ΨΗΦΙΣΜΑ 70 ΜΗ ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΤΙΚΩΝ ΟΡΓΑΝΩΣΕΩΝ από 40 ΧΩΡΕΣ

Στις 8 και 9 Μαϊου 2009 στην Παγκόσμια συνάντηση που έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες από τον WOH ( Π.Ο.Υ ) συμμετείχαν 70 ΜΗ ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΤΙΚΕΣ οργανώσεις ΘΥΜΑΤΩΝ ΤΡΟΧΑΙΩΝ ΑΤΥΧΗΜΑΤΩΝ και Οδικής Ασφάλειας από 40 χώρες.Κατέληψαν με το τέλος των εργασιών της συνάντησης να συντάξουν ένα ψήφισμα το οποίο θα υπογράψουν για να το μεταφέρει η Π.Ο.Υ στη πρώτη παγκόσμια διακυβερνητική διάσκεψη για την οδική ασφάλεια στη Μόσχα το Νοέμβριο 2009 για την υποστήριξη μιας νέας " Δεκαετίας Δράσης για την οδική ασφάλεια μεταξύ 2010-2020 "
Οι κυβερνήσεις όλων των χωρών πρέπει να λάβουν μέτρα καταπολέμησης της ταχύτερα αναπτυσσόμενης παγκόσμιας απειλής για την ΔΗΜΟΣΙΑ ΥΓΕΙΑ: ΤΑ ΤΡΟΧΑΙΑ ΑΤΥΧΗΜΑΤΑ
Η ΕΥΘΥΤΑ ΡΟΔΟΥ συμμετείχε στην Παγκόσμια συνάντηση και υπέγραψε το ψήφισμα το οποίο και δημοσιεύει.

Appeal from National and International NGOs working for better road safety and road victims’ rights - to add their proposals, based on hard - earned experience on the ground, to the Moscow Ministerial Conference’s

‘Plan to end the epidemic’

Considering that:

The road death and injury epidemic, which started over a century ago, has so far claimed over 30 million lives worldwide, with an untold number of people who suffered injury.

Road deaths and injuries shatter lives, but traffic danger has a further major impact on the lives and life-quality of families and communities: it intimidates and restricts movement.

The growing worldwide road casualty toll has led – 108 years after the first road death* – to the launch of the World Report, many actions, and the consensus that more must be done.

Recognition of the tremendous cost: loss of young lives – the future of families and countries, health- and many other costs, has resulted in this collective agreement.

Ministers and other delegates at the 1st Ministerial Conference in Moscow are pledging actions aimed at reversing the expected upward spiral of road traffic deaths and injuries**.

As especially interested stakeholders, National and International NGOs***, who for years worked and advocated for better road safety and rights for road crash victims, welcome and fully endorse these proposed actions, some campaigned for by them in the past.

In addition to endorsing the proposals of the Ministerial Declaration, these Road Victim and Road Safety NGOs have vital recommendations to add - from their unique perspective as victims or campaigners, and expertise based on years of tireless work to make the world a safer and more caring place. Particularly crucial are proposals relating to the protection of vulnerable road users and the post crash area – an area that tends to be excluded or overlooked as an important road safety component.

The 70 National and International NGOs from 40 countries, having met in Brussels for the 1st Global Meeting of NGOs Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims on 7th and 8th May 2009, hereby add a series of recommendations for the ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’ (2010 – 2020), which we believe can bring effective and enduring improvements to the world’s roads and streets and the situation of families and communities the world over.

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Background
*A woman named Bridget Driscoll was the first person in the world to be killed by a car. The year was 1896 and the place London. At the inquest, the coroner expressed the hope that 'such a thing’ would never happen again, yet 108 years on the worldwide road death toll exceeds 30 million, increased each year by more than a million with the forecast of the scale increasing.

**Despite efforts at reduction, the road casualty toll is continuing or even increasing, which has led to a global consensus that much more must be done to avert the trend. Global cooperation started with the launch of the World Report on Road Injury Prevention, in 2004. The UN Road Safety Collaboration Forum set up by WHO in the wake of their report has steadily pushed road safety higher up the political agenda: several UN resolutions were adopted, important meetings held, various WHO publications produced and the Make Roads Safe Campaign launched. This Conference of Ministers is a further manifestation of the growing importance accorded to road danger and its terrible consequences.

