Improving Global Road Safety

A/RES/72/271View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 12Improving global road safety, published in 2017.

What other versions does this mandate have?

10 versions · 2004–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/78/290

2024A/RES/78/290Improving global road safetyLatestCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/299Improving global road safetyCompare with previous version
2018A/RES/72/271Improving global road safetyCompare with previous version
2016A/RES/70/260Improving global road safetyCompare with previous version
2014A/RES/68/269Improving global road safetyCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 topics

International Cooperation Road Traffic Technical Cooperation Traffic Safety

What does this mandate say?

37 operative paragraphs

Reiterates its invitation to Member States and the international community to intensify national, regional and international collaboration, with a view to meeting the ambitious road safety-related targets in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Welcomes the adoption by the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) of the New Urban Agenda, which, taking into account that the majority of road traffic deaths and injuries take place in urban areas, gives appropriate consideration to road safety and access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable public transport and non-motorized modes of transport, paying special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons;

Also welcomes the approval by consensus of the 12 voluntary global performance targets for road safety risk factors and service delivery mechanisms at the meeting of States members of the World Health Organization held in Geneva on 20 and 21 November 2017, notes the work of the World Health Organization in developing corresponding indicators intended to help measure progress towards achieving these targets, encourages the application of these indicators, when appropriate, and in this respect encourages the World Health Organization to carry out activities to support countries, especially countries in Africa and the least developed countries, in the implementation of targets and measurement of progress;

Encourages Member States to take steps, following good practices, towards achieving the voluntary global performance targets for road safety;

Invites Member States that have not already done so to develop and implement national road safety plans, as appropriate, and to consider adopting comprehensive legislation in line with the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020, with a view to meeting the target of increasing the percentage of countries with comprehensive legislation on key risk factors, including the non-use of seat belts, child restraints and helmets, the drinking of alcohol and driving, and speeding, from 15 per cent to at least 50 per cent by 2020, as agreed in resolution 64/255, and to consider implementing appropriate, effective and evidence- and/or science-based legislation on other risk factors related to distracted or impaired driving;

Reaffirms the role and importance of the United Nations legal instruments on road safety, such as the 1949 Convention on Road Traffic, the 1968 Convention on Road Traffic, the 1968 Convention on Road Signs and Signals, the 1958 and 1998 agreements on technical vehicle regulations, the 1997 agreement on periodic technical inspection of vehicles and the 1957 agreement on the transport of dangerous goods, in facilitating road safety at the global, regional and national levels, and commends Member States that have acceded to these international legal instruments on road safety;

Encourages Member States that have not yet done so to consider becoming contracting parties to the United Nations legal instruments on road safety and, beyond accession, applying, implementing and promoting their provisions or safety regulations;

Encourages Member States to make efforts to ensure the safety and protection of all road users through safer road infrastructure, especially on the highest-risk roads with high rates of crashes involving both motorized and non-motorized modes of transport, through a combination of proper planning and safety assessment, design, building and maintenance of roads, taking into consideration the geography of the country;

Invites Member States that have not already done so to consider adopting policies and measures to implement United Nations vehicle safety regulations or equivalent national standards to ensure that all new motor vehicles meet applicable minimum regulations for the protection of occupants and other road users, with seat belts, airbags and active safety systems fitted as standard equipment;

Invites Member States that have not yet done so to address road safety holistically, starting with the implementation or continuation of a road safety management system, including, as appropriate, interdepartmental cooperation and the development of national road safety plans in line with the Global Plan for the Decade of Action;

Invites Member States to consider establishing mechanisms for the periodic assessment of vehicles in order to ensure that all new and in-use vehicles comply with basic vehicle safety regulations;

Encourages Member States to provide consumer information on vehicle safety through new car assessment programmes that are independent from vehicle manufacturers, and also encourages Member States to share such consumer information with, inter alia, the World Health Organization and other countries, in particular developing and least developed countries;

Also encourages Member States to promote environmentally sound, safe, accessible and affordable modes of quality transport, particularly public and non-motorized transport, as well as safe intermodal integration, as a means of improving road safety, social equity, public health and urban planning, including the resilience of cities and urban-rural linkages, and in this regard to take into account road safety and mobility as part of the effort to achieve sustainable development;

Further encourages Member States to adopt, implement and enforce policies and measures to actively protect and promote pedestrian safety and cycling mobility, with a view to also improving road safety and broader health outcomes, particularly the prevention of injuries and non-communicable diseases;

Invites Member States to develop and implement appropriate social marketing campaigns to raise awareness and commemorate the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on the third Sunday of November every year;

Encourages Member States to strengthen pre-hospital care, including emergency health services and the immediate post-crash response, hospital and ambulatory guidelines for trauma care and rehabilitation services, and requests the World Health Organization to support Member States in these endeavours;

Invites Member States to share best practices and standards bilaterally, regionally and internationally, as appropriate, including through the World Health Organization, upon the request of Member States, on the causes of road traffic accidents and crashes and their prevention, which could be instrumental in addressing information gaps and shortcomings;

