UNECE warns that South-Eastern Europe risks missing its road safety target

Geneva

Despite encouraging results in reaching road traffic casualty reduction targets in some parts of Europe (e.g. France, Germany and the Netherlands), South-Eastern Europe is lagging behind. European Union countries have agreed to halve the number of fatalities between 2001 and 2010, and International Transport Forum Member States have committed to a 50% reduction by 2012 compared with 2000. But countries such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Moldova, Romania and Turkey have seen an increase in the number of casualties between 2000 and 2008.  In Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia the numbers have stayed roughly the same (source: UNECE and WHO).

A regional road safety conference organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Halkida, Greece, on 25-26 June 2009, will examine the road traffic safety situation in South-Eastern Europe. Representatives from all the countries in the region will discuss the global and European road safety contexts, report on national progress and share best practices.

This event is part of a series of United Nations regional commissions’ workshops to promote the setting and implementation of regional and national road traffic casualty reduction targets, the idea being that specific targets can help focus and motivate action.

“Road traffic casualties can be prevented with the political will to commit to specific targets and implement the necessary regulatory framework,” said Eva Molnar, Director of the UNECE Transport Division. “With the heavy social, economic and financial burden that road traffic crashes represent, the question is whether countries can afford not to do so.”

Countries which enforce the road traffic safety “basics” – the wearing of seatbelts and helmets, moderate speeds, limited permissible alcohol levels, etc. – all see a dramatic reduction in the number of people injured and killed.

To improve road safety effectively, three key facets must be addressed: infrastructure, vehicle and the human aspect. UNECE’s work on road safety covers all three aspects, including:

All of the above are applied in more than 45 countries, including the European Union, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Tunisia

 The Conference is hosted by the Evia Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Hellenic Chambers Transport Association, with the support of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Greece.

For more information about the conference in Greece or on UNECE road safety work, please visit http://www.unece.org/trans/main/welcwp1.html.