A significant achievement of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 is inclusion of road safety among the Sustainable Development Goals. This has far-reaching implications, especially because the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development clearly states that the “17 Sustainable Development Goals with 169 associated targets are integrated and indivisible”. With this recognition, road safety is placed at the same level of prominence as other global sustainability issues. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development also promotes partnership as a solution to many of the world’s most pressing development challenges. Vision Zero or the “safe system approach”, which has been widely accepted as the modern road safety strategy, posits that the ultimate responsibility for road safety lies not with the individual road user, but with those who manage, design and construct the transport system and all its various components. This includes legislators, road builders, vehicle manufacturers, fleet operators and the police, all of whom are in a position to collectively contribute to a safe transport system.
With its view on shared responsibility, Vision Zero, therefore, has the potential to act as important enabler of new partnerships for road safety. If effectively engaged, the private sector and all the related products and services it produces is especially well placed to have a profound and positive impact on road safety as well as the attainment of other Sustainable Development Goals. For that reason, it is important to understand how private companies integrate road safety into their overall sustainability efforts and which are the most effective strategies they employ to do so. A number of the nine recommendations proposed by the Academic Expert Group link to these issues and will be explored in this session.
Panelists
Introduction
Lena Erixon
Director-General | Swedish Transport Administration
Panel participants
Pip Spence
Deputy Secretary | Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications | Australia
Benny Engelbrecht
Minister of Transport | Ministry of Transportt | Denmark
Ibrahima Abdoul Ly
Minister of Transport and Urban Mobility | Ministry of Transport and Urban Mobility | Mali
Saleh Nasser Aljasser
Minister of transport | Transport ministry | Saudi Arabia
Cora van Nieuwenhuizen
Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management | Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management | The Netherlands
Henrik Henriksson
President and Chief Executive Officer | Scania
Aims of the session:
- Identify the ways that Vision Zero would help to achieve road safety and other Sustainable Development Goals.
- Explore the recommendations of the Academic Expert Group.
- Indicate new roles and responsibilities of the actors needed to spearhead these efforts, in particular the private sector.
- Identify key priorities for the next decade.