***Advocacy NGOs representing road victims, individual road user groups, or all road users, have a particular interest in an improved road safety situation, indeed in a fatality free global road transport network: many were set up by people who had themselves suffered bereavement or injury through a road crash, motivating them to help other victims or prevent a similar fate to others, with other organisations created by people concerned about road danger or inequity in the road transport network, and even some established by governments who were keen to charge an organisation with responsibility for road safety in their country.
The NGOs recommend the following for the Decade of Action for Road Safety:

A General Approach

The primary function of the road as part of a network is to link people to each other, to activities, to vital resources, to work, to school, and to bring goods to each other.

Therefore we insist that:
-transportation policy be drastically changed, with first priority given to safety and a sustainable quality of mobility,
-it is recognized that traffic danger has also an impact on people’s quality of life, as it creates restriction of movement through fear, especially for children and the elderly,
-traffic danger related injuries and mobility be considered as a public health and human rights issue, including for children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, who require specific approaches,
-all traffic related diseases be taken into account, not only deaths and injuries in crashes,
-more appropriate and correct terminology be used in place of “Accident” - such as Crash, Collision, Injury, Casualty, etc. – to positively affect attitudes,
-a global vision statement be adopted to generate and motivate change, and the media in all countries mobilised to help pursue and achieve that vision
The secondary function of the road as part of the public domain is for people to meet - to meet friends, to talk or play with neighbours, to welcome visitors from abroad, to search for goods or services, to meet customers, to enjoy nature, culture or urban complexity.

Therefore we insist that:
-multi-functionality be considered in road design, not only by simply adopting strict speed restrictions where appropriate, but as a global concept touching on the infrastructure of the public space,
-a clear hierarchy be imposed on the overall road network, whereby the rights of the more vulnerable users and the needs of the motorized traffic be equitably balanced in all of the different categories.


B Prevention

The current road death and injury epidemic, which started over a century ago, has so far claimed over 30 million lives worldwide, increasing by over a million a year, with an untold number of people injured. Even though we rationally have to accept that all activities carry some risks, and that therefore due to the world’s need of mobility we will not be able to avoid all crashes, it is our duty to wisely use all available measures to reduce fatalities and serious injuries to as close to zero as possible.

Therefore we propose that:
-governments commit to leading by example by carefully managing risks, based on evidence, and providing ample resources and political support for research and the strict enforcement of road traffic laws and improvement of laws where needed,
-a permanent sustainable financing mechanism for road safety be set up within governments,
-National Road Safety Action plans be integrated into transport plans and include
priority for walking, cycling, and use of public transport,
a civil compensation system based on driver liability,
improved enforcement and investigation capacity,
other negative consequences of excessive vehicle use, based on evidence,
-roads and traffic systems be designed with safety and sustainability amongst their primary objectives, which would include:
training town planners and road construction engineers to the most up-to-date standards and to meet the physical and emotional requirements of all road users, especially the vulnerable – pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists - who at present bear unacceptably high levels of risk;
adopting Car and Road Assessment Programmes and ‘Active Safety’ technologies (prioritized according to their life-saving potential), together with legislation for their timely application by the car industry, e.g. speed limiters or intelligent speed adaptation and alcohol detectors, also mandatory seat- and child- restraint and helmet use,
adopting international benchmarks to ensure high standards and quality
-global standards for traffic police training and practice, and driver training and licensing (including for fleet transport) be adopted, the establishment of special national training institutions for road safety specialists supported, and international knowledge- and experience- sharing between related institutions and individuals promoted,
-road safety practitioners and road victims and their (NGO) representatives be included, as equal partners, in government consultations and debates on road safety- and road victim- related issues,
-courtesy, common sense, and a lifelong learning programme on road use be promoted – in order for every road user to be aware of risks involved and the consequences of risk taking, not only to the risk takers themselves, but also to other road users,
-recognition be given to the tremendous cost of road danger: the loss of future generations by families and countries when young lives are lost, of human potential, and health- and all other costs.


C Post Crash Response

A serious post crash response constitutes a vital road safety component: once a fatal or injury crash has occurred, two parallel actions are crucial - a thorough investigation, followed by measures to prevent a recurrence and fitting criminal and civil proceedings where appropriate, and - to limit its potentially devastating consequences - immediate short-term rescue interventions and longer-term rehabilitation and support for those who sustained physical injury and the people close to them, as well as for family and friends of those killed.

