The IRF Young Professionals Programme Introduces its New Leaders
The International Road Federation Young Professionals Programme (IRF-YPP) reorganised its leadership team for the 2023-2024 period, effectively changing its geographic assignments into functional roles.
The leadership team is composed of four young professionals who will take on four strategic roles namely, communications, memberships, partnerships, and projects.
Meet the Team:
Ray Macalalag from the Philippines was named the Lead for Communications, and he will be in charge of the dissemination and documentation of activities of the IRF-YPP. Ray works on policy formulation and planning, specialising in land use and road transport at the National Economic and Development Authority in the Philippines. A civil engineer by profession, he has been a staunch road safety advocate. He is currently an Australia Awards postgraduate scholar majoring in transport.
Tendekayi Marapara from Zimbabwe, on the other hand, was designated as the Lead for Memberships, and he will be managing the membership database as well as ensure members are closely networked with each other. Tendekayi currently works as an engineer for transport safety with WSP New Zealand. He is also part of the regional leadership team for Africa under the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety.
Meanwhile, a new member of the leadership team, Cecilia Merighi from Brasil will be the Lead for Partnerships and will be working closely with the IRF as well as external partners for support in the activities. Cecilia is an Innovation Coordinator at Grupo EcoRodovias, the biggest road operator in Brasil and has experience in highway infrastructure maintenance and restoration in Africa and Brasil. She is a PhD student of construction and infrastructure engineering.
Shashank Misra, a serial entrepreneur from India, was named as the Lead for Projects and will be at the helm of collaborating with youth-led organisations and other stakeholders for co-hosted projects and activities. He is an engineer by profession and has a masters’ degree in Sustainable Energy Futures from Imperial College London. He founded Ekak Innovations in India, a social enterprise working with farmers and fishermen in India and East Africa.
The leaders will be embarking on a two-year term, and among the most-anticipated activities they will be holding is the IRF Young Professionals Summit every September. This 2023 will still be held virtually, and initial plans have indicated that an in-person summit will be held in 2024.
“We are expecting to have virtual regional activities well as webinars in on top of the summit. We are looking forward to collaborating with organisations, especially youth-led ones, in conducting sustainable and future-oriented road transport events. I believe our dynamic team will be able to do this,” shared the Lead for Commuications, Ray Macalalag.
New Report Lays Out Concrete Steps Toward Safer Roads
Leipzig, May 24, 2023— Countries can reduce deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by flipping the traditional mobility hierarchy and adopting the Safe System approach, finds a new report from the Sustainable Mobility for All Initiative (SuM4All).
This approach acknowledges that people make errors and that the human body has a biomechanical threshold for kinetic energy, both of which need to be adapted by Safe System designers in order to minimise the severity of crashes. It advocates for several key steps towards safer roads: managing speeds more effectively, rethinking the design of streets and highways, leveraging vehicle technology, improving post-crash care, strengthening traffic law enforcement, reforming licensing systems, and promoting alternatives to private car use.
The new report from SuM4All, Enhancing Policy and Action for Safe Mobility provides practical guidance, case studies, and resources to help countries implement the Safe System approach — a pragmatic model that calls for a proactive and coordinated approach to road safety among all relevant stakeholders, with the objective of creating transport systems that are safer by nature and account for human error.
“The report rightly recognises that the overarching priority for the coming decade is to address the operational requirements of road safety delivery at national, subnational, and city levels. There is a pressing need for adequate financing and institutional strengthening efforts to support this” said Said Dahdah, Head of the Global Road Safety Facility and Global Lead for Road Safety at the World Bank.
At the global level, road safety remains a serious global health and development concern, with more than 1.35 million people killed and 50 million people injured on roads every year. Over 90% of road fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries, which account for only 50% of the world’s vehicle fleet.
Broader adoption of the Safe System approach could go a long way in tackling the global road safety crisis. To make this happen, the new SuM4All report provides detailed recommendations on how the approach can be mainstreamed into road safety, sustainable mobility, and urban development.
“This work exemplifies the invaluable convening power of SuM4All and the impact that it can generate. Road safety needs more than ever coordinated approaches and hands-on guidance that can help drastically reduce deaths and injuries on our roads. In line with IRF’s mission and work aiming at enhancing partnerships to deliver better mobility systems for all, we have been delighted to coordinate this work. By flipping the hierarchy and putting people first, we are able to deliver not only safe but also more sustainable journeys to all” commented Susanna Zammataro, Director General of the International Road Federation (IRF).
