On 9 September, the International Road Federation and iRAP hosted a United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) webinar on the Ten Step Plan for Safer Road Infrastructure.

The Ten Step Plan was produced by the UNRSC Safer Roads and Mobility Group partners to provide a clear process for establishing systems, building capacity and creating partnerships to support implementation of the UN Convention on Road Traffic and Road Signs and Signals and achievement of the UN Member States Agreed Global Targets 3 and 4 for safer new and existing roads.

The Ten Step Plan is a key resource to support the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety (2021-2030) which aims to halve deaths and injuries by 2030. Currently, more than 1.35 million people are killed and as many as 50 million people are injured a year, with 90 per cent of those casualties occurring in developing countries. Road crashes are the leading cause of death around the world for children and young people between 15 and 29 years of age.

The webinar, which had 1243 registrations from 120 countries, brought together a range of international speakers:

1. Etienne Krug from the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the UN Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) and its work.
2. Jean Todt, UN Special Envoy for Road Safety, shared a video message putting the Ten Step plan into global context.
3. Susanna Zammataro from the International Road Federation (IRF) shared an overview of the the Safer Roads and Mobility Group within the UNRSC, emphasising the Group’s focus on initiatives that improve safety for all road users: pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and vehicle occupants.
4. Rob McInerney of the International Road Assessment Program (iRAP) explained how the Ten Step Plan provides a blueprint for how countries can put in place the systems and build capacity to achieve Global Road Safety Performance Targets 3 and 4.
5. Romain Hubert of the United National Road Safety Fund (UNSRF) described the Fund’s program of support for safety initiatives around the world, including the first practical implementation of the Ten Step Plan in Tanzania.
6. Robert Lisinge from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) shared further details about how Tanzania will be the first country to implement the Ten Step Plan.
7. Veronica Raffo from the World Bank shared examples of successful World Bank and Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) safety projects and introduced a GRSF / UNRSF partnership project that will help evaluate the Ten Step Plan in Tanzania.

Key quotes from the webinar:
'I am confident that this 2 year project can make a difference and reduce considerably the number of victims on the road.' - Jean Todt, UN Special Envoy for Road Safety

'The essence of UNRSC and the Ten Step Plan is sharing expertise to build solutions together and fostering partnerships to ensure effective implementation.' - Susanna Zammataro, Director General, International Road Federation

'The Ten Step Plan can be tailored based on exactly where your country is (high-, middle-, low-income countries). The plan has been devised in a way to bring in global knowledge and put it together with the good work you are already doing locally, identify gaps, build the capacity to fill these gaps, and then ultimately make sure it leads to upgraded roads that are safer for all road users (pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and vehicle occupants.)' - Rob McInerney, CEO, International Road Assessment Program (iRAP)

The following resources are available:

• Click here to access the full recording of the webinar
• Click here to watch the video message by Jean Todt, UN Special Envoy for Road Safety
• Download the full PowerPoint Presentation slide pack for this webinar here
• The Ten-Step Plan for Safer Road Infrastructure is available for download at: Ten Step Plan for Safer Road Infrastructure.
• The UN Global Road Safety Performance Targets 3 and 4 are available at: https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/12GlobalRoadSafetyTargets.pdf?ua=1.
• The UN General Assembly declaration on Improving Global Road Safety and the the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety (2021-2030) is available at: https://www.un.org/pga/74/wp-content/uploads/sites/99/2020/08/Draft-Resolution-Road-Safety.pdf.
• Click here to watch the video shared by the World Bank on a successful road safety initiative in Nepal
• Background on the UNRSF and GRSF Partnership to Improve Road Safety Delivery in World Bank Funded Projects in Tanzania: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/08/11/the-united-nations-road-safety-fund-and-the-global-road-safety-facility-announce-partnership-to-improve-road-safety-delivery-in-world-bank-funded-projects-in-tanzania