31 July 2024, San Juan, Puerto Rico – UNITAR in collaboration with the International Road Federation (IRF), and with support from AB InBev and Falconi delivered a workshop on its Management Practices for Safer Roads Toolkit in the framework of the 12th IRF Caribbean Regional Congress, titled “A Roadmap to a Safe, Inclusive, and Resilient Transport System”, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

At this edition of the IRF Caribbean Regional Congress, UNITAR trained 26 transportation decision-makers and professionals from the Caribbean region. Participants included representatives from Public Works Ministries & Road Agencies, regional institutions & development partners active in the Caribbean, major road contractors and design consultancies, transportation faculties & research institutes, civil society and road safety advocates.

The Workshop began with the opening remarks from the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Public Works of Puerto Rico, Eileen Velez-Vega. She emphasized the urgent priority of road safety development and the importance of spaces like the Congress to form alliances to promote knowledge sharing.

During the session, participants were introduced to a general framework of the global road safety statistics and the global road safety agenda. Afterwards, the methodology of the toolkit on Management Practices for Safer Roads was presented accompanied by examples of country interventions. Following the presentation, participants share the main challenges in their countries, highlighting in the discussion the need for improving data collection.

In the last part, participants engaged in a practical exercise simulating a road safety committee, where each participant assumed a specific role, analyzing, discussing, and improving innovative solutions for road traffic crash hotspots.