The report provides multiple entry points on how countries can implement a systemic and integrated approach to road safety in a way that will have positive spillover effects for other important dimensions of sustainable mobility, such as universal access, efficiency, and green mobility.
The main recommendations include:
- Embedding the Safe System approach to road safety into transport policies, strategies, and programmes at national, sub-national, and local levels to ensure alignment in design, regulatory, and legislative instruments, and projects.
- Building capacity on the Safe System approach among decision makers, government agencies, experts, and specialists in safe and sustainable mobility.
- Increasing awareness, public support, and value for implementing the Safe System approach by connecting and communicating the importance of road safety in climate action, individual and public health, and clarifying sustainable mobility.
“Safety is at the heart of everything we do at Michelin. But beyond this, safe mobility is a global commitment for the Group. Michelin believes it has a responsibility to make mobility safer all over the world and is therefore involved in multiple collaborations with public and private-sector partners to meet the challenge. As a co-leader together with IRF of the SuM4All workstream, Michelin has experienced the power of dedicated stakeholders joining forces to streamline the multitude of bottom-up approaches and scattered projects, and to shape upstream a systemic framework and process, from high level statements to consistent safety action on the ground” said Nicolas Beaumont, Senior VP Sustainable Development and Impact at Michelin during the launch of the report.
About Sustainable Mobility for All (SuM4All)
The SuM4All Partnership is a premier global platform for international cooperation on transport and mobility issues, a global center of technical excellence, and a repository of global policy knowledge and resources on sustainable mobility. The Consortium comprises 56 Member organizations that have pledged to a shared vision of sustainable mobility and agreed to work together toward its implementation. Member organizations consist of: (i) Multilateral development banks (MDBs); (ii) UN or intergovernmental organizations; (iii) Bilateral partners; (iv) Private sector or business associations; and (v) Global civil society organizations.
About the International Road Federation (IRF)
The International Road Federation (IRF) is a global, independent and not-for-profit organisation with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Active since 1948, IRF is a membership-based organisation, representing leading corporate and institutional players drawn from the road and mobility sectors worldwide. Operating in more than 130 countries in the world, IRF’s mission is to promote the development of road networks that enable access and sustainable mobility for all. Its approach is centred on key strategic components of knowledge transfer & information sharing, connecting people, businesses, and organisations, and working on policy & advocacy.
About Michelin
Michelin, the leading mobility company, is dedicated to sustainably enhancing its clients’ mobility; designing and distributing the most suitable tires, services, and solutions for its clients’ needs; providing digital services, maps, and guides to help enrich trips and travels and make them unique experiences; and developing high-technology materials that serve a variety of industries. Headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Michelin is present in 175 countries, has 132,200 employees and operates 67 tire production facilities which together produced around 167 million tires in 2022.
Advancing 30km/h Speed Limits Around School Zones – EASST Regional Situation Report
The Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport (EASST) joined the global road safety community to mark the 7th UN Global Road Safety Week by calling on governments and road safety leaders to #RethinkMobility with a particular focus on sustainable transport, in particular the need to shift to walking, cycling, and using public transport.
Across the EASST region, reducing speed limits to 30km/h is an essential first step for many countries ‘rethinking mobility’ in terms of a shift away from car dominance towards prioritising the safety of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.
The EASST regional Situation Report on advancing 30km/h speed limits around school zones in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which launched at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) aims to support this rethinking for a sustainable transition to safer streets.
The report follows two years of advocacy across seven countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, and Tajikistan – where EASST partners have been calling for reduced speeds around schools and on routes to school with the support of the FIA Foundation Advocacy Hub.
During this time, despite a number of unprecedented challenges for the region (including the war in Ukraine as well as political unrest in other countries), EASST partners have seen significant levels of success and progress. In Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova, partners have all achieved some level of policy change mandating 30km/h at either a national or municipal level. Whilst those in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Tajikistan have taken important steps forward and achieved good results in terms of building local support for safe school zones and implementing small scale projects to lay the foundations for future policy change at a district or city level.
The report celebrates these successes but also highlights a complex and challenging picture across the seven countries and emphasises a range of challenges around legislation, stakeholder knowledge and awareness, data, infrastructure, enforcement, and community engagement.
These are areas that EASST will focus on over the next two years as we enter the next phase of the project and build towards the halfway point of the second UN Decade of Action for Road Safety in 2025.
