PE "Roads of Serbia" Marks World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, 21st November 2021
PE “Roads of Serbia” is again this year joining the marking of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, 21st November 2021, under the traditional slogan “REMEMBER. SUPPORT. ACT”.
The day dedicated to remembering millions of victims of traffic accidents throughout the world was first marked by the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR) in 1995.
In line with the recommendation of the United Nations from 2005, the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is commemorated on the third Sunday of November in a large number of countries.
This 2021 marks the beginning of the new Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, during which the World Day will have a very important role – through emphasizing all the key reasons for the necessary actions during this Decade.
PE “Roads of Serbia” draws the attention of the public on a daily basis regarding the significance of responsible behaviour in traffic, informs traffic participants on road conditions, and maintains and improves the quality of the state road network for the purpose of accomplishing the best possible conditions for safe and comfortable driving.
In the aim to reduce the number and the consequences of traffic accidents, the PE “Roads of Serbia”, as of March 2020, through the first in the line of educational campaigns for raising drivers’ awareness and increase of traffic safety – “3 Seconds, Whole Life”, has been pointing to the significance of a safe distance between vehicles to prevent traffic accidents.
PE “Roads of Serbia” continues to act as a socially responsible company in the area of traffic safety.
Learn more about the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims at worlddayofremembrance.org/#top
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World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2021
Remember. Support. Act.
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is commemorated each year on the third Sunday of November, this year being hosted on 21 November 2021. Begun in 1995 by the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims and adopted by the UN General Assembly Resolution in 2005, this day is an international worldwide Day dedicated to remembering the many millions of road traffic victims throughout the world.
It is a high-profile global event to remember the many millions who have been killed and seriously injured on the world’s roads and to acknowledge the suffering of all affected victims, families, and communities – millions added each year to countless millions already suffering: a truly tremendous cumulative toll.
WDoR 2021 puts the spotlight on the reduction of traffic speeds – Low speeds, which have the potential to prevent many deaths and serious injuries, in particular those of pedestrians and all other vulnerable road users – children, elderly and the disabled.
A number of events and initiatives will be taking place in the lead-up to and during the commemoration day and can be accessed on the WDoR website.
Remember those who have lost their lives; Support Low Speeds; Act to save lives!
IRF Supports WDoR 2021
In order to support the global movement, IRF has prepared a social media card that we kindly invite you to download from the button below and use on your company/social media channels to mark your support for the day. We invite you also to share the card with all your employees and invite them to support the day.
IRF President, Bill Halkias, IRF Director General, Susanna Zammataro, and IRF Intern, Moses Horne, also shared some words on why this is an important day for the road transport sector:
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Explore The Journal of Mega Infrastructure & Sustainable Development
The Journal of Mega Infrastructure & Sustainable Development provides a platform to critically examine the theory and practice of international mega infrastructure developments both more holistically and in different contexts. It explores the complexities, risks, opportunities and uncertainties entailed in decision-making and governance of large-scale infrastructure plans, projects and programmes, the lessons they offer for the future and their potential to promote and deliver more sustainable development.
The journal invites contributions that encompass all sectors of infrastructure development, in particular Water, Energy, Transport and other land use large-scale infrastructure investments that pose significant costs and benefits to the environments, economies, societies and territories they traverse and serve - both in the developed and developing world.
Discover the latest issue of the Journal of Mega Infrastructure & Sustainable Development:
https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjmi20/current
Find out how you can submit your article to the journal: https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/cfp-pgas-rjmi-cfp
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IRF President Speaking at the UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference
On the 14-16 of October 2021, the Second United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference was held in Beijing, China. IRF President, Mr. Bill Halkias, was part of a distinguished panel tasked to discuss sustainable transport, poverty, livelihoods, and growth.
The conference focussed on moving towards achieving sustainable transport worldwide and aligning with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Mr. Halkias opened by underlining how much “IRF is fully aligned with the vision that underpins the Sustainable Mobility for All Initiative” and its values of universal access, efficiency, safety, and green mobility with regards to sustainable transport. Each of these aspects bolsters the commitment to leave no one behind. The avoid-shift-improve approach is central in SuM4All work. Solutions identified by applying this approach vary of course across countries, depending on the local context and priorities. For example, in areas where access remains a challenge and infrastructure is insufficient to meet demand, the emphasis may be on expanding and upgrading transport networks, both within and between countries, with roads still figuring prominently, complemented by rail for high-volume routes.
“But the Avoid-Shift-Improve can only work if we are able to provide access to transport alternatives that are affordable and reliable” said Halkias.
