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Statement by Martin Marmy, Secretary General
Statement by Martin Marmy, Secretary General International Road Transport Union Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the Transport Security Conference, the first of the kind organised by the IRU in close cooperation with the competent Governmental authorities of the Russian Federation. The high rate of interest by participants from Russia and abroad proves that security in transport is a very topical issue, indeed. Thank you for having come and special thanks to the leading personalities of various Ministries for their strong support in staging this event. I would like also to express gratitude to those
who initiated this conference: “Nothing is the same after 11 September”; this is what we often hear from politicians and the man-in-the-street nowadays. While it may certainly be true from a social-political consideration, may I recall that high-level security has always been one of the main priority issues in transport, road transport in particular. Before briefly explaining to you what I exactly mean by talking about the permanent efforts of the transport sector to improve the security level of operations, let me explain to you that the International Road Transport Union (IRU) is the only international non-governmental organisation representing the interests of the road transport industry - the operators of coaches, taxis and lorries. It is represented in 68 countries on the five continents and, more particularly, it has Member Associations in all European countries - all the Member States of the EU, the CIS and the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The IRU was founded in 1948 and immediately found its place, as the private sector dialogue partner of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and, subsequently, with the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT), the European Union (EU) and, most recently, in an institutionalised form exactly three years ago, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). We can attribute a manifold interpretation to the term “security” in road transport:
In the following, let us tackle these issues one-by one. Security for the society and the economy Over the last decades, road transport has become the major carrier to move people and goods as needed by the economy and the society. Indeed, the higher the GDP per capita achieved, the more advanced is the share of road transport in the modal split, attaining 80% of tonnes and more than 90% of passengers moved in developed economies. This trend is irreversible. Society and economy can count on us: we are flexible, quick and efficient offering real value for a reasonable (often too low) price, to cut it short, we can guarantee and secure mobility which is an outstanding requirement of our age. Such a security can be provided and road transport can become the engine for progress only if conditions for its development are granted by Governments in the form of proper road and other infrastructure; reasonable, practicable and non-discriminatory legislative framework; the reduction of artificial barriers such as unnecessary fiscal burden on transport companies or a cutback of unacceptable long waiting times at international frontiers. Security for our future by achieving sustainable development The road transport industry, under the flag of national associations and the IRU, is very well aware of its responsibility for securing the future of our children and their children. At our World Congress in Budapest, back in 1996, we signed the IRU Charter for Sustainable Development. This is a strategy paper and a commitment by a whole sector to protect nature and our human environment. Since then, transport companies and their associations at national level have elaborated a whole series of concrete measures in the form of practical modules easily applicable. Our basic principle is to reduce pollution at the source, i.e. the vehicle itself by technical and technological progress, energy saving, improved organisation of transport operations and increased operational efficiency. Governments accepting our proposal for the so-called 3i-s policy should support such an approach in public-private partnership: incentives for innovation followed up by investments in road infrastructure. I want to recall that despite general traffic growth, pollution from commercial road transport, which we represent, is gradually decreasing regarding the most important pollution components. And this is to a large extent thanks to the efforts of the industry itself. Road safety Coming closer to the specific subject of this meeting, I emphasize that road safety is a very important element of our approach to sustainable development; indeed, no activity of such proportions can be sustainable if it does not maintain an acceptable level of safety. The World Bank has estimated that, worldwide, road traffic crashes now result annually in 700,000 deaths and over 10 million injuries annually. The trend is, however, generally encouraging. In the European Union, the number of accidents resulting in bodily injury has fallen by 15% since 1970, and the number of persons killed, by more than 40%, despite the constant increase in road traffic. There is every reason to be confident that similar results can be achieved in Central and Eastern Europe too, providing all those concerned work to that end. Accidents involving commercial vehicles also followed the general positive trend. Furthermore, out of every 100 vehicle accidents with bodily injury in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark, an average of only 1 to 2 buses and coaches and 6 to 8 trucks are involved. This means that commercial vehicles are underrepresented in accidents there, since, in most countries, their proportion of total transport performance is 15 to 20%. I must underline that only Governments and authorities as well as the transport industry concentrating on identifying