News & Blog

New UN Road Safety Week website goes live! Save Lives - #SlowDown

We have been working with the World Health Organization and the FIA Foundation to build a new platform for the United Nations Global Road Safety Week (UNGRSW). The fourth week takes place on 8-14 May 2017 with the tag line Save Lives #SlowDown. The week focuses on speed management and encourages people to take the pledge to #SlowDown.

Brian's Column: Folks who overtake EVERYTHING on the road...why?

Our regular columnist, Brian Bilal Mwebaze from Uganda, Africa is back with a take on all this youth, road safety and Africa. This month, he places his eye on people who feel the need to overtake everything on the road. Those that need to get there quicker than anyone else and asks the question, "Why?". Check out his latest article.

Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety - Photo Contest for #SlowDown

The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety is holding a photo contest for the Save Lives: #SlowDown campaig, the official campaign of the Fourth United Nations Road Safety week to encourage non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from around the world to take part. The Alliance will feature the best photos sent in on their social media during the next Alliance meeting. We encourage our youth network to also take part!

The benefits of less speed - NZTA's new advert explains all

This campaign puts a twist on previous campaigns which have focused on the consequences of more speed. This time it looks at the benefits of less speed . The big challenge in the area of speed is to get people to stop defending their perceived right to speed. As a contributing factor in 20% of all fatal and serious injury crashes, speed continues to be a serious issue on New Zealand roads. In 2015, 87 people were killed and 466 were seriously injured in speed-related crashes.

Video from Alliance Academy training is now live!

In September 2016, we helped deliver the Alliance Academy in Memphis, Tennessee at the headquarters of FedEx in USA. FedEx have produced a great video featuring highlights from the training and testimonials.

The role of youth in promoting the SDGs and their attainment - UN ECOSOC

The annual Youth Forum of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), is a platform where young people can contribute to policy discussions at the United Nations through their collective ideas, solutions and innovations. The Forum allows representatives of youth-led and youth-focused organizations and networks, youth advocates and others to dialogue with Member States, and to explore ways and means of promoting youth development and engagement.

Reducing casualties involving young drivers and riders in Europe - a report

Young drivers and riders aged 15-25 are more likely to be killed on Europe’s roads than their older counterparts, despite continued improvements in road safety. Road collisions remain one of the highest external causes of death for young people. The risks are especially high for young males and for young riders.

Get ready for the 4th United Nations Global Road Safety Week

We all want to arrive safely at our destinations. By slowing down we make roads safer for our children, families and friends . The Fourth United Nations Global Road Safety Week will take place from 8-14th May 2017. We are getting ready for it now, join us!

Life and death on Thailand's lethal roads - A global feature

There is a ritual that is now very familiar to Thais, before the two big holiday seasons of the year, in late December for the new year, and in April for the Songkran Festival. The government will set a target for reducing fatalities on Thailand's notoriously dangerous roads, exhorting Thais not to speed, or drink and drive. Sometimes good citizens will run publicity stunts, like the coffin-maker, who last year invited journalists to film the huge stockpile his workers were building up for the holiday season. And every year these efforts fail.

Save the Date: Fifth Global Meeting - Global Alliance of Road Safety NGOs

Distracted Driving: Simpler distractions can also be risky

Perhaps you’ve heard the claim that talking on the phone while driving is as risky as driving drunk. Indeed, a driving simulator study found “profound” impairments in both cellphone chatters and in people with a blood alcohol level of 0.08. But here’s the surprising thing: It doesn’t seem to make a difference whether drivers are using hand-held phones or hands-free systems. What matters is simply that they are talking with someone outside the car.

Brian's Column: Reporting back from Kenya workshop

Our monthly columnist Mr. Brian Bilal Mwebaze joins in the new year reflecting on his experiences in road safety in Africa. Brian recently visited Nairobi, Kenya to partake in the 1 st Africa Road Safety Data Workshop . He shares some of his learning from the workshop here.  

#HomeForDinner: Teen from New Zealand shares a message

A teen from Hamilton, New Zealand has shown the power of genuine social media messaging and taking action for road safety. After experiencing loss due to road crashes, the 14 year old turned to what he knew, social media, to share a geniune message about keeping safe and making it #HomeForDinner. The message has gone viral and shared thousands of times. We celebrate his creativity and action for responsible road use here.

Can Mumbai shed its reputation as the ‘car crash capital’?

One person is killed on Mumbai’s roads every 15 hours. In an attempt to get a grip on the chaos, the police are going digital – recording fines electronically and installing CCTV. But will it stop people taking risks?  WHO estimates 207,551 deaths on the road in 2013 (Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2015) with 16.6 deaths per 100,000 citizens in the country. Compared with European countries such as the UK that currently operates at 2.9 deaths per 100,000 citizens, India still faces a road safety crisis.

Winter and festive season road safety tips - stay safe this Xmas

In a big proportion of the world, the end of year festive season is a time of holidays, family, friends and often crazy weather conditions. Unless you're in the Western Pacific or deep in Asia, a lot of the world will be experiencing intense cold weather and perhaps even snow. (Who's dreaming of a white Christmas?). During the holiday period, many of us also have time off work and spend time with our loved ones and sometimes, this means more drink - but don't forget road safety!

Youth activists share their inspiring road safety stories - Safe Kids Summit

The Safe Roads | Safe Kids Summit is a biennial event designed to significantly enhance the visibility of global road safety on the international agenda and to reduce the number of deaths and injuries among children. The Summit offers stakeholders at all levels the opportunity to work together in a manner that is action-oriented and focused on meaningful outcomes, including international organizations, governments, corporations, foundations, researchers, non-governmental organizations, health care workers, first responders, law enforcement, families and children.

Belizean youth leaders create waves of road safety action with their peers

Since 2014 we have been working with a super talented group of young people to develop road safety amongst youth in Belize. Over the two year period, we trained two cohorts of youth leaders in Belize in road safety theory affecting youth, fundamentals of peer education and facilitation alongside some key campainging skills. The project, championed and sponsored by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of Belize (GOBZ) was timely, coinciding with infrastrcuture development in the country to improve Belize's overall road safety system.

UNRSC Updates - 4th UN Global Road Safety Week and Online Platform

The 22nd Meeting of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) took place recently and included updates from members in the world of global road safety. Part of the meeting was dedicated to the United Nations Global Road Safety Week, which is set for May 2017. The theme for the week is speed ; the promotion of mesaures to reduce speed to save lives.

New campaign says "rethink travel speed" - TAC Australia

The Transport Accident Commission has launched a provocative new campaign urging Victorians to rethink the speeds they drive at. The Rethink Speed campaign features a television advertisement reminding Victorians that speed doesn’t always cause crashes but it always determines the level of injuries sustained. It depicts seven different outcomes in an incident between a young boy on a bike and a car approaching at seven different speeds.

Reporting back from GRSP Africa Road Safety 2016

Africa Road Safety 2016 marked the 5th GRSP road safety event in Africa since 2012. The event this year was held in Durban, South Africa. Under the banner, 'The Challenges for Communities, Cities, Companies and Countries', GRSP and partners brought together  120 stakeholders from more than 20 countries representing government, civil society, research bodies and the private sector for a comprehensive event comprising a range of stimulating capability building workshops, keynote addresses, high level panel discussions and plenary sessions over two full days.