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Europe | Leipzig

Time to act on road safety

24 May 2018

IRU spurs collective action with better training, wider adoption of UN safety conventions and evidence-based decision making at a special session on road safety at the International Transport Forum (ITF) annual summit in Leipzig today. 

Speaking at the event, IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto highlighted the critical human element. With human error the main cause of 85% of road accidents involving heavy commercial vehicles, and 75% of these caused by the other road users, the solution is driver training with the promotion of better awareness on safely sharing the roads.

Mr de Pretto said, “The commercial road transport industry is part of the solution for improving road safety and we stand ready to work with governments and partners to achieve zero tolerance for road accidents. Through the training offered by the IRU Academy, we reach straight to the cause of accidents – human error.”

The event, “Towards Ensuring Road Safety in the Euro-Mediterranean Region” was hosted today by the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat in cooperation with ITF and the UN Secretary General Special Envoy for Road Safety. It gathered government officials, key partner organisations and financial institutions, as well as experts from the public and private sectors. 

The aim of the debate was to raise awareness and exchange best practices on road safety issues in the Euro-Mediterranean region, providing innovative solutions to the current challenges facing the sector, and discussing concrete projects on curbing road fatalities and fostering road safety.