As a continued effort in improving road safety in the Asia-Pacific region, Acting CEO Greg Smith joined UNESCAP Road Safety Week in Bangkok from 2 to 5 June, including presentations on Unsafe Infrastructure as a Key Risk Factor for Road Safety at the ‘Group Meeting on Road Safety: Progress, Partnerships and Pathways’ and as a panellist on Enabling Domestic Financing during the launch of the UN Road Safety Fund 2024 Annual Report.

The four-day regional gathering brought together over 200 governments, civil society, and private sector actors from across 45 countries to reflect on the road safety challenges encountered by the region’s countries and ways forward towards achieving the SDG target 3.6 of halving the road fatalities and injuries by 2030. It was great to see the joint meeting with United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety (WP.1) bringing European expertise to the discussions.

The programme of the week included:

• Special sessions on United Nations road safety legal instruments – namely, the Special Session of the Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety (Special Session I) and the informal part of the 22nd session of the Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (Special Session II).
• The Expert Group Meeting on Road Safety Progress, Partnerships and Pathways discussed the key risk factors related to road safety for global, regional, national and local efforts towards improving active and passive safety for road users with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
• The United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) Annual Report launch in an event entitled ‘Shaping the Course: Building Road Safety Systems in Low- and Middle Income Countries’. A number of iRAP partner projects feature in the report including the ‘Safe and Inclusive Road Design in Central Asia’ Project which is harmonising and modernising road design standards in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (see page 22); Vietnam’s ‘Creating Safe School Zones to Protect Children’ Project (see page 13); and the ‘Senegal Ten Step Plan for Safer Infrastructure Project’ (see page 53). Read more on the report and launch here.
• A UNRSF-backed Brands for Safer Roads event which called for urgent action on rising motorcycle deaths.
• The 11th Meeting of the Working Group on the Asian Highway.
• Exhibitions, demonstrations of safety and vehicle technologies, and site visits.

ThaiRAP Lead Professor Kasem Choocharukul also joined the Joint Policy Session on Road Safety Along the Asian Highway Network as an expert speaker. The session provided a valuable opportunity to share experiences and discuss practical policy solutions with fellow experts from across the region, with a focus on improving infrastructure safety standards along the Asian Highway Network.

The Week’s activities were organized by the Transport Division of the United Nations ESCAP, in association with the Sustainable Transport Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and its Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety (WP.1); the Working Party on Automated/Autonomous and Connected Vehicles (GRVA) under the parent body of World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations; and the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) secretariat.

The event aimed to raise awareness among government officials and road safety stakeholders about the importance of road safety policies in aligning with SDG targets 3.6 and 11.2a;  enhance knowledge and understanding of UN road safety legal instruments; emphasize the significance of safe infrastructure as well as the use of technologies in enhancing road safety; and promote regional and global dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders to reinforce commitments towards creating safer road transport for all.

See the event programme and concept note here.

iRAP’s Greg Smith joined a line-up of distinguished expert speakers

Launching the UNRSF 2024 Annual Report highlighting how countries, including three iRAP partner projects, are tackling traffic deaths with bold, systemic action

ThaiRAP Lead Professor Kasem Choocharukul shares Star Rating results using the iRAP Road Safety Demonstrator