ΝΕΑ από την Global Alliance of RGOs for Road Safety

 

Η ΕΥΘΥΤΑ-ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΤΗΡΙΟ ΟΔΙΚΗΣ ΑΣΦΑΛΕΙΑΣΡΟΔΟΥ, είναι ενεργό μέλος της Prioritizing safe mobility for all  ​ Despite accounting for 56% of road deaths globally, the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists ​often gets overlooked in road ​design and policy. In the lead-up to the 4th Global Ministerial on Road Safety in Marrakech (Ministerial Conference), the Alliance and its members are ​​drawing attention to the realities of people's journeys through the Mobility Snapshots and community helmet consultations. Together, we are using this data to advocate for the evidence-based interventions set out in our Accountability Toolkit. In this newsletter, read about some of the issues and solutions surrounding widespread availability of non-standard and fake helmets in our interview with helmet expert Terry Smith and from our helmet "walkshop" in New Delhi, India. Each month, as the Ministerial Conference draws near, we are featuring a different Mobility Snapshot from an Alliance member NGO, demonstrating the issues faced by pedestrians around the world. This month our featured Snapshot is from Chișinău, Moldova. ​NGOs bring a community-level perspective to the global road safety stage. At the Ministerial Conference, we will amplify people's voices from the ground and call for concrete commitments to make our roads safe for everyone, especially those who are most at-risk. People around the world are being let down by road policies and systems that have not put the safety of all road users at the core. Our role is to speak up on their behalf. Read more about the Ministerial Conference below. Read more HERE.   Terry Smith at the Alliance helmet "walkshop" in New Delhi The hidden cost of helmet safety “The difference between having a helmet on your head and not having it on your head is often the difference between life and death. None of us know when we’re going to need that product. Governments, user groups, and law enforcement need to do everything possible to eliminate counterfeit helmets and promote helmet quality and safety.” – Terry Smith, Principal Scientist, Galeatus, LLC, a long term friend of the Alliance and a key informant in our helmet safety research. Following the Alliance’s helmet safety "walkshop" in New Delhi, India, we interviewed Terry Smith on the issues surrounding counterfeit helmets and how to get them off the market. Terry likened motorcycle helmets to medicines, pointing out that most countries have consumer laws that regulate the import of medicines which should also be applicable to helmets. He outlined specific actions governments can take to combat counterfeit helmets, such as incorporating helmets into consumer protection laws, launching visible crackdowns on counterfeit products, and establishing monitoring and rating systems to ensure helmet quality and safety. Read more HERE. Motorcycle riders at the recent Alliance "walkshop" in New Delhi, India. Alliance Helmet workshop at Safety 2024 Many of the riders interviewed in recent community consultations conducted by Alliance members in five countries said that it was important to them that their helmet met a recognized safety standard. However, with so many non-standard and counterfeit helmets available around the world, it can be difficult to distinguish those that meet a recognized standard from those that do not. These findings were backed up by motorcycle riders we encountered on the street as part of the Alliance’s helmet safety "walkshop", conducted with support from Uber as a pre-conference activity for Safety 2024 in New Delhi. Inputs from the session will feed into an Alliance white paper to be launched at the Ministerial Conference. “Substandard and fake helmets are also sold at a lower price than standard helmets because they do not have the quality material and quality construction that are well-tested. Availability of substandard and fake helmets mean people are not guaranteed safe helmets – we are letting people down,” says Chika Sakashita, Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety.  Read more HERE. ACM junction, Hincesti Highway and Academiei Street, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova. Featured Mobility Snapshot: Chișinău Alliance member NGO, the Automobile Club of Moldova, captured data at the intersection at the ACM junction of Hincesti Highway and Academiei Street in Chișinău as part of the Mobility Snapshots campaign. Its Snapshot showed that a newly rehabilitated sidewalk with tactile pavement for visually impaired pedestrians leads directly to the intersection. However, on reaching the intersection, there is no pedestrian crossing for them to safely cross the street. The intersection is also frequently used by children attending a nearby school. Currently with a 50 km/h speed limit, no traffic signals, and with cars parked on both sides of the road, it is difficult for pedestrians to cross the intersection. It has been rated as one-star by iRAP, using the Star Rating system that assesses road infrastructure safety from one to five stars. Automobile Club of Moldova will be advocating for better pedestrian infrastructure, traffic calming, and a reduction in the speed limit. If all the iRAP recommendations were implemented, including signalized pedestrian crossings, traffic calming measures, and a reduction of the speed limit to 30 km/h, it would improve the star rating from 1.0 to 4.7 stars for pedestrians.  “Conducting the Snapshot gave me a deeper awareness of the daily challenges people face at this very busy and risky intersection and highlighted the urgent need for better pedestrian infrastructure and traffic calming measures. Blind people and parents with children rush to cross the road and I see many of them stopping mid-way or try to run across to avoid oncoming cars.” – Tatiana Mihailova, Automobile Club of Moldova. Alliance members at the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Stockholm (©Ahlstrom/Elgquist) Lead up to the Ministerial Conference The Ministerial Conference in Marrakech is approaching fast. This month, the Allliance held an online information session that enabled NGOs to hear from the National Road Safety Agency Morocco and WHO about the plans for the conference and brainstorm how to engage their decision makers between now and February. We have also developed an Engagement Pack, bringing together resources to support NGO advocacy in the lead up to the conference. Check out it out HERE. It includes the session recording, how to apply for NGO travel subsidies and to bring an exhibit to the Commit to Life Zone, and advocacy resources and tools. We will be adding to the Pack regularly in the coming months. Also, stay tuned for upcoming events and moments including our annual event, held this year on 31 October 2024, marking the anniversary of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 when we will present the results of the Mobility Snapshots. We will align this with a social media visibility week from 28 October–1 November to help NGOs to amplify their advocacy using the Snapshots.

Alliance welcomes new members   The Alliance is delighted to welcome six new members that joined recently.  Full members CAMINA Centro de Estudios de Movilidad Peatonal A.C., Mexico. Delft Road Safety Courses, Netherlands. Prévenons et Sauvons les Accidenté en Premier (PSAP), Niger Republic. Vision Zero Network, USA. Associate members Afghanistan Betterment and Development Initiative Organization (ABADI), Afghanistan. Gadangme Organisation of South Africa, South Africa. Read more about our new members HERE and read more about joining the Alliance HERE