There is still a lot more work to do in terms of implementation, enforcement, and accountability of commitments made thus far as well as and getting decision makers and policy makers to the stage needed for legislative commitments.
If countries are to meet their own national targets, as well as global targets to reduce road fatalities and injuries by 50% by 2030 it is clear that ‘business as usual’ is not enough. We need to #RethinkMobility and act now.
Ruta 27 Deploys AI for Road Traffic Management
San Jose, Costa Rica, Madrid, Spain, London, UK, 16 May 2023 – Ruta 27 by Globalvia has announced the deployment of Lanternn by Valerann™, an AI platform for real-time road traffic monitoring.
The project has been completed in December 2022 on Costa Rica’s Ruta 27, part of Globalvia’s portfolio: a 76.8km long motorway that connects the capital, San Jose, and Caldera, a major port in the Central Pacific Region. It represents a significant development for the country’s tourism and industrial sectors. Since the inauguration, traffic on the motorway has quadrupled, reaching ~100,000vehicles daily, making Ruta 27 one of the most important arteries in the country. Ruta 27 is known as “the Green Route of Costa Rica" and is an exemplar of sustainability and innovation projects.
Lanternn by Valerann™ (LbV) is a data analytics platform developed by Valerann and provides road traffic authorities with a comprehensive overview of real-time road traffic situation for efficient road traffic management. It ingests and processes in real time data from a range of unrelated data sources including Waze, Google Maps, concessionaire units, cameras, vehicle GPS, etc. The use of advanced analytics and AI results in inaccurate road incidents detection and identification. In addition to timely incidents alerts, having accurate real-time information allows the concessionaire to assign their resources more accurately and efficiently, thus improving road safety and reducing road incidence response time.
This project includes the deployment of LbV with Ruta 27 roadside infrastructure - 33 mobile and 22 fixed cameras, critical to road traffic management on the one of the busiest country’s motorways. The integration enhances the concessionaire’s situational awareness and provides information on real-time road traffic situation for the areas outside the cameras’ vision coverage.
“Ruta 27 introduced smart transport systems to Costa Rica. We are the only route in the country to be monitored by a holistic system and now with the introduction of this new technology what we are looking to do is continue at the cutting edge of transport systems, allowing Ruta 27 to continue as a road of international standard”, said Andrés Viveros, director of Ruta 27 operations.
“We are delighted to announce the success of this project and to see Lanternn by Valerann™ deployed on Ruta 27 in Costa Rica,” said Ran Katzir, Chief Technology Officer at Valerann. “This deployment is another step in our mission to improve road safety and operations performance all around the world.”
About Openvia
Openvia is a world leader in managing transport infrastructure concessions and mobility services, designed to promote the sustainable development of the communities in which are present. With more that 28,000 employees, Globalvia manages more than 250 million trips a year in 11 countries (Spain, Portugal. Ireland, UK, Germany, Norway, Sweden, USA, Costa Rica, Chile and Singapore) according to the most demanding usability standards.
Globalvia’s asset portfolio consists of 28 infrastructure concession projects, 3 high-speed rail corridors, and the Go-Ahead Group, the largest bus and rail operator in the United Kingdom.
About Valerann Ltd and Lanternn by Valerann™
Lanternn by Valerann™ is an innovative road data analytics solution that extracts value from roadway operational data and provides road operators with exceptional clarity of real-time traffic situations through the use of an AI-driven proprietary data fusion engine.
A global leader in intelligent ATMS, Valerann is redefining modern mobility and roadway operations through enabling actionable, accurate, and timely data-driven decision-making. By using information from multiple disparate sources and leveraging sophisticated proprietary AI and computer vision algorithms, we extract value from Big Data delivering a clear and comprehensive vision of the entire road situation in real-time. We provide roadway operators with bespoke insights and empower them to deliver on their objectives. Established in 2016, Valerann has offices in the UK, Israel, Spain, and the US and is working with customers worldwide.
For additional information, visit: www.valerann.com, follow us on our official LinkedIn channel. For press enquiries, please contact us on press@valerann.com.
The Moroccan Private Sector Road Safety Coalition Unveils its Strategic Priorities and Appoints its President
Casablanca, 17 May 2023 – In the framework of the celebration of the United Nations Global Road Safety Week, the Moroccan Private Sector Road Safety Coalition met to unveil its strategic priorities in the presence of public sector institutional stakeholders and private road sector operators.