Therefore, we recommend that
-priority be given to improving emergency services and the immediate post-crash response (golden hour), and a global emergency telephone number established,
-thorough investigations of crashes be performed, especially for fatal and injury crashes, in order to identify all causes and apply all measures to prevent their recurrence, also making use of existing research and lessons from other countries – ‘no need to reinvent the wheel’
-early rehabilitation be provided to prevent emotional trauma, especially in children, and ensuring social, medical (psychological and physical) and legal care for injured victims and bereaved families to satisfactory national standards, for as long as this is needed,
-settlements to victims, so-called compensation, be fair and proportionate to all effects suffered by victims, including long-term and independent of the insurance status of the person or vehicle that caused the crash,
-compensation always be provided to the most vulnerable users, except in cases of obvious and proven neglect of the latter, i.e. strict liability law, based on the principle that the greatest “uncontrolled kinetic energy concentration” is likely to cause greater damage and therefore persons using it carry a greater responsibility,
–an effective, proportionate and dissuasive legal response be applied to road law breaking and to causing death and injury: appropriate to endangering life, loss of life or loss of quality of life, and any sentence to be appropriate to the cause of the crash and to provide justice for road crash victims,
–national status assessments be conducted - to establish and monitor road collision investigation capacity, number of criminal prosecutions following road death and injury, and standard of services for road crash victims.


D Worldwide Learning

The majority of the currently existing roads follow old, sometimes even medieval, pedestrian itineraries. In high-income countries, development and prosperity were often confused with unlimited motorised mobility, and the original unpaved footpaths, shared between pedestrians and carriages, became paved streets or roads, shared between pedestrians, bicycles, cars and trucks, evolving all too frequently into the monopolisation of the limited space by motorized traffic, especially in less urbanised areas.

The collateral damage of this development is that pedestrians have come to be considered a nuisance, and that pedestrians due to the danger encountered, are trying to escape into the perceived protection of a vehicle. Those not able to are often – more than other road users - paying for using the roads with their lives. In the current situation of traffic congestion, pollution with resulting climate change, and enormous human sacrifices, it is essential to return to sustainable mobility modes.

Therefore we suggest that extreme attention be paid to:
-the lessons learnt in high-income countries when building or improving the road infrastructure in low- and middle-income countries,
-the correction of unsatisfactory situations in high-income countries,
-the coexistence of the different modes of mobility in all designs of new or modified roads, whereby lower kinetic energy modes are not pushed out by higher kinetic energy modes,
-providing safety and comfort to vulnerable road users by either:
providing an uninterrupted, comfortable and easy to use designated longitudinal zone, at least at one side of the road, which cannot be inadvertently used by motorized traffic at speeds above 30 km/hr or 50 km/hr depending on the local situation, or invaded as parking area. Minimum specs on width and surface characteristics need to be worked out (also adapted for wheelchairs and prams), or
providing a separated parallel path for non-motorized traffic, meeting certain criteria as to the distance to the road and links between the road and the parallel path - to houses, bus stops, points of interest …
In the absence of designated zones for vulnerable road users as described above, the whole road should become a max 30 km/hr zone, with this speed limit strictly enforced.


E Joint Initiatives and Actions

The NGOs are pledging to collaborate with each other, and with their governments and other stakeholders, to whom they offer their expertise, hard work and passion - towards the common goal of roads that can be used without fear or danger, a minimum number of casualties, and a serious response to all deaths and injuries that could not be avoided, including support for injured and bereaved road crash victims.

Several global initiatives, some already established and others suggested or planned, offer an ideal opportunity for participation by politicians and relevant bodies and individuals, for raising awareness of the devastating consequences of crashes, and for NGOs connecting with each other and feeling supported through the sharing of common events or actions.

Therefore we propose:
– that NGOs working in the areas of road victim advocacy/support and road safety are considered and treated as equal partners and ensured secure funding,
– that the establishment of a national advocacy network, consisting in the main of NGOs, is supported, to ensure nationwide advocacy for road safety and road victims,
– that the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims – a Day held on the 3rd Sunday of November and adopted by the UN - is officially recognised and observed in every country, since it offers all governments and organisations the opportunity to highlight the consequences and impact of road danger, acknowledge the suffering of families and communities (concentrating on remembrance) and give thanks to the emergency personnel and others affected by road trauma,
– that a national memorial to road crash victims is established in the capital city of every country – as a reminder of lives lost and a focal point for remembrance and other gatherings or actions
– that a Global Road Safety Day or Week is established and supported, suggested to be held apart from the World Day of Remembrance - to give a further opportunity for highlighting the consequences of road danger, but with a special focus on prevention,
– that support is given to a National Coalition Against Road Trauma, which would involve national organisations and individuals working in the post crash areas, in particular members from the health community, and be part of a world network whose aim is to minimize road trauma - International Coalition Against Road Trauma (ICART).

“Change doesn’t just happen, it is propelled by men and women whose spirits are provoked and inspired to make a difference.”

Signed:

E.Karidi
Hellenic Association for road Traffic Victim Support ( ΕΥΘΥΤΑ-GREECE)