the main causes of accidents, can we expect to make further progress and motivate an industry that is already doing all in its power to improve its safety record. Experience shows that encouragement and incentives are far better tools to improve road safety than any restrictive measures. As an example of our own initiatives, may I quote the IRU Academy with its network of accredited training centres all over Europe, also in the CIS, of which one of the priorities is to increase safety awareness of transport managers and drivers by introducing appropriate training programmes. Security for the drivers, cargo, passengers and vehicles There are other types of dangers on the roads than accidents, namely attacks on drivers and vehicles as well as robbery. Road transport vehicles are relatively small, mobile and hardly defendable units with vulnerable passengers and drivers on board and carrying high-value goods. Ideal targets for criminals, who do not fear to profit from this situation. This might in particular be the case in less densely populated areas. Over the last couple years, however, a powerful instrument has widely been implemented by the industry, namely the up-to-date means of telecommunications, including the use of satellites, making tracking of vehicles and the signalisation of alarm situations possible. In certain areas, the institutional structures, such as police, medical and technical assistance should further be improved in order to match the possibilities of defence offered by the rapidly developing means of telecommunications. Under this item, we should also talk also about illegal immigration, which is a very painful, worldwide social phenomenon. Acknowledging the social, economic and political dimension of the issue does not change the fact that it has very direct negative consequences for the transport industry. Illegal entrants migrating from less developed regions to developed countries are often victims of organised crime. They frequently use commercial vehicles, such as boarding coaches as undocumented travellers or hidden on board the trucks. They risk their own life, endanger that of the drivers, who in addition are very often subject to penalty regimes imposed by border control authorities for illegal migrants found on board, even if they have not been involved in organising this type of illegal voyage. The IRU, while inviting drivers and transport operators to stay vigilant in order to avoid carrying illegal entrants, has initiated a dialogue with European authorities to find a joint response to this new challenge. Specific results of these discussions are expected for the end of 2002. Another question to be tackled here is related to state security. This is the visa issue to professional drivers. The transport industry acknowledges the right of states to impose a visa obligation on the basis of bilateral arrangements. After 11 September 2001, the requirements in this respect might become even more intensified. But we see no reason, why the issue of visa could not be facilitated for drivers, who need it on professional grounds and who are easily identifiable, if need be through national transport associations. We request the issue of multiple entry visas valid for one year and subject to minimum paperwork achievable in a reasonable timeframe. Commercial and customs security Finally, only a few words on commercial and customs security. Mr. Acri from the IRU will speak about this issue in the relevant session of this conference in much more details. Here, I want to underline the great efforts the UN, Governments and the IRU have been doing over the last couple of years in order to stabilise and secure the implementation of the TIR Convention endangered in its whole existence in the first half of the 1990s. The crisis is now under control, but a lot remains to be done to improve the customs procedure permitting to identify without any delay, the still too many defrauders in order to maintain the valuable trade facility offered by the TIR system. in countries of the region. This trade facility is even more valuable in this part of the World, because no other customs transit system permits to obtain the required high financial guarantee for the fleet operators and the trade at that a reasonable cost level. All partners mentioned as well as customs authorities, national guaranteeing associations, TIR carnet holders and drivers should however make further efforts to enhance the security of the system and reduce related commercial and customs risks. For this purpose, the IRU has introduced a very strict management system using the latest achievements of computer and telecommunications technology. Our basic principle is that the access to this excellent tool of transport facilitation across frontiers is not an automatic right for all but a privilege on a very selective basis only for the best and most reliable transport companies. To conclude, may I ask each partner involved in customs matters or international trade to cooperate fully with the IRU and undertake together vigorous actions against the criminals to maintain the TIR system, which is not only vital to the development of the international trade of all your countries, but which provides also a credible financial guarantee to the customs of almost 60 countries, at a cost level which is at least 50 times lower than any financial guarantee provided by the banks. Ladies and Gentlemen, In this short presentation, I have intended to show to you two things:
It is not by coincidence, that regarding almost all these items, I have always emphasised the need for co-operation between all players, such as drivers, transport companies, authorities, Governments, national and international organisations. This is what we call public-private partnership. Working together is the slogan of the IRU. Under this slogan, you can count on us; we shall do our utmost also in the future to provide secure and reliable services to you. |
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