing roads to be safe for all road users; tackling inappropriate speed and drink driving; promoting seat belt use and helmet wearing; improving driver training and police enforcement; taking care to protect the most vulnerable road users like children and pedestrians. |
| |
| |
| RSF SUPPORTS DECADE OF ACTION | | |
|
| The Road Safety Foundation (RSF) support the Make Roads Safe campaign and its Call for a Decade of Action for Road Safety. Said Petro Kruger, RSF Director, “The Make Roads Safe campaign has placed road safety on the UN agenda and the first UN Ministerial Conference on Road Safety will be held in Moscow in November 2009. The Make Road Safe campaign is now proposing that the UN Ministerial should recommend a ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety between 2010-2020 with the aim of reducing the projected increase in global road deaths by 50% by 2020. The proposal is modelled on the current UN Decade to Roll Back Malaria. Globally road crashes and Malaria kill a similar number of people each year, yet road injuries are seriously neglected by comparison, with minimal intervention by the international community.” In developing countries the number of people killed on the roads is predicted to increase by at least 80% over the next 20 years. The Make Roads Safe campaign calls for a ten year, $300-million Action Plan, combined with a global target to reduce by 50% the predicted increase in global road deaths between 2010 and 2020. Internationally the Make Roads Safe campaign, and the Decade of Action for Road Safety, is supported by, among others: Michelle Yeoh (actress), Jet Li (actor), Bill Clinton (Ex US President), Michael Palin (writer, actor), Jimmy Carter (Ex US President), Sonia Ghandi (President, Indian National Congress) and Oscar Arias Sanchez (President of Costa Rica). ENDS |
| |
| |
| Prioritising Pedestrian Road Safety | | |
|
| N3 Toll Concession (N3TC) has identified Pedestrian Safety as its focus area for 2008 Transport Month (October), which has triggered the launch of the N3TC Road Safety Poster Competition. Over 40 schools situated in the near vicinity of the N3 Toll Route, between Heidelberg and Cedara, will be participating in the Competition. The Competition has been endorsed by the Road Safety Foundation and is aligned with the THINK! Kidz Foundation, an initiative aimed at educating children on road safety practices that will benefit the entire family. Prize money to the value of R22 000 will be awarded to category winners of the Competition, which will see the winning learners and their respective schools each receiving some financial reward for their efforts. The Competition includes the following categories: Ø Pre-Primary – Grade R Ø Primary Foundation Phase – Grade 1 to 3 Ø Primary Senior Phase – Grade 4 to 7 Ø High School- Grade 8 to 11 The Competition will be launched into all the schools during October, in conjunction with the various Provincial Department of Transport Road Safety Officers as well as key N3TC personnel. Individual school judging will take place during the first week of November, following which the finalists’ posters will be sent to N3TC’s head office for the final judging by N3TC’s management team and the Road Safety Foundation’s directors. The winners should be announced by the end of November 2008 and an exhibition of the winning posters will be set up at the THINK! Kidz initiative, which will take place at the Engen Vaal One-Stop on the 12th and 13th of December 2008. Many of the fatal accidents recorded on the N3 Toll Route are as a result of accidents involving pedestrians, most could have been prevented by applying basic road safety principles through education and awareness. “N3TC records, on average, four pedestrian fatalities on the N3 Toll Route per month. The twist in this tale, however, is that pedestrians are, by law, not permitted to be on a National Route and this poses major challenges for community leaders and law enforcement authorities,” commented Con Roux, Commercial Manager of N3TC. “These fatalities could be avoided if local community members truly understood the dangers of crossing a national route and the high speeds of the vehicles travelling on this road,” continued Roux. The problem is further aggravated by the high volumes of heavy vehicles making use of the N3. It is common to see trucks stopping along the route (which is illegal) and picking up pedestrians/passengers and dropping them off again further along the N3. While economic pressures are most often the reason for pedestrian activity and hitchhiking, lives are being compromised as a result. “N3TC believes that through continuous education efforts, such as this Competition, and consistent messaging we will be able to make a difference in the lives of those that hold the future of South Africa in their hands,” concluded Roux. |
| |
| |
|
|
‘UN needs to do more to reduce road death figures’ |
|
|
BUSINESS DAY - MOTOR NEWS REPORTER
