We congratulate AIP Foundation and our Pleiku City partners in Vietnam, as well as the Secretariat of Mobility in Bogotá, as two of four inaugural winners of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards for Excellence in Road Safety, presented on 12 June in New York.

The awards program was launched as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety, which works in partnership with international and local organizations and governments to improve road safety and save lives by focusing on five key areas: strengthening national legislation; enhancing data collection and surveillance; changing road user behaviour; improving road infrastructure; and upgrading vehicle safety.

The award winners were selected from nominations across 18 countries, with priority given to large-scale, evidence-based interventions in low- and middle-income countries.

Pleiku City, Vietnam was awarded for its groundbreaking work to manage speeds around schools. The Slow Zones, Safe Zones program reduces the school zone speed limit to 30 kph as part of a comprehensive approach, which has gained national traction. In addition to covering 31 primary schools in Pleiku City, officials will implement infrastructure modifications at 13 schools across other regions of the country to demonstrate the effectiveness of their approach to local leaders.

The Secretariat of Mobility in Bogotá, Colombia was awarded for its bold actions to design streets that protect the most vulnerable road users: bicyclists and pedestrians. The Liveable Neighbourhoods Program has transformed neighbourhoods through tactical interventions like safe intersections, pedestrian space and loading zones that promote sustainable mobility and improve public spaces, reducing total crashes and average speed.

The National Road Safety Observatory in Tunisia was also awarded for its transformative digital crash database based on geo-located crash data, and the National Road Safety Agency in Argentina for its landmark law saving lives and preventing injuries caused by drinking and driving.

“Millions of road fatalities and injuries each year could be prevented with stronger laws, better infrastructure, and more efficient enforcement,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, 108th mayor of New York City, and WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries. “Bloomberg Philanthropies works closely with international partners who are leading the way in implementing these policies, and to shine a spotlight on their progress and the need for more of it, we’re hosting this first-ever Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards.”

Since 2007, Bloomberg Philanthropies has invested $500 million in global road safety, saving an estimated 312,000 lives and preventing up to 11.5 million injuries.

iRAP and our partners have supported the program’s implementation in cities and countries worldwide.