Road Safety and the United Nation’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development
Over the last fifteen years, road safety has emerged as a significant global public policy issue. In 2004, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank published the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention which warned that road traffic injuries “constitute a major public health and development crisis”. In the same year the United Nations General Assembly invited WHO to act as the UN’s coordinator on road safety issues working in close cooperation with the UN regional commissions. The WHO subsequently set up the UN Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) to serve as an informal consultative body bringing together leading road safety stakeholders.
Then in 2006, the independent Commission for Global Road Safety was formed under the chairmanship of Lord Robertson of Port Ellen to encourage stronger worldwide political support for road injury prevention. The Commission published the report ‘Make Roads Safe: A New Priority for Sustainable Development’ which called for a global ministerial conference on road safety and also proposed a ten year action plan to reverse the rising tide of road injuries.
The UN General Assembly subsequently proclaimed the Decade of Action for Road Safety in a resolution adopted April 2010. The Decade was then launched on 11 May 2011 with the goal to “stabilize and then reduce” the level of road traffic fatalities by 2020.
To support the Decade of Action for Road Safety, a Global Plan has been developed by the UN Road Safety Collaboration which promotes an integrated framework of recommended actions across five key policy pillars areas as follows:
PILLAR 1: Road safety management
PILLAR 2: Safer roads and mobility
PILLAR 3: Safer vehicles
PILLAR 4: Safer road users
PILLAR 5: Post-crash response
Both the UN General Assembly and the 2nd Global High Level Conference on Road Safety have supported the implementation of the Global Plan.
On 25 September 2015 all 193 Member States of the UN adopted the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. They build on the 2000-2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and establish a set of “universally applicable” goals and targets for “people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership”. There are 17 Global Goals supported by 169 targets, which are to be implemented from 1 January 2016 over the next fifteen years until 2030. The UN envisages a strong role for legislators in implementing the Global Goals with parliaments encouraged to enact laws, adopt budgets, and ensure accountability (See paragraph 45: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld).
Road safety is included in the Global Goals for both health and cities. This represents long overdue recognition of road injury prevention as a key contributor to policies promoting public health, urban and sustainable development. The relevant text is as follows:
Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
3.6 By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents
Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
11.2 By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons.
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