#SpeakUp to save lives: Global Road Safety Week 2019
The #SpeakUp campaign, designed for this years Road Safety Week, aligns to the principles of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020
Sadrul Hasan Mazumder
The 5th UN Global Road Safety Week is being celebrated across the world with the theme#SpeakUp to Save Lives. To achieve the road safety targets, including SDG target 3.6 to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2020 and SDG target 11.2 to provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all by 2030, it is required to have enlightened leaders capable to providing a vision of what the future might look like. This theme#SpeakUp to Save Lives calls for higher demand for strong leadership for road safety in governments, UN agencies, and civil societies, and immediate actions are needed to protect lives. The celebration of the week has been an inspiration for NGOs, foundations, schools, and universities to resolutely implement the education and meaningful intervention in road safety.
According to WHO, nearly 1.3 million people die in road traffic crash which averages as more than 3000 deaths every day. Of these, nearly 400,000 young people under the age of 25 are killed. Millions more are injured or disabled. Road traffic crashes are the leading cause of death among young people globally. In Bangladesh, there are debates on the actual number of road crash statistics though deaths and damages of properties caused by road crashes have become a daily and deadly phenomenon in Bangladesh, which has one of the worst crash rates in the world, at more than 60 per 10,000 registered motor vehicles. Study and researches show multifaceted causes of road crash ranging from population explosion, unplanned urbanization, and tremendous growth of motorized as well as non-motorized and para-transit vehicles, which include but not limited to the engineering aspect of road construction, architecture of vehicles accelerated by mismanagement of the entire transport sector.
United Nations launched the Road Safety Strategy, which aims to meet the road safety targets in the Sustainable Development Goals early this year. The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety, holding goals to reduce injuries and fatalities caused by road traffic at local, national and international levels. In line with SDG3: Good Health and Well-being, and SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, the United Nations call for leadership in every community and institution to provide advocacy and technical assistant to ensure the implementation of Road Safety Strategy. The goal is to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2020. The target to save lives is indeed very ambitious but not un-achievable with everyone taking the responsibility to support it.
The #SpeakUp campaign, designed for this years Road Safety Week, aligns to the principles of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. It advocates for a more comprehensive education of the risk on the road as well as traffic regulations and encourages all of us to start to demand road safety interventions that are evident-based and are proven to work. Focused on providing an opportunity for civil society to generate demands for strong leadership for road safety, especially around concrete, evidence-based interventions, which will save lives observance of the road safety week.
This year the campaign has been designed to inspire leaders to take action by showcasing examples of strong leadership for road safety within governments, international agencies, NGOs, foundations, schools and universities, and private companies, among others.
Road Safety Week has been kicked off just after the sixth global meeting of NGOs advocating for road safety held during 9-13th April 2019. Around 270 road safety activists from across the continents attending the global meeting observed that despite notable progress in raising road safety to the global agenda, road crashes are now estimated to kill around 1.35 million people every year and have become the leading cause of death among young people aged between five and 29 years old, according to the latest Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018. Although the burden is universal, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are hit the hardest, with over 90% of all deaths occurring in these countries.
The activists also raised their concern that despite global commitments, these have not translated into national action and that the Decade of Action and the road safety SDG 3.6 both expire in 2020 with no global commitments in place yet to continue the crucial fight against road deaths beyond this date. Road crash, which is caused by human or mechanical failure, negligence, or a combination of many other unknown factors should be dealt with the principles of prevention, attention, and compensation. Thus right way the Road Safety Week this year has targeted primarily at civil society organizations and policy-makers in charge of road safety designed to explore the risk people face on their daily travels tagged as this is my journey; the demands they generate based on these risks tagged as this is my demand; and the ways that forceful and compelling leaders can work with them to address these demands tagged as this is our solution. These would reflect in actions to improve road safety management; make roads, vehicles and road users safer; and enhance emergency and trauma care following a crash.
In any human attempt to reduce fatalities of a road crash, proper legislation and effective enforcement are a must. During the pre-crash period, prevention and attention are associated with the capacity and skill of all concerned where we do not have sufficient institutional arrangement. Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), which should take the lead in managing road crash issues clearly lack of capacity and skill and are not equipped enough to handle the current demand. In Bangladesh, Road Safety Panel has been formulated comprises of influential and policymakers, which has prepared 111 recommendations including creation of road safety authority under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister. The set of recommendations include provision for creating social awareness, enhancing skills of drivers including the adoption of disciplinary arrangements, improving Infrastructure and developing a monitoring system to oversee the safety issues.
Under the #SpeakUp campaignin observance of the Road Safety Week this year, WHO has synthesized evidence-based measures that can significantly reduce road traffic fatalities and injuries that includes Speed Management: Speeding is a major risk factor for road traffic injuries, contributing to both crash risk and crash consequences. Leadership: Effective leadership is critical to mobilize action for the implementation of road safety policies and strategies. Leaders must ensure there is collaboration across a diverse group of actors including those from health, transport, finance, education and law enforcement agencies.Infrastructure design: Governments should prioritize updating road design standards and ensure that new roads are planned, designed and operated according to safety standards.Vehicle safety standards: Safe vehicles play a critical role in averting crashes and reducing the likelihood of serious injury.Enforcement of traffic laws: Establish and enforce laws at national, local and city level is vital to reduce road crash injuries. Survival after a crash: Effective emergency care begins at the scene of injury with assistance from bystanders and continues through prehospital care and transport to services at an appropriate medical facility.
Like other parts of the globe the Road Safety Week has been observed in Bangladesh.To make the campaign on road safety number of issues have been discussed. Earlier this year, during the sixth global meeting of the UN Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety activists calls on national governments to:
● extend SDG target 3.6 until 2030, in order to keep adequate political focus and commitment on a major global health and development issue;
●● embed the Voluntary targets in national policy, as guiding points for national level actions on road safety;
●● continue and reinforce a global-level accountability system, including via the Global Status Report and by addressing road safety in relevant SDGs processes (Voluntary National Reviews, High-Level Political Forum);
●● take the lead in road safety and road victim supportthrough political ownership, long-term vision, strategic leadership, and by putting the needs of people and communities at the center of road safety actions;
●● recognize and involve NGOs, that are often the eyes, ears, and voices of their communities,
● enabling them by giving them the means to work and guaranteeing their independence as critical voices;
●● scale up financing for road safety, both through national resources and through international cooperation programmes;
●● build on evidence of the impact of road risk, disaggregated data about victims, and successful measures to design and implement appropriate and effective road safety strategies.
Leadership for road safetyhas been the key component of efforts at national and local levels which will be further discussed as an important theme during the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety to be hosted by the Government of Sweden in Stockholm on 19-20 February 2020.
Delegates from around the world from sectors such as transport, health, interior, and others will review progress in the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and define the urgent steps needed to accelerate action to reach road safety targets, including the 12 newly established global performance targets.
The writer is a Policy Activist and Coordinator of Safe Road and Transport Alliance (SROTA), available at [email protected]
