Organisers of the fourth UN Global Road Safety Week have described the event as ‘the most successful yet’ but are stressing the need for continued action to reduce the dangers caused by speed.
The bi-annual event took place between 8-14 May and in asking drivers to pledge to #SlowDown, it set out to ‘increase understanding of the dangers of speed and generate action on measures to address speed’.
Global Road Safety Week was organised by the UN Road Safety Collaboration, set up by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2004 to ‘discuss global road safety issues’ and ‘facilitate international cooperation and strengthen global and regional coordination among UN agencies’.
More than 1,000 events were registered across 125 countries, taking place at both national and community levels.
In the UK, events included the launch of a new road safety manifesto, a ‘Beep Beep! Day’ and a conference specialising on active travel.
The UN Road Safety Collaboration says that while thousands briefly experienced the benefits of slowing down, stakeholders must continue to push for slower speeds, within communities, in an effort to bring about long-term change.
To help promote this, details have been published showing how to organise events to promote safe speeds, including slow down days. The continued use of the campaign’s messages, visuals and materials – all of which are available on the Global Road Safety Week website – is also being encouraged.
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