St Petersburg Forum urges Safe Roads for All

The ‘Safe Roads for All’ Forum on 7 May in St. Petersburg featured leading policymakers and key figures, including: HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO, Patron of the Commission for Global Road Safety; Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, Chairman of the Commission for Global Road Safety; General Victor Kiryanov, Deputy Interior Minister of the Russian Federation; Michelle Yeoh, Global Road Safety Ambassador; Etienne Krug, Director of Injury Prevention at the World Health Organization; and FIA President Jean Todt.

The Forum has been organised by the Commission for Global Road Safety in partnership with NGO Road Safety Russia.

Ahead of the Forum, delegates joined NGO Road Safety Russia in a photo-call urging global action to reduce pedestrian fatalities and make roads safe for all. The photo-call followed Road Safety Russia’s successful ‘Walk of Life’ pedestrian safety campaign, and linked up with the global ‘Long Short Walk’, the activity that organisations and members of the public around the world are taking part in to support UN Road Safety Week. The ‘Long Short Walk’ led by the Make Roads Safe campaign and the family of Nelson Mandela is a call for better protection of pedestrians in all countries and safe roads for all as an international development priority.

Lord Robertson launched the Commission’s new report, ‘Safe Roads for All’ at the Forum. It calls for road injury prevention to be included as a target within the post-2015 sustainable development agenda which is currently being negotiated by governments at the United Nations.

Chairman of the Commission for Global Road Safety, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, said: “The Russian Federation has played a leading role in the global movement to save lives on the world’s roads, through its support for the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety and its leadership in discussions on road safety and sustainable development. We are meeting in Russia to send out a strong message to the world during this UN Global Road Safety Week that it is possible to reduce road traffic fatalities. Through determined implementation of its domestic road safety policies Russia is improving her road safety performance, saving the lives of many of her citizens and setting an example to other countries grappling with rapid motorisation.”

General Victor Kiryanov, Deputy Interior Minister of the Russian Federation and member of the Commission for Global Road Safety said: “Russia is proud to be playing a central role in the global effort to reduce the numbers of fatalities and injuries on the roads. Nationally, road safety has been a key priority. Our work has been repaid both with successful programmes and most crucially, lives saved. The focus on pedestrians during UN Global Road Safety Week is important and we hope that building on the ‘Walk of Life’ campaign and together with the ‘Long Short Walk’ we can inspire further action to ensure that road safety is an international priority and to save lives both in Russia and around the world.”

Also at the Forum, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, Patron of the Commission for Global Road Safety, presented the 2013 Decade of Action Award to the Russian Federation. The Award recognises Russia’s leadership in promoting the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety. Russia hosted the first ever Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in 2009, which set the agenda for the Decade of Action, sponsored the UN General Assembly Resolution establishing the Decade of Action and ensured that road safety was recognised at the Rio+20 sustainable development summit in 2012.

HRH Prince Michael of Kent said:

Without the Russian Federation we would almost certainly not have the Decade of Action at all. Russia had the vision and courage to put her authority and prestige behind an issue that was on the margins of international policy. The Russian Federation’s offer to host the first Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, and her sponsorship of successive UN General Assembly Resolutions in 2008, 2010 and 2012, have provided essential political leadership. Without this international statesmanship by a leading G8 and G20 nation our cause could not have prospered. And last year, at the ‘Rio plus twenty’ summit, Russia ensured that road safety was recognised and included in the summit communique. At home, the Russian Federation has had the courage – which many countries still lack – to recognise the scale of road traffic deaths and injuries on roads here, and to take action.”

Michelle Yeoh, Global Road Safety Ambassador and a leading international actor, is also addressing the meeting. She said: “This week in Russia we are joining groups and communities around the world who are also taking part in the Long Short Walk to demand action. Around the world we are raising awareness that pedestrians have the same right to protection and mobility as anyone. And from this week on, the message is clear – road safety must be accepted as in international priority. Our goal is to save lives. Our goal is safe roads for all.”

The Commission for Global Road Safety’s report ‘Safe Roads for All: a post 2015 agenda for health and development’, urges a renewed effort, particularly financial commitment for practical interventions, to support the Decade of Action for Road Safety. Road crashes are the leading cause of death worldwide for young people aged 15-24. For boys and men, injuries sustained while travelling on our roads and streets are, next to HIV/AIDS, the leading killer from age 5 to 40.

FIA Foundation