All founding members of the Moroccan coalition, including the National Motorway Company of Morocco (ADM) , TotalEnergies Marketing Morocco, La Voie Express, Ama Détergent, Derichebourg / ARMA, Karama Bus, MaroTrans, Sahara Logistic Nord (SLN), and SOTRAGAZ have adopted a charter that defines their collective commitment to reducing the number of deaths and injuries on Morocco's roads. The charter affirms the values, principles, ethical standards, and responsibilities that all members have agreed upon and share. It also defines their priorities in various areas such as the selection and inspection of carriers, the implementation of a health and safety policy at work, the enhancement of drivers' skills, trip management, and compliance with vehicle technical standards.
The Coalition has appointed its President and Vice-President respectively Mohammed Talal, CEO of La Voie Express and Vice-President of CGEM (General Confederation of Moroccan Industries), and Abdesslam Rhinimi, General Manager of TotalEnergies Marketing Morocco as the Vice President.
At the press conference, the newly-elected President of the Coalition, Mohammed Talal, stated, "I thank my colleagues for their trust, and I salute the commitment of all the founding members of the Coalition. I encourage other companies to join us. Road safety is a shared responsibility and a cause that we must all defend."
"Today, we have made a new step forward in the development of the Moroccan Private Sector Road Safety Coalition. We are strongly committed to contributing to the reduction of deaths and injuries on the roads of the Kingdom. Our vision is based on the belief that road crashes are preventable and that we, as leading road operators, must set an example in road safety and encourage the entire sector to adopt the highest standards in this regard," stated Abdesslam Rhinimi.
The importance of road safety education, which is outlined in the charter and remains a priority in the country, was highlighted during the press conference. In particular, actions carried out as part of the international VIA Education Programme were presented. The members of the Coalition are considering expanding the programme even further. Through the partnership between TotalEnergies Marketing Morocco and the Sanady Foundation, this programme - targeting students aged 10 to 18 in middle schools and high schools - is already being implemented in Morocco in 14 schools, reaching 1,500 students. With its pedagogical, participatory, and innovative format, the programme immerses young people in real-life situations, enabling them to adopt safe behaviours and become active shapers of their own safety.
Emphasising the importance of awareness, Anouar Benazzouz, Director General of National Motorway Company of Morocco (ADM) and President of the International Road Federation (IRF), explained how ADM's approach had evolved based on the experience gained in highway safety. He stated, "Through awareness campaigns and all the work accomplished, we have realised the need to address road users and clarify their responsibility as well. This is reflected in our new slogan, 'Your Safety, Our Common Priority,' which represents a sort of pact between the user and us. It involves behaviour, education, teaching, and the culture of shared responsibility, where each party must fulfil its part of the agreement."
Jacques-Emmanuel Saulnier, General Delegate of the TotalEnergies Foundation, stressed that "The ongoing work related to private sector road safety coalitions, the free distribution of helmets to motorcyclists, and the VIA education programme for young people fully align with TotalEnergies' commitment to road safety."
Susanna Zammataro, Director General of the IRF, concluded: "We are delighted to coordinate this work and proactively engage the private sector in collaborative and coordinated initiatives in different countries around the world. This will collectively help us intensify our efforts to achieve the goals set by the new Decade of Action."
The 7th United Nations Global Road Safety Week takes place from 15 to 21 May 2023, under the theme #RethinkingMobility. More information: https://www.who.int/campaigns/un-global-road-safety-week/2023
About the International Road Federation (IRF)
The International Road Federation (IRF) is a global, independent and not-for-profit organisation with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Active since 1948, IRF is a membership-based organisation, representing leading corporate and institutional players drawn from the road and mobility sectors worldwide. Operating in more than 130 countries in the world, IRF’s mission is to promote the development of road networks that enable access and sustainable mobility for all. Its approach is centred on key strategic components of knowledge transfer & information sharing, connecting people, businesses, and organisations, and working on policy & advocacy.
About the Total Energies Foundation
The TotalEnergies Foundation program brings together the public-interest initiatives carried out every day worldwide by TotalEnergies and its affiliates. Through the program, TotalEnergies aims to contribute to the vitality of its host communities and regions, with a special focus on young people. The Company works alongside partners in four priority areas: Inclusion & Education; Road Safety; Climate, Coastal Areas & Oceans; and Cultural Dialogue & Heritage. It mobilizes also its employees by giving them the opportunity to devote up to three days of their working time each year to public-interest initiatives. TotalEnergies Foundation hence contributes to the Company’s citizenship engagement.
