The Inland Transport Committee,

Concerned that the number of persons injured or killed in road accidents each year in the UN/ECE region is still too high despite all efforts made by the public authorities, national and international organizations, the private sector and users' associations,

Also concerned by the serious consequences which all road accidents entail in human, social and economic terms,

Aware that improvement of the situation requires greater awareness on the part of users of the risks they incur on the roads and when they change their behaviour,

Noting that the first three Road Safety Weeks organized in 1990, 1995 and 2000 respectively, helped to raise awareness of the importance of measures to prevent traffic accidents, as a result of the joint efforts of Governments and national and international organizations,

Recalling the decision taken at its sixty-fourth session to organize the next international campaign on road safety in the ECE region in 2004 on the basis of the conclusions of the special one-day session on the subject on 10 September 2001 in the context of the work of the Working Party on Road Traffic Safety (WP.1),

Considering that:

more and more drivers have an aggressive behaviour on the roads,

this may have, as origin, different causes linked to personal situations (emotions, time pressures, telephone, etc.), to the consumption of alcohol and/or drugs, or to the attitude of other road users,

the effects of this behaviour may be manifested in particular by dangerous driving, inattentiveness of the driver or non respect for rules related to, for example, distance between vehicles, speed, right of way and overtaking;

1. Decides to designate the week of 5 to 11 April 2004 'Fourth Road Safety Week' during which road safety campaigns aimed at making drivers of motor vehicles aware of the vital importance of adopting a calm behaviour behind the wheel, respectful of others and polite, will be organized in ECE member States. The latter may wish to focus their campaigns on the causes and effects of this aggressive behaviour.
2. Invites the Governments of member countries to take the necessary steps to prepare this Road Safety Week and to implement road safety programmes in their own countries in the context of the Week under the common slogan: 'Respect is safety'.
3. Recommends in particular that Governments should:

(a) Ensure, when they set up their national campaigns and other activities, that they conform as far as possible to the objectives of the Fourth Road Safety Week;

(b) Define and develop, drawing on all possible sources of expertise, national activities to be carried out within the framework of the Fourth Road Safety Week in terms of the road safety problems encountered in their respective countries;

(c) Ensure participation and/or association of governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned with road safety, local communities and information bodies in the preparation and implementation of the activities which are part of the Road Safety Week;

(d) Make every effort to publicize the Fourth Road Safety Week through the mass media and by creating Internet links between national road safety web sites and the ECE road safety web page which will be created for the purpose;

(e) Share their ideas and points of view regarding the organization of the Fourth Road Safety Week through the Inland Transport Committee and the subsidiary body with responsibility for this question, i.e. the Working Party on Road Traffic Safety, thereby maximizing the potential benefits for all;

(f) Ensure a continuing follow-up of the implementation of the activities carried out in the context of the Road Safety Week and furnish the secretariat with a report on the results obtained;

4. Invites the relevant international organizations to provide support and advice to ECE in the organization of the Fourth Road Safety Week;

5. Requests the Working Party on Road Traffic Safety to prepare a programme defining the objectives and modalities for the Fourth Road Safety Week, paying particular attention to activities to be undertaken at the national, regional and international levels;

6. Requests the Economic Commission for Europe and its secretariat to provide all necessary support and publicity to the preparation, organization and follow-up to the Fourth Road Safety Week.