EDITORIAL: Road safety in focus
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Government ministers and senior officials from over 100 countries will meet in Stockholm, Sweden on February 19 to 20, 2020, to discuss new steps to halve road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030, in line with global targets agreed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The WHO points out that road traffic injuries are now the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged five to twenty-nine years and more than half of all road traffic deaths occur among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Further, the risk of a road traffic death remains three times higher in low-income countries than in high-income countries. Moreover, as many as 50 million people experience non-fatal road injuries, which impose human suffering and major economic losses.
“Most road traffic deaths and injuries can be prevented, using tried and tested strategies,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General at the World Health Organisation (WHO), said in a news release.
He added, “This conference is an opportunity for the world to embrace a new agenda to radically reduce the number of lives lost on our roads and re-think how we can provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all.”
A further read of the release will show that it has not been lost on the WHO, that many countries have already made progress through effective road safety management and focusing on better legislation and enforcement around key risks such as speeding, drinking and driving, and failing to use seatbelts. The WHO also points out that countries have also improved infrastructure through measures such as safer sidewalks and they have implemented vehicle standards such as those that mandate advanced braking and electronic stability control, as well as enhanced post-crash care.
Further, WHO states that, “Success has also depended mainly on strong leadership and political will at the highest level of government and in close collaboration with civil society and the private sector.”
Without a doubt, here in Barbados, we have seen some steps being taken to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries and of late, Breathalyser Testing has come on stream, though its introduction has been a bit low key. We have also seen legislation coming on stream to address key risk factors in road deaths and injuries, such as speeding, drinking and driving, and failing to use seatbelts. A ban on the use of cellphones whilst driving has also been introduced here.
We can always do more however, where enforcement of the law is concerned, as there are too many road users still taking risks when it comes to speeding and overtaking, driving whilst under the influence and using mobile phones without the requisite installed Bluetooth devices. We certainly have a lot of automobiles on our roads which contribute to congestion, and we do need better traffic management strategies to ease some of the gridlock. It will be interesting therefore to see what decisions come out of this upcoming conference and to see how we as a nation can benefit from any recommendations or suggestions that are forthcoming.