Urges Member States to implement road safety policies for the protection of vulnerable persons among road users, in particular children, youth, older persons and persons with disabilities, in line with relevant United Nations legal instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

Encourages Member States and private sector entities that have not yet done so to establish an effective mechanism to reduce the number of crashes, road traffic fatalities and injuries caused by professional drivers, including drivers of commercial vehicles, owing to job-specific hazards, including fatigue;

Invites Member States to fully integrate a gender perspective into all policymaking and policy implementation related to mobility and road safety, especially regarding roads and surrounding areas and public transport;

Encourages Member States to develop and implement comprehensive legislation and policies on motorcycles, including on training, driver licensing, vehicle registration, working conditions and the use by motorcyclists of helmets and personal protection equipment, within the existing international standards, given the disproportionally high and increasing numbers of motorcycle deaths and injuries globally, particularly in developing countries;

Invites Member States to develop public policies to decrease work-related road traffic crashes, with the participation of employers and workers, in order to enforce international standards on safety and health at work, road safety and adequate road and vehicle conditions, giving particular attention to the issue of professional drivers, including the working conditions of commercial vehicle drivers;

Also invites Member States to provide early rehabilitation and social reintegration, including in the world of work, to persons with injuries and disabilities caused by road traffic crashes and comprehensive support to victims of road traffic crashes and their families;

Further invites Member States to continue to implement professional driver qualification frameworks, established on the basis of internationally recognized standards, including training, certification and licensing, restricted hours of driving and working conditions that focus on addressing the main causes of accidents or crashes involving heavy commercial vehicles, recognizing that distraction is a significant cause of accidents or crashes;

Invites Member States to support, as appropriate, the activities of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Road Safety;

Welcomes the measures taken by the Secretary-General and the United Nations system to enhance road safety through the United Nations system road safety strategy so as to reduce road traffic crashes and casualties and injuries resulting from such incidents among United Nations personnel and the civilian population in host countries;

Requests the World Health Organization and the United Nations regional commissions, as well as other relevant United Nations agencies, to continue the activities aimed at supporting the implementation of the objectives and goals of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020 and the road safety-related targets in the 2030 Agenda, while ensuring system-wide coherence;

Reiterates its invitation to Governments to take a leading role in implementing activities in support of the voluntary global performance targets for road safety risk factors and service delivery mechanisms, as well as road safety-related targets in the 2030 Agenda, while fostering multisectoral and multi-stakeholder collaboration that includes the efforts of academia, the private sector, professional associations and civil society, including national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, and encouraging further partnership activities and initiatives, such as the Global Road Safety Partnership, hosted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and those of other non-governmental organizations, as well as victims’ organizations, youth organizations and the media;

Requests the United Nations system, including the regional commissions, the World Health Organization and other relevant United Nations agencies, to support Member States, upon their request, in applying voluntary global performance targets for road safety when appropriate;

Requests the World Health Organization to continue to monitor, through its global status reports on road safety, progress towards the achievement of the goals of the Decade of Action;

Requests the World Health Organization and the United Nations regional commissions to facilitate the organization of activities during 2019 for the fifth United Nations Global Road Safety Week;

Invites all relevant stakeholders, international organizations, development banks and funding agencies, foundations, professional associations and private sector companies to scale up funding to support the implementation of measures required to meet the voluntary global performance targets;

Welcomes the establishment of the United Nations road safety trust fund to support progress towards achieving road safety-related Sustainable Development Goals and relevant global targets, and encourages all road safety stakeholders to contribute to the fund;

Stresses the need, in view of the approaching end, in 2020, of the Decade of Action, the target date of 2020 for the achievement of target 3.6 of Sustainable Development Goal 3 and the relevant road safety target dates set out in the 2030 Agenda, to define a new time frame for a reduction in road traffic deaths and injuries, taking into account the voluntary global performance targets for road safety risk factors and service delivery mechanisms;

Welcomes the offer by the Government of Sweden to host the third high-level global conference on road safety, to be held in 2020, building on the work on the first United Nations Global Road Safety Week done in Muscat in 2007, the Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, held in Moscow in 2009, and the Second Global High-level Conference on Road Safety, held in Brasilia in 2015, to bring together delegations of ministers and representatives dealing with transport, health, education, safety and related traffic law enforcement issues and other relevant stakeholders in the interest of reducing or eliminating road traffic fatalities and serious injuries, reviewing progress in achieving the goals of the Decade of Action and the relevant targets of the 2030 Agenda and providing an opportunity for Member States to further discuss ways to achieve the goals of the Agenda so as to prepare a forward-looking declaration on the period leading up to 2030;

Recommends that a high-level meeting on improving global road safety be held, at an appropriate time after 2020, with a view to assessing the progress made in attaining the objectives of the road safety-related targets contained in the 2030 Agenda;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-fourth session the item entitled “Improving global road safety”, and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at that session on the progress made in the attainment of the objectives of the Decade of Action.

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