World to unite for road safety day

Date: 10/5/2011

Today (May 11th) will see a range of events held around the globe as part of the launch of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.

Created by the United Nations (UN), the Decade of Action for Road Safety is a campaign to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by road accidents.

Statistics suggest that 3,500 people die on the world's roads every day, equivalent to almost 1.3 million deaths a year.

Government, international agencies and private organisations have been encouraged to hold events to raise awareness of the Decade of Action for Road Safety.

In the UK, professionals from more than 100 groups will come together in London alongside Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond and Lord Robertson - Chairman of the Commission for Global Road Safety - for the formal launch of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety.

On the same day, iRAP (the International Roads Assessment Programme) has appointed the Transport Research Foundation (TRF) - the parent company of TRL - as a new Centre of Excellence.

Upon signing the agreement, iRAP Chairman John Dawson said: "TRF enables world class research on transport and safety problems, not least in low and middle income countries.

"Over the last decade its research laboratory, TRL, has worked with other global research centres to support the advances iRAP has made. I am delighted to be able to appoint TRF as one of just a handful of Centres of Excellence worldwide."

Posted by Sarah Bailey