The United Nations Global Road Safety Week offers a unique opportunity to advance road safety worldwide.
For decades, IRU, the world road transport organisation, has worked to make commercial road transport safer for everyone.
IRU is committed to contributing to the UN decade of Action on Road Safety and supporting the ambitious target of preventing at least 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.
Addressing human error, which is the cause of over 85% of all road accidents, is crucial to strengthening a culture of road safety.
IRU’s safety activities target various industry actors with tailored solutions to address road safety: from strengthening the training capacity of IRU Academy Associate Training Institutes and helping operators take targeted measures with RoadMasters to advising governments on road transport reforms and professionalisation.
IRU also provides its popular safety checklists to anyone interested in benefiting from industry best practices.
Shaping safe environments
Working with governments, policymakers and industry partners, IRU's advisory services are at the forefront of the drive to formalise and professionalise the road transport industry.
Just last December, the Parliament of Togo unanimously endorsed a new transport law developed by IRU with the support of the World Bank.
Earlier this year, IRU assessed Benin’s driving licence system and road safety protocols, before devising a series of recommendations to improve the country’s safety and overall traffic efficiency.
IRU has also recently developed a road safety programme for UNHCR’s operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, targeting drivers of light vehicles working in complex driving environments.
Together with the UNHCR Road Safety Unit and the Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport, IRU will also conduct a road safety conference for UNHCR staff and partners operating vehicles on 22 and 23 May.
The virtual conference will explore road safety topics such as the main causes of accidents, the role of fleet managers in improving road safety, driver behaviour assessment, and the benefits of defensive driving and other targeted training.
Strengthening training capacity
For over two decades, the IRU Academy has led the way, providing targeted training programmes to all professional road workers and managers.
The Road Safety at Work programme is particularly focused on training professionals managing fleets and teams.
Other programmes cover a variety of safety topics, such as safe loading operations and cargo handling, defensive driving, and crash prevention.
Managing safety
RoadMasters, IRU’s risk and talent management solution, puts a significant focus on safety in its passengers, goods and hydrocarbon programmes.
Drivers progress through a holistic assessment to identify performance gaps and measure progress, helping managers to implement evidence-based, targeted actions to mitigate safety and performance issues.
RoadMasters also certifies drivers demonstrating strong adherence to professional standards.
Training, capacity-building, awareness-raising, and incentives are all necessary to minimise human error and improve safety standards.