Newsletter - March 2020
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Designing Roads for Safety
IRF President Bill Halkias joined other notable speakers such as Joy Kabatsi Kafura, State Minister of Transport of Uganda for a panel discussion on “Designing Roads for Safety” hosted in the official programme of the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference, Stockholm on 19-20 February 2020.
Pillar 2 of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action addresses safer roads and mobility. The road infrastructure industry invests over US$ 700 billion a year in the management, construction and maintenance of new and existing roads. Road design standards and layouts provide the foundation for all interactions between road users and road features. iRAP CEO Rob McInerney, who opened up the session, remarked that for the majority of road traffic crashes which result in deaths and injuries – head-on collisions, run-off road crashes, collisions at intersections and crashes involving pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists – engineering and traffic management solutions exist. The inherent safety and protective quality of road networks which benefit all road users should be prioritised, especially for the most vulnerable.
This will be achieved through the implementation of various road infrastructure agreements under the United Nations framework, independent road infrastructure assessments and audits in support of the Global Road Safety Performance Targets 3 and 4, and investment in safety-conscious planning, design, construction and operation of roads. “Every new road should focus on road safety for all users” stated the Ugandan Minister of Transport. Governments and road authorities should identify and eliminate all high-risk roads, by improving the safety performance for all road users.
(L-R) Andre Dzikus, Karen Vancluysen, Rob McInerney, Bill Halkias, Joy Kabatsi
Kafura,
Claude Van Rooten
Pillar 2 of the UN Road Safety Collaboration Group, which IRF co-chairs, recently released the “Ten Step Plan for Safer Road Infrastructure”, which represents one of the tools offering guidance to countries seeking to implement initiatives in relation to the “Improved safety of road infrastructure and broader transport networks and the achievement of UN Member States Agreed Global Targets 3 and 4 for safer new and existing roads.
The benefits of reaching these targets are huge - if Targets 3 and 4 are met by 2030, 450’000 lives could be saved a year and 100 million deaths and serious injuries would be saved over 20 years. For every $1 invested, $8 will be saved.
(L-R) Andre Dzikus, Karen Vancluysen, Rob McInerney,
Bill Halkias, Joy Kabatsi
Kafura, Claude Van Rooten
IRF President Bill Halkias mentioned how design is crucial for safe roads and provided the example that many European motorways are especially designed, built and operated according to the highest quality and technological standards, in order to guarantee drivers the best safety conditions around the clock, alongside high levels of service and driving comfort in all weather conditions. Mr. Halkias linked this with the importance of “impact investing” from the private sector and how this can pay off. ASECAP, the European Association of Tollway Operators, for example reports that between 2001 and 2017, the fatality rate on the toll motorway network administered by their members decreased by 64%, taking the fatality rate to 2.3 fatalities per billion kilometre driven on their motorway network.
Coming out of the discussion, it is evident that certain solutions and resources for safer road design are already well known. Context-appropriate planning, design, operation and road speed management represent core elements of the process, with city streets evidently requiring different treatment to motorways. Further, low cost treatments do exist and can be used by all countries, such as better delineation, rumble strips, traffic calming and so on. Overall, a holistic approach to designing the transport system must be applied, for example the design of the public transport stations must take into account the provision of safe facilities for pedestrians and other active road users to access these stations. Sharing knowledge and expertise remains essential within countries and internationally.
The session further included panellists from UN Habitat and POLIS and was moderated by the President of PIARC, Claude van Rooten.
Sessions’ summary, recordings, pictures available on: https://www.roadsafetysweden.com/documentation/documentation-of-the-conference/
SUM4ALL kicks off 5 new workstreams
The annual consortium meeting held in Washington DC offered the opportunity to review achievements made in 2019 and kick off the work of five new workstreams. High-level executives from the private sector where also invited to share their experience and strategies in addressing road safety during a panel discussion coordinated by the IRF.
From the launch of the Global Roadmap of Action toward SustainableMobility (GRA) to the Online Tool toward Sustainable Mobility 2.0, 2019 marked the realization SuM4All most ambitious venture — tackling the “how to” factors to achieve sustainable mobility. The annual consortium offered the opportunity to review achievements. These have now been summarised in the SuM4All Annual Report.
SuM4All has kicked off 2020 with five new workstreams. These five workstreams respond to the urgency to focus on the implementation of the GRA and cover topics such as: enabling data sharing for sustainable urban mobility; sustainability of the e-mobility model; the transport energy nexus; gender data; and piloting the GRA.
