The road traffic-related deaths and injuries have unparalleled health and socio-economic implications on the society. A staggering 1.35 million people die on the world’s roads every single year and up to 50 million more are left injured or disabled. Globally, over 500 children under the age of 18 are killed on the road each day. These numbers make road traffic injuries one of the leading causes of death worldwide and the leading cause of death amongst the most economically active citizens – those between the ages of 15 and 29.
UNITAR’s Road Safety Initiative aims to support governments to help them reach the Global Road Safety Performance Targets and advance towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 3.6 “Reduce by half road traffic deaths and injuries by 2020”.
The Road Safety Initiative includes 3 components:
- Capacity building
- Public awareness
- Partnerships
Capacity building
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Training activities
UNITAR jointly with its CIFAL Global Network offer face-to-face and online training opportunities aimed at enhancing the capacity of government authorities, law enforcement officers and key stakeholders on road safety management and leadership.
Changing road users’ behavior on key risk factors for road traffic injuries (speed, drink–driving, distracted driving, and the failure to use helmets, seat belts and child restraints properly or at all) is a key component for improving road safety. UNITAR’s training activities also aim to help identify and implement strategies that improve road user behavior and increase awareness of risk factors.
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Study visits
Study visits allow participants to dive into successful road safety programmes implemented by other countries and to know strategies and instruments of other countries, while facilitating linkages with academia, industry and government. Study visits also contribute to establish long-term global partnerships to accelerate collaboration and interventions that improve road safety.
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Post-Graduate programmes
The Postgraduate Diploma on Road Safety Management and Leadership is offered by UNITAR, CIFAL Madrid, RACE and the European University, with the objective of empowering individuals responsible for road safety with knowledge and practical tools that will enable them to reduce traffic fatalities.
For more information, contact: info@cifalmadrid.org
Next course: May 2019 – June 2019
Learn more at: https://www.cifalmadrid.org/en/training/intensive-postgraduate-education/
Public awareness
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Youth engagement
Changing Youth and road users’ behavior on key risk factors for road traffic injuries (speeding, drink–driving, failure to use helmets, seat belts and child restraints properly or at all) is a key component for improving road safety.
UNITAR together with CIFAL Centres and in collaboration with academic institutions, NGOS, and the private sector hosts educational programmes and delivers campaigns to raise awareness among youth about the importance of adopting a respectful traffic culture in order to prevent and reduce traffic incidents.
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Conferences
Conferences follow a multi-stakeholder approach, bringing together government authorities, businesses, academic institutions, international organizations, road safety experts, and law enforcement agencies to exchange knowledge and innovative solutions to reducing road traffic fatalities, while fostering understanding and collaboration.
Partnerships
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Facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration is essential. The initiative seeks to mobilize public-private sector collaboration to implement local demonstration projects that help cities reduce deaths and injuries caused by traffic crashes.
Learning and partnership platform
The Road Safety Learning and Partnership Platform RS:Learn aims to support knowledge sharing, promote the development of learning materials and encourage interventions through collaboration. At the national level, it seeks to support targeted countries in developing and implementing road safety interventions.
For more information on the Road Safety Initiative, contact: roadsafety@unitar.org
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