The Commission for Global Road Safety has called on the United Nations to find more ways to reduce fatalities on our roads THE United Nations (UN) should set ambitious targets for reducing global road deaths if an immense human disaster is to be avoided, warns the Commission for Global Road Safety. Road fatalities are set to double over the next 20 years, overtaking malaria and tuberculosis as a leading cause of death, unless urgent action is taken now to improve road safety in rapidly motorising countries, it says. Already 1,3-million people are killed on the world’s roads each year — set to increase to 2,1-million by 2030, World Health Organisation (WHO) forecasts say. The global community must commit to a 10-year plan with tough regional targets for injury reduction to prevent these forecasts from being realised, the commission says. Commission members led by former North Atlantic Treaty Organisation secretary-general Lord Robertson reviewed progress in tackling the global road death toll at a meeting in St Petersburg recently. Hosted by the Russian government, the meeting also planned the next phase of its global Make Roads Safe campaign before the first UN Ministerial Conference on Global Road Safety, to be held in Moscow in November 2009. The commission agreed to urge UN member governments to set and achieve tough targets for reducing road fatalities and injuries by 2020 when they meet in 2009. Robertson says: “ Road deaths are a growing epidemic, requiring a rapidly escalated response. The UN has decided that this problem is serious enough to warrant a UN conference bringing together governments from across the world. Today the commission is calling on ministers, when they meet in Moscow, to agree on an ambitious 10 -year vision for road safety, with the political and financial commitment to deliver action and save lives.” Michael Schumacher, a key member of the commission, says: “Every 30 seconds someone is killed on the world’s roads. We can act now to prevent this or we can wait a few years until someone is being killed every 15 seconds. This is the choice.” Michelle Yeoh, global ambassador for the Make Roads Safe campaign, says: “Children and young people are most affected by this epidemic. I have met mothers trying to protect their children, who would love for their voices to be heard by policymakers. They are fighting for basic human rights, the right to be safe on the roads.” The FIA Foundation also met recently and raised serious concerns regarding the safety of tourists in developing nations around the world. Experts from international organisations, governments and the private sector gathered in Paris to address the growing problem of road safety among tourists. Transport strategy consultant John White is conducting research for the foundation. He highlights the scale of the problem. “The WHO has recognised that traffic collisions are the most frequent cause of death among travellers. The problem is that tourists arrive mostly unaware of the risk they are taking,” he says. White notes that a common problem is that people travel from low risk countries with good road safety records to high-risk areas and are not prepared for different conditions. Direk Glaesser, risk and crisis management chief at the World Tourism Organisation, says the issue is a major global problem. “Tourists are vulnerable. They are unaware of their surroundings and the road signs they are faced with. What actually defines tourism is that people are likely to take part in more unusual activities that they would do at home. “We agree that this is an important issue to be addressed. We see that the number of accidents is increasing. What we have to ensure is that the signalling effects of road accidents are reduced. These are the effects which cause the wider impacts; they have enormous effects on tourism and the economy of host countries.” Governments are beginning to take the issue seriously, with the US and UK in particular initiating programmes on tourism and road safety. The US state department has found that vehicle accidents are the most common cause of death for US travellers abroad. Catherine Barry, consul-general of France for the US state department, says: “Road safety is covered by our consulates all over the world as a standalone issue along with health and crime in the information we provide, particularly on our websites.” The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has launched a Steer Clear of Trouble on Foreign Roads campaign after evidence from its consulates of high rates of road deaths and injuries. Jess Prasad, head of the publicity team, Consular Communications, at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, says: “Brits make about 70-million trips a year and eight-million drive when abroad. A lot of the most popular holiday destinations have much higher rates of road-related deaths. As much as 50% of hospitalisations and deaths were related to road accidents in 2007 and tourists are three times more likely than locals to be involved in a road accident.” |
|
 | |
|
| | |
|