On this last point, the consortium meeting was also the opportunity to hear from representatives from South Africa, the first country to pilot the GRA. “A lot of work has gone into the GRA and setting the measures on [what] sustainable mobility looks like. The opportunity we see with the GRA is that the assessment has more or less told us where we are as a country, and now is about us being able to look at our plan as a nation [and] reprioritize [to achieve sustainable mobility]," said Boitumelo Mosako, Executive Director from the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Following the Consortium Meeting, Ethiopia announced that they will also pilot the GRA; setting a huge milestone for SuM4All and for other countries to use this framework to guide their policies and transform the future of mobility.
Finally, top level executives from Total, Michelin, 3M, Volvo and UPS were part of the panel "Improving Road Safety Outcomes: Private Sector Commitments" hosted in the framework of the annual SuM4All Consortium Meeting held at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC.
Coordinated by IRF, the panel aimed at illustrating areas of opportunity where companies can make meaningful contributions to road safety outcomes and inspire further action and commitment in the sector.
"We need to learn to better harness the power of corporate resources and their presence in our communities" said IRF President Mr. Bill M. Halkias in his introductory remarks. The Decade of Action has taught us that saving five million lives and avoiding 50 million serious injuries will require more significant commitments and greater action from everyone. "If effectively engaged, the private sector is well placed to have a profound and positive impact on road safety" Mr Halkias stressed. "It is important to understand how private companies integrate road safety into their overall sustainability efforts and which are the most effective strategies they apply to do so".
A short report on this panel is available here: https://irfofficial.org/2020/01/21/irf-for-improving-road-safety/
IRF (Geneva) is a Steering Committee Member of SuM4All and actively involved in several workstreams. Feel free to contact IRF (info@irfnet.ch) for more info on SuM4All and how to get involved.
The Road Safety Barometer: decrypting users’ behaviour on our roads
IRF (Geneva) hosted side event on“The Road Safety Barometer: decrypting users’ behaviour on our roads” at the Swedish Ministerial Conference. This session was organised jointly with ASECAP (European Association of Tollway Operators) and VINCI Autoroutes Fondation and provided interesting insights to understand drivers’ behaviour.
The session opened with welcoming remarks by IRF President Bill Halkias, as well as a keynote speech by Benacer Boulaajoul, General Director of the National Road Safety Agency of Morocco.
Cendrine Nazos, Programme and Communication manager at VINCI Autoroutes Fondation, introduced VINCI’s survey on responsible driving. Produced since 2011, the Responsible Driving Barometer is an essential information tool for understanding drivers’ behaviour, identifying risky behaviour and better orienting preventive messages. The latest results and ways in which to effectively address those behaviours were discussed and it was highlighted how the sharing of results between the different countries concerned allows a particularly fruitful exchange of experiences and of good practices. The session was rounded off with Malika Seddi, Co-Secretary General of ASECAP, providing valuable insights into concrete actions on making motorways safer.
Closing the event IRF President Bill Halkias said: “IRF and ASECAP have sealed their cooperation last year with a memorandum of understanding and we are pleased to join our forces to bring knowledge and expertise not only to our respective members but to the sector as a whole”.“Morocco is a country that is showing great leadership in the field of road safety and that we at the IRF are delighted to work with” he continued. “Through the remarkable work of the Fondation Vinci Autoroute one can easily understand how data informs and helps us shape action and much need there is for that” Halkias concluded.
Fondation VINCI Autoroutes : Baromètre européen de la conduite responsable
Fondation VINCI Autoroutes : Baromètre Marocain sur la conduite responsable
EU Project SHOW: A major milestone for automated transport
EU project SHOW (SHared automation Operating models for Worldwide adoption) - coordinated by UITP - kicked-off in Brussels with a three-day Conference gathering almost 140 leading industry figures.
IRF (Geneva) is proud to be part of consortium delivering the SHOW Project that brings together 69 partners from 13 EU countries to support the deployment of shared, connected and electrified automation in urban transport across a four-year period. With a budget of €36 million, SHOW is the biggest ever project piloting AVs in urban environments - with over 20 cities hosting demonstrations. “We are delighted to bring to this project the expertise of IRF and of its members and partners whether this is on hard or soft infrastructure or in the capacity building needed to fully embrace automation in our sector” said Susanna Zammataro, IRF Director General speaking at the high-level panel kicking-off the project in Brussels.
The arrival of AVs represents a unique opportunity for a fundamental change in urban mobility. If AVs are put to use in shared fleets, they could dramatically reduce the number of cars on the road by reaching people and places it was too difficult to before - plugging first/last-mile gaps and feeding into public transport trunk lines. SHOW aims to further support the transition towards seamless and safe sustainable mobility by promoting automated transport. The H2020 project will look at different aspects of AVs: how can we guarantee that users will accept the arrival of AVs? What are the legal, operational and ethical limitations of AVs? And what are viable business models regarding AVs?
