When the Road Safety in 10 Countries team went to Nairobi this past December, they discovered more than just a bustling metropolitan city. Working closely with the Kenya Red Cross, they carried out a workshop – focusing on helmet wearing and speeding – which revealed some new approaches as well as interesting challenges to road…
He is perhaps one of the most beloved characters on television around the world, and over the next ten years, he will help put road safety on the map – and in the minds of children everywhere. Grover is a Muppet character selected by Sesame Workshop to be the global Road Safety Ambassador for the…
For the Cambodian Red Cross Road Safety Project, “Give a little, get back a lot”, is more than just words. The Cambodia Red Cross turned this saying into a reality – one that resulted in more than 81,000 USD in contributions for road safety. It all began a year ago. That’s when the Cambodia Red…
For many people around the world, New Year’s Eve celebrations are filled with champagne and cocktails. But as 2010 came to a close, the Thai Red Cross planned ahead for the holiday season by focusing on road safety. New Year’s Eve marked the launch of “Give blood and don’t drive crazy on the road,” a…
The five-year, global road safety project RS10, which aims to reduce road-crash related death and injury in 10 low-and-middle income countries, was officially launched in China in late October with official events in two provinces. The RS10 project aims to target the key risk factors on the road to reduce death and serious injuries in…
Two and a half years ago, I was asked what it was that I felt was holding back the global road safety movement. “Fragmentation and lack of investment”, I said, “and it’s the fragmentation that causes the lack of investment, so all we really need to do is create alignment!” Two years on, and with…
In observance of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on November 21, the citizens of Lipetsk fixed 232 white balloons in the city square, also marking the beginning of a mass public campaign promoting the use of seatbelts. The campaign was a culmination of efforts undertaken by a consortium of international partners from…
In a quiet room in São José dos Campos’ central city hospital, a 28-year-old patient recuperates from a broken leg. A few days earlier, a drunken motorbike driver struck him as he was working with a roadway repair crew. “Safety measures are there, but they need to be increased,” the patient says, adding that he’d…
On a typical night, Van Chansophal, a 34-year-old who works in the private sector in Phnom Penh enjoys meeting his friends to drink beer after work. “Normally, I drink eight or more cans of beer at one time. I like going out to drink until I am deeply drunk. Then I stop drinking and come…
When the Decade of Action for Road Safety officially gets rolling in May 2011, Asia will be ready. That was the goal of the 8th annual GRSP Asia Road Safety Seminar in November, which focused on planning for the Decade of Action as an effective means of reducing road trauma in the region. A well-known…
Two Brazilian cities engaged in GRSP’s Proactive Partnership Strategy have won the prestigious Volvo Road Safety Award – the reward given as a high recognition of excellence for professionals and communities in Brazil for effective road safety practices. Winners of the 18th Volvo Road Safety Awards were announced in September. Porto Alegre, capital of the…
The Road Safety Conclave 2010, “Moving towards a Comprehensive and Integrated Approach”, was an important step taken by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to provide a national platform for achieving a coordinated approach to road safety. Co-sponsored by GRSP, the Conclave was attended by more than 250 participants from the road industry, the government…
Paying tribute to those killed in road crashes and taking a united stand to reduce road deaths were among the key themes of an international conference organized by the Polish Government just after the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on 22 November. In 2009 alone, 4,572 people were killed in road crashes…
On the walking bus, feet replace tires. Children do not sit, they walk in pairs behind an adult “driver” who leads the route between school and home. The walking bus is used by millions of children around the world each day. It is a method of transport which promotes physical exercise, supports efforts for a…
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…