Step by Step: EASST Safe Crossings Initiative
The Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport (EASST) is marking the Seventh UN Global Road Safety Week with the launch of their new Step by Step: EASST Safe Crossings Initiative.
The initiative implements small-scale pedestrian infrastructure interventions for high impact: transforming unsafe roads into safe, accessible, and liveable public spaces.
Supporting calls to #RethinkMobility the project takes a people-centred approach to mobility and street design with interventions that have been proven to reduce the risk of pedestrian casualties.
Each new crossing is designed by experienced road engineers following international best practice and holding to standards that often go above and beyond those of local regulations. The aim is to demonstrate the impact that high-quality, targeted upgrades can have on guiding good behaviour and enabling people to make safe decisions.
Within EASST's countries of operation, these relatively small, low-cost interventions are hugely innovative and demonstrate the impact that high-quality infrastructure can have on improving road safety more generally. They also serve as a means to raise awareness and engage with local authorities, decision makers, and stakeholders on issues of road safety and sustainable mobility from a Safe System perspective.
EASST has been working with the Safer Roads Foundation and other key partners since 2019 to upgrade several dangerous road crossings and other areas of road infrastructure in countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. Step by Step: EASST Safe Crossing Initiative brings this work under a single project umbrella to deliver safe and accessible crossings that serve the travel needs of all road users as well as improving walkability, reducing car and fuel dependency, and supporting people to be more active.
“EASST’s Step by Step concept appeals to all my prejudices … everyone should visit their website to and see for yourselves the before and after images of the many accident blackspot schemes the Safer Roads Foundation has supported. It’s truly remarkable how simple, low cost, remedial measures such as high-profile signage, raised pedestrian crossings, and traffic calming – to name just three – can dramatically improve safety and in doing so, save so many lives” said Michael Woodford MBE, Executive Director of the Safer Roads Foundation welcoming the Step by Step: EASST Safe Crossings Initiative at the project launch event held at the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on 16 May.
Find out more at https://www.easst.co.uk/step-by-step-easst-safe-crossings-initiative/
Watch the video
About EASST
EASST (Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport) is an independent UK-registered charity whose mission is to save lives and prevent injuries by making road transport safer, greener and more sustainable for future generations.
Through a vibrant network of local NGO partners, EASST concentrates its efforts in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia where road deaths are particularly high and vehicle fleets are growing. These factors together pose an increasingly unbearable burden on health and social services, while unsafe road transport is inhibiting both economic and social development.
SWISSTRAFFIC AG Strengthens its International Competencies and Expands to France and Slovenia
The SWISSTRAFFIC Group, an economically and professionally independent organisation specialised in Smart Mobility and Intelligent Traffic Management solutions expands its activities by launching two new companies abroad: SWAROO SAS in France, and SWAROO d.o.o. in Slovenia.
While the societies will work independently, this expansion will contribute to the strengthening of the areas of work of the SWISSTRAFFIC Group, including Intelligent Mobility, Traffic Planning, Traffic Safety and Counting and the development of Mobility Sensors with AI. With a varied team of Mobility Engineers, Traffic Planners, Computer Scientists, Data Scientists, Traffic Modellers, Traffic Psychologists, Electrical Engineers and Technicians, AI and Dashboard Specialists, and System Engineers, the Group is ready to continue working to shape the future of mobility.
Data + Mobility Experts
SWISSTRAFFIC’s unique proposition is "everything from a single source": from data collection (extensive sensors) to problem-solving by its mobility engineers. Their strengths lie in customer orientation, dedicated and timely service and constantly seeking for the optimal solution.
Sustainability with Innovation
Mobility for the SWISSTRAFFIC Group is one of the most important influencing factors for sustainability. New products and services are evolving worldwide at an ever-faster pace, offering a multitude of possibilities. At the same time, companies, governments, cities and other stakeholders struggle to draw the right conclusions. Their goal is to support their clients and approach this highly complex topic with a holistic approach. For more than two decades, their team of mobility experts has been a reliable resource anyone can rely on.
History
Alain Bützberger founded SWISSTRAFFIC AG in Switzerland in 1999, and it quickly established branches in key cities such as Zurich, Ittigen, Brig, Sion, and Lausanne. The company's expertise in intelligent mobility solutions soon attracted a growing demand from both national and international clients, prompting SWISSTRAFFIC to expand its operations overseas. The recent expansion to France and Slovenia is nothing else but the continuation of its strategic growth plan.
If you would like to learn more about SWISSTRAFFIC, visit their website or follow them on LinkedIn.
