FOURTH UNECE ROAD SAFETY WEEK 5-11 April 2004

Geneva

The Fourth Road Safety Week in the UNECE Region will be held from 5-11 April 2004.

In the framework of this event, member States of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)1/ will organize national road safety campaigns with a common target and a common slogan. This time the common target will be “Aggressive behaviour” and the common slogan “Respect is Safety”.

The Fourth Road Safety Week in the UNECE Region is, therefore, aimed at combating aggressive driving behaviour by making drivers aware of the vital importance of keeping calm behind the wheel and of being respectful to other drivers. Previous Road Safety Weeks had targeted Young Road Users and Vulnerable Road Users.

Aggressive driving behaviour is nowadays all too common on our roads. It may be due to special personal situations including strong emotions, time pressure and the use of mobile phone, or to the consumption of alcohol and/or drugs, or to the attitude of other road users. Aggressive drivers do not respect traffic rules related to, for example, distance between vehicles, speed, right of way and overtaking, often giving rise to fatal accidents.

During the Fourth Road Safety Week, on 5 April 2004, the UNECE will hold an international Seminar in Geneva at the Palais des Nations on the issue of Aggressive Driving Behaviour.

The dates of the Fourth Road Safety Week in the UNECE Region have been chosen to coincide with the World Health Organization’s World Health Day, which will be held on 7 April 2004 and will address the theme of “Safe roads”.

For further information please contact:

Ref: ECE/TRANS/03/P03