Affordability and reliability of transport systems and services are key points that emerged from the study IRF conducted this year together with the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety. Thanks to support from the High Volume Transport Programme (HVT), the research investigated - in 7 countries in Africa - the gap between COVID-19 policy design & implementation and the impact it had on transport and mobility of people and goods on the ground. On this worth to mention that HVT will be launching a Compendium – the body of knowledge from the Covid Response & Recover projects – during the Research Knowledge Exchange to be held on 1st December 2021.
Finally, Mr. Halkias mentioned the importance of safe mobility and transport as an enabler of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 1.3 million people are killed and roughly 50 million are injured each year in road crashes. The poor bear the hardest burden of road crashes as 93% of these crashes happen in Low- and Middle-Income countries. These deaths and injuries also place a large financial burden on these countries, by slowing economic growth.
“There is currently a significant underfunding of infrastructure for road safety and a latent need to identify innovative finance initiatives, including greater mobilisation of private financing” stressed Mr Halkias.
IRF President concluded with recommendations for action for governments, UN agencies, the private sector, and civil society. He stressed the need for governments to approach policy formulation and road infrastructure more holistically and the importance of inter-agency collaboration within the UN. In addition, he argued for finding more common ground between the public and private sectors and emphasised the need for increased advocacy efforts from civil society.
Recording of the panel discussion is available online.
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Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety Launched
The global plan for the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety was officially launched on 28 October with a global event hosted by the WHO/UNRSC. The target of this Decade of Action is to reduce road deaths and injuries by at least 50% in the period 2021-2030 thus achieving SDG Target 3.6.
The Plan describes what is needed to achieve that target, and calls on governments, UN agencies, civil society, and the private sector to implement an integrated safe system approach and solutions that deliver short- and long-term outcomes.
In his address WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus underlined how the Plan promotes healthier and safer mobility through an increased focus on walking, cycling. Dr Tedros invited all stakeholders to proactively play their part to implement the Global Plan.
In addition to the UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development, the Plan of Action draws inspiration from the Stockholm Declaration. Both documents stress comprehensive road safety reform: improving the design of roads and vehicles; creating effective laws and law enforcement that will limit behavioral risks such as speeding and drunk driving; and providing effective post-crash response through coordination mechanisms, stronger professional medical care and post-crash investigation, and providing social, judicial and, where appropriate, financial support to bereaved families and survivors.
The role that youth can play was underlined by several speakers during the event. Speaking at the event, Deepanshu Gupta representing the Global Youth Coalition said “For the first time, the Global Plan has identified youth as a crucial stakeholder. I sincerely hope that all stakeholders associated with the cause will draw inspiration from the plan and involve youth meaningfully to save lives”.
“Our leaders know exactly what the solutions to road traffic injuries are and those solutions are completely within their grasps” added Zoleka Mandela, Global Ambassador of Child Health Initiative.
In August 2020, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 74/299 “Improving global road safety” and declared a Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030.
The Global Plan for the Decade of Action plan can be downloaded in several languages here.
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SWARCO Acquires Hitex Group
Acquisition expands Austrian firm's road marking systems business in the UK
Traffic technology company Swarco has bought UK road marking firm Hitex Group.
Swarco acquired 100% of the shares of family-owned Hitex Holdings, which was founded in 1972 in Ellesmere Port near Liverpool and has 130 staff.
Hitex's companies turn over around €27 million and handle a mixture of road safety-related work: producing road marking materials and decorative surfacing products (Hitex Traffic Safety); contracting for road marking services (L&R Roadlines); and manufacturing road marking vehicles and machinery (Somerford Equipment).
It is Austria-based Swarco's second buy in the last few weeks: in September it announced the acquisition of Dynniq Mobility.
Swarco speaker of the board and COO Michael Schuch says Hitex is a good fit because of the "strong know-how in their field, a good market penetration, a high reputation, and the background of a family ownership with a corporate culture similar to ours".
"The Hitex companies will give us direct access to the road marking systems sector in the UK, helping us to gain a significant market share by introducing our five-decade long expertise in road safety materials,” Schuch added.
The UK firm was owned by four members of the Lloyd family. “We are happy to have found with Swarco a family-owned business with a strong know-how in the production of glass beads, road marking materials and the application of line markings”, says Geoff Lloyd.
Harald Mosböck, Swarco’s vice president for road marking systems in Europe and the APMEA regions, says owning Hitex will open up the market for products such as Swarco SolidPlus beads and two-component MMA systems.
"Together we will be able to offer a new level of high performance road marking systems and give a boost to the driving quality and safety on Britain’s road network," he concludes.
