At the request of the UN General Assembly, the Government of Sweden will host – in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) – the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety from 19-20 February 2020 in Stockholm, Sweden under the theme “Achieving Global Goals 2030”.
The Stockholm Declaration will be presented as the final outcome document of the Ministerial Conference.
PACTS has welcomed the declaration. We made the following comments on the draft. (Consultation is now closed.)
- Is there anything you would like to add to the declaration? Please explain why.
The draft sets out high ideals and ambitions. We do not disagree with them but, after the Decade of Action and the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, questions must be asked about what is appropriate and effective.
The draft briefly notes “the link between development and road safety” but does not sufficiently recognise the difficulties that many countries face, particularly LMICs, in implementing these standards set out in the declaration.
As the declaration says, the reality is that in many countries the situation has got worse, not better. Road danger and casualty levels have increased. This is not a due to failure of leadership but the rapid expansion of motor vehicles (cars, trucks and motorcycles) in countries without the road infrastructure, systems, expertise or resources to accommodate them safely – and without the prospect of having them in the near future as motorization advances. As such, motorization needs to be recognized as the cause of road danger and road deaths.
It has taken advanced industrialised countries many decades to adjust to motorization and to reduce casualty levels. Even now, some of these countries, such as the USA, still have a relatively poor record. It is also questionable whether even those countries with good road safety records could operate safely with the highly varied mix of traffic that exists in LMICs.
- Are there any amendments you would like to make to the current draft? Please indicate how and why.
There is no explicit link to the parallel SDG target 11.2 which includes a focus on providing safe, sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety and with special attention to key groups such as children and the vulnerable.
There should be more reference to the design of cities, towns and villages that limit access for general motor vehicles and which prioritize access for people on foot, by bicycle and public transport.
- Which aspects are the most important ones in the current draft?
The emphasis on promoting and protecting public transport and active travel modes; and on speed management.