These and many other questions will be answered through setting up demonstration fleets in urban and peri-urban traffic environments. SHOW will see real-life urban demonstrations taking place in 20 cities across Europe, in which – alongside transport – other industries such as telecom and IT will be involved. And SHOW goes beyond EU-borders, as twinning actions are planned with 11 organisations from the US, South Korea, Australia, China, and Singapore.
IRF supports UNECA for Project funded by the UN Road Safety Trust Fund
The UN Road Safety Fund has unveiled ten new projects that will target key gaps in the road safety systems of 12 countries. IRF (Geneva) has been pleased to support together with iRAP, the UNECA Ten Step Plan for Safer Road Infrastructure Project proposal which will see improved safety of Tanzania's roads and a road map for other countries to follow.
With a total budget of nearly USD$4 million, these projects will scale the Fund’s geographical and programmatic footprint in the coming months.
The announcement about winning project took place at a Ministerial Lunch organized by the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Mr. Jean Todt, at the 3rd Global Conference on Road Safety in Stockholm on 19 February 2020.
Reflecting at the occasion, Mr. Todt stated “When the Fund launched the 2019 Call for Proposals, the Advisory Board, of which I am a member, had one clear priority – projects must demonstrate a chain of results leading to tangible impact on the number of fatalities and injuries on the road. I am convinced that these selected projects will accelerate progress in this direction.”
These projects are being launched at a time when the need for action has never felt stronger. Globally, almost 1.35 million people die on the roads each year, and an additional 50 million are injured. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years. Unfortunately, the scale of this challenge has not received the attention that it has deserved and the funds for road safety have not kept pace with the demand.
This was reflected in the funds available for the UN Road Safety Fund’s 2019 Call for Proposals. A total of 73 projects requesting support for 52 countries were submitted. USD 62.5 million would be needed to finance all these projects.
With limited financing available, the Fund’s Steering Committee made a concerted effort to direct resources where they would be most needed. It is for this reason that 50% of the funds went to five projects in seven countries in Africa, where road traffic death rates are highest (26.6/100,000 people).
Established in April 2018, the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund aims to contribute to two major outcomes, assisting UN Member states to (a) substantially curb the number of fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes, as well as (b) reduce economic losses resulting from these crashes. Building on the best practices and expertise developed through the Decade of Action for Road Safety, the Trust Fund will focus on supporting concrete actions helping to achieve the road safety-related targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Source and more info: www.unece.org/unrstf
IRF President addresses UNECE ITC High-Level Segment
The Inland Transport Committee (ITC) is the highest policy-making body of the UNECE in the field of transport. It held its 82nd session in Geneva. Bill Halkias, President of the International Road Federation addressed the High-Level Level Segment on the first day focusing his intervention on the key role of digital revolution.
The effects of climate change on transport — from compromised infrastructure to reduced access and connectivity, to poor road safety and beyond — are already being felt in every region of the world. Improving the environmental performance of transport, in addition to improving accessibility, efficiency and safety in inland transport systems, are of paramount importance to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.
To address this challenge, the Inland Transport Committee (ITC) made the “Environmental challenges to sustainable inland transport” the focus of its high-level policy segment. Discussions covered adaptation measures to climate change, emissions mitigation and the role of the Committee to harness international cooperation to fight climate change.
Speaking in the panel “What role for transport innovations in addressing effectively environmental and climate challenges?”, IRF President, Bill Halkias focused on the key role of digital revolution (AI, big data, BIM, cloud computing and analytics, etc.) as a game-changer for the industry and a winning formula for solving the current infrastructure challenge and delivering a true circular economy.
At the end of the high-level segment, Transport Ministers and High-level officials from across the globe signed a declaration to make a united call for universal action to address the climate and environmental emergencies.
The Declaration recognizes the Committee’s relevance as a main avenue of the international efforts to find solutions for these challenges and by calling upon world transport leaders to embrace and intensify their support for the work of the Committee as the UN Platform for Inland Transport, to the benefit of the global community.
During the reminder of ITC week, Member States/Contracting Parties and transport leaders from strategic partners forged common solutions, shared region and country-specific challenges from around the world in the implementation of existing, and the development of new, UN Conventions, and took strategic decisions on cutting-edge areas such as road safety, autonomous vehicles and transport digitalization.
More info and proceedings available on: http://www.unece.org/trans
