As mobility clubs gather in Spain this week for the 2023 Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Annual Conference, we are proud to recognise the iRAP club partnerships and projects helping to make roads and school journeys safer in communities across world.

iRAP’s Global Technical Director James Bradford will present at the conference to the Policy Committee on Tuesday and in Thursday’s mobility session on “Looking ahead: Using AI to scale big data partnerships” and club partnerships supporting iRAP innovation for global benefit.

Nearly 150 mobility clubs in 94 countries are partnering with iRAP to support their advocacy and work to create safer journeys for members.

From supporting road safety assessments to implementing the Star Rating for Schools programme, developing free tools and resources for club members, and rolling out innovative funding programmes for safer school journeys, FIA partnerships are critical to ensuring high-risk roads are actioned and eliminated in local communities spanning the globe.

Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for young people from the ages of five to 29, and FIA mobility clubs are working with iRAP in local partnerships to deliver the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) programme for safer school journeys.

SR4S an evidence-based tool developed by iRAP for measuring, managing, and communicating the risk children face on the journey to school. It supports quick infrastructure interventions that save lives and prevent serious injuries from day one by improving infrastructure such as footpaths and crossings while slowing traffic speeds.

Clubs are embracing the programme supported by the FIA School Assessment Toolkit and annual Road Safety Grants programme, supported by the FIA Foundation.

Since 2021, the programme has supported HAK Auto Club Croatia; Automobile Association of Ceylon; Automobile Association of Tanzania (AAT); Automobile and Touring Club of Nigeria; Zambia Motor Sport Association (ZMSA); Automobile Club of Uruguay (ACU); Federation of Motorsport Clubs of Uganda (FMU); Touring & Automobile Club de Colombia (ACC); Asociacion Automovilistica De Touring Y Deportes De Panama and Automovil Club de Guatemala; Slovenian Automobile and Motorcycle Club (AMZS); Automobile Club of Moldova (ACM); Emergency Assist 991 Botswana; Mobilité Club Maroc (MCM); Philippine National Auto Club (AAP); and projects in Georgia by the Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport (EASST).

In addition, SR4S club projects have been supported in Nepal, Vietnam, Trinidad and Tobago, Cyprus, Greece, Ecuador, Spain, Uzbekistan, Mozambique, Albania, Cambodia, Kenya and Chile.

The annual €400,000 FIA Foundation fund for Star Rating for Schools, deployed as part of the Child Health Initiative Advocacy Hub, is supporting FIA clubs in expanding and deepening their projects and advocacy for safe journeys to school.

Across the world, iRAP is also working with a clubs to support changes to make roads safer for drivers and vulnerable road users.

The Royal Dutch Touring Club (ANWB) has been a key partner in iRAP’s innovative CycleRAP development. CycleRAP is an easy, affordable and fast method of evaluating road and bicycling infrastructure for safety. It aims to reduce crashes and improve safety specifically for bicyclists and other light mobility users by identifying high risk locations without the need for crash data.

A three-year project by Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) has analysed the safety of 17,500km of Italy’s primary road network to understand the investments and speeds required to save lives and serious injuries, aligned to international targets and Europe’s RISM Directive.

The Reial Automobil Club de Catalunya (RACC) has presented the 21st edition of its annual road assessment study, analysing for yet another year, the crash rate on the Catalan road network of Spain. RACC Spain also undertook the first iRAP Star Rating assessment of Andorra’s primary road network and has performance tracked the safety of Spain’s network for more than two decades.

A 30km/h speed limit is being introduced to Moldova’s Road Regulations following the completion of Project SABRINA and the influence of two years of advocacy supported by Automobile Club of Moldova (ACM), FIA Foundation, EASST and partners. ACM was one of 11 Project Partners in the 9-country SABRINA project that aimed to tackle cycling infrastructure safety issues on existing, planned and missing cycling corridors crossing the Danube region. It led to the launch of a new Safe Cycling Routes Toolkit (SCRT) to guide users through the process of defining new cycling routes and improving the safety of existing routes for cyclists.

iRAP is actively working with FIA Region I, II and IV to build capacity and projects to support safer journeys in the regions. For example, FIA Region IV, FIA Foundation and iRAP hosted a workshop for region members in May last year to work together to achieve the common agenda of making roads safer for all. And supported by FIA Region II Asia-Pacific, 5-star (SR4S) school modifications in Gia Lai, Vietnam are safeguarding students’ lives as they arrive and leave school. AIP Foundation and iRAP are also partnering to deliver capacity building for FIA Region II clubs on the successful implementation of road infrastructure around schools and enabling scale to these initiatives. AIP Foundation and iRAP are also partnering to deliver capacity building for FIA Region II clubs on the successful implementation of road infrastructure around schools and enabling scale to these initiatives.

In Ecuador ANETA is working on an important innovation partnership with iRAP, while the National Automobile Club of Tunisia has collaborated for the development of TunRAP and 14,800km of crash risk mapping has recently been released by the University of Sfax.

In Australasia, iRAP is working closely with a range of clubs: AAA Australia is a key partner of AusRAP with deep engagement from the state clubs; while New Zealand Automobile Association (NZAA) has been working with KiwiRAP partners to support risk mapping of local authority road networks.

iRAP congratulates the FIA and club network for their extensive investment and work to promote safer journeys world-wide.

The 2023 FIA Conference is being held in Cordoba from 20-22 June and will bring together presidents and senior executives of its world-wide member organisations with a focus on “Accelerating Change: Member-Driven, Knowledge-Led Transformation”. It will give the floor to senior leadership, club experts and international keynote speakers to address strategic topics for the network such as innovation, digitalisation, development through learning, sustainability, equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as the mobility industry’s challenges.