News
Road safety for the people: An Interview with Ibrahim Osman (26-08-2010)
Ibrahim Osman first realized the full extent of the road safety crisis 12 years ago while working on the 1998 World Disasters Report, the yearly chronicle of humanitarian crises published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). That year, the report identified road safety as a leading global killer and a man-made humanitarian disaster in need of urgent attention. Ten years later, this key founding GRSP partner is still a strong road safety advocate. GRSP News recently caught up with Osman, just before his retirement as IFRC's Deputy Secretary General
Radar equipment donated from Australia will help improve road safety in Ukraine (10-08-2010)
The beginning of a new road safety campaign in the city of Lviv in western Ukraine coincided with the handover of five speed-detection radars from the Queensland Police Service (QPS) in Australia.
Cambodian team hits the Australian highway as part of RS-10 capacity building project (09-08-2010)
You cannot miss it. The last thing you want to see on your way home from an after-work drink with your office mates. A Victoria Police "Booze Bus", parked on the shoulder of a nondescript highway off-ramp with its flashing lights and customized floodlight illuminating a cold Melbourne night.
A safe-driving tour through the eyes of GRSP Hungary’s new president (08-08-2010)
In April this year, 40-year-old Balázs Tokár was elected president of GRSP/Hungary. A representative for Shell on the GRSP Hungary board since 2007, he has been involved in a number of joint projects within GRSP, including "Traffic playground" with a mini Shell station that is still operational in Budapest and used by local school classes. "Interestingly," he says, "when we were opening the playground back in 2008 - a troublesome political time for Hungary - representatives of all opposition parties from the local administration were present at the ceremony. This is proof that road safety does not know political borders and is vital for all who bear social responsibility." GRSP's Rita Plotnikova caught up with the energetic and enthusiastic Tokár for an interview about road safety in Hungary.
Annual Meeting In Brazil Highlights Results of Proactive Partnership (03-06-2010)
More than 100 people from around the world came to Rio de Janeiro as part of activities surrounding GRSP’s annual general meeting in June. The venue was the Challenge Bibendum, the biggest international event in the automobile industry, of which GRSP was a leading road-safety participant.
PrintThe Global Road Safety Partnership welcomes a new member: Sesame Workshop (26-04-2010)
Sesame Workshop, the producers of the global educational brand, Sesame Street, joined the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) in a move to contribute its educational media expertise to the worldwide effort to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities among children and families.
Sesame Workshop became the 35th member of the GRSP - partnership of business, civil society and governmental organizations dedicated to improving road safety conditions in low- and middle-income countries.
As the newest member of GRSP, Sesame Workshop has been charged with utilizing its expertise in evidence-based education to create content and distribute materials that will create positive behavior changes in road safety among young children and their families.
“For over 40 years, Sesame Workshop has had an amazing ability to create and deliver on a global scale media content that has proven results in achieving behavior change,” said Andrew Pearce, Chief Executive Officer of GRSP. “By coupling this with the road safety expertise available within the Global Road Safety Partnership, we believe there is the potential to make a new and considerable contribution to improving road safety outcomes.”
Road traffic injuries are a major but neglected public health challenge. According to the World Health Organization’s “Global status report on road safety” (June 2009), every year, road crashes kill nearly 1.3 million people and injure between 20 and 50 million more. Worldwide, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29, and the second cause of death for those aged 5 to 14. Road traffic injuries rank ninth among the leading cause of deaths for children aged 1 to 4 year. Five hundred children die every day in road crashes. In 1998, more children died in Africa from road crashes than from the HIV/AIDS virus. Raising awareness and knowledge of road safety behaviors is the key to reversing the alarming statistics on the roads.
“We, as an organization, recognize the immensity of this worldwide crisis,” said Gary E. Knell, President and CEO of Sesame Workshop. “Over the years, Sesame Workshop has harnessed the power and popularity of our Muppet characters to make a meaningful and measurable difference in critical issues facing children and families. We look forward to working with GRSP and our worldwide network to communicate important road safety messages to local communities, families, and children,” hew said.
The announcement comes on the heels of a historic UN General Assembly resolution proclaiming 2011-2020 the Decade of Action for Road Safety. The resolution was co-sponsored by 90 member states who, along with business, donors and civil society institutions, commit to support actions to address the global road safety crisis including increased use of seatbelts, child restraints and helmets and promoting road safety education.
UN calls for ‘Decade of Action’ for road safety (01-04-2010)
Calling the global road safety crisis "a major public health problem" with a "broad range of social and economic consequences," the 64th General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution March 2 proclaiming 2011-2020 the Decade of Action for Road Safety.
Drinking and driving dips in two Chinese cities after the multi-sector involved project (29-01-2010)
Levels of drinking and driving declined significantly in two cities where the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) together with a multi-sector team of government agencies and business organizations conducted a four-year drinking and driving project (2006-2009).
GRSP joins in regional road safety programme in Northern Poland Region (19-01-2010)
The Road Safety Council of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Region in Poland has invited the Global Road Safety Partnership-Poland to join their ambitious and comprehensive road safety program, which aims to reduce road deaths and accidents over the next three years.
Ministers join call for Decade of Action (21-12-2009)
Government ministers from 70 countries gathered in Moscow for the first-ever Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in November and pledged to gear up road safety efforts and formally ask the United Nations to declare 2011-2020 the "Decade of Action for road safety."