Skip to main content

ITF and FIA launch road safety co-operation on traffic crash data

A three-year programme has been agreed intended to improve the collection and use of traffic crash data. This landmark agreement forms part of the joint effort for UN’s Decade of Action for Road Safety. The partnership which will focus on the improvement of road safety data and its analysis was agreed between the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the International Transport Forum (ITF). FIA President Jean Todt signed the agreement together with the ITF Secretary-General José Viegas at an
May 22, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
A three-year programme has been agreed intended to improve the collection and use of traffic crash data. This landmark agreement forms part of the joint effort for UN’s 3439 Decade of Action for Road Safety. The partnership which will focus on the improvement of road safety data and its analysis was agreed between the 7115 Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the 1102 International Transport Forum (ITF). FIA President Jean Todt signed the agreement together with the ITF Secretary-General José Viegas at an official ceremony at the ITF’s Annual Summit of Transport Ministers in Leipzig, Germany.

The initiative aims to support the 3262 United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety in its goal of significantly reducing traffic-related deaths and injuries by 2020. Around 1.3 million people die in road crashes every year and around 50 million are seriously injured. The global death toll from traffic is expected to rise to 2 million annually with a further 80 million serious injuries by 2020 unless action is taken.

The co-operation will focus on improving data collection, the analysis of which underpins road safety policy decisions. Welcoming the new partnership, FIA President Jean Todt said, “Together with the ITF we have agreed to work on the development of universal road traffic safety indicators which can be of great help to our members when addressing national road safety problems. The expertise which the ITF has acquired in the area of road safety data collection and analysis will allow us to better evaluate crash trends, improve the analysis of risk exposure and design more effective road safety policies.”

“Good road safety data is critical for any road safety research, policy and crash prevention activities,” said ITF Secretary-General José Viegas, praising FIA’s strong support and commitment. “The lack of road safety data globally creates a significant difficulty in assessing the specific road safety issues, evaluating the economic impact of road traffic deaths and injuries, identifying the optimum interventions and monitoring the impact of countermeasures.”

Among other road safety activities, the ITF, through its International Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group (3444 IRTAD), has worked since 2008 to organise twinning between interested countries to improve the collection and analysis of road safety data. This has brought together countries such as Argentina/Spain, Cambodia/Netherlands and Jamaica/UK. The successful twinning between Spain and Argentina spawned the IberoAmerican Road Safety Observatory (OISEVI), a regional road safety collaboration that brings together 22 countries. The ITF also publishes the IRTAD Road Safety Annual Report, a performance review, and manages the IRTAD road safety database, with data from 32 countries.

The FIA Action for Road Safety Campaign was launched in May 2011 to support the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety. The campaign has involved advocacy at the highest levels to push leaders to commit to road safety both nationally and globally. It has also included supporting action by the 236 FIA Member Clubs in 139 countries worldwide to educate and advocate for safer roads, vehicles and behaviour on the ground. So far, 90 road safety projects in over 50 countries have been funded by the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme And the FIA has also launched worldwide road safety campaigns and programs, either alone or with partners, both institutional and private. For example, together with 720 Michelin, FIA has promoted 10 Golden Rules for Road Safety worldwide.

Related Content

  • World road safety status hits plateau
    May 27, 2016
    The World Health Organisation has published a new report on road safety during 2015. Its global status report uses information from 180 countries and indicates that the total number of road traffic deaths has plateaued at 1.25 million/year worldwide. The annual global road fatality rate has remained roughly the same since 2007, a point worth noting considering growing vehicle numbers around the globe. Low income countries remain those of most concern for this report as in previous years. But some progress i
  • Better road safety reduces Europe’s casualty figures
    October 2, 2014
    Improving road safety in the EU has resulted in a drop in the fatality rate. Official figures just released show that the number of people killed on Europe's roads fell by 8% in 2013. This follows on from the drop in fatalities of between 2011 and 2012 and Europe is on track to halve road deaths in the 2010-2020 period Figures released by the European Commission provide grounds for optimism and Antonio Avenoso, executive director of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) said, “We welcome the reductio
  • Book now … the early booking deadline for PPRS 2015 in Paris has been extended
    November 13, 2014
    Book now … the first Pavement Preservation &-Recycling (World) Summit (PPRS 2015), due to take place in the Palais des Congrès in Paris from February 22 2015 to February 25 2015, has extended its deadline for early bird registration November 15 2014.
  • Spain and Argentina combine forces on road safety
    August 9, 2013
    A new partnership between Spanish and Argentinian bodies will help improve road safety in both countries. The Spanish Road Association, AEC, has held discussions with Spain’s Ministry of Transport, Directorate General of Traffic (DGT), the Institute of Road Safety MAPFRE Foundation and top level Argentine government members. A focus was placed on tackling driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. This is a key point as Argentina is now promoting a policy of sero alcohol for drivers. Blood alcohol li