Earlier this month, the World Academy of Science, Engineering, and Technology launched the International Research Conference on Road Safety, Transport, and Road Statistics which is dedicated to bringing together leading academic scientists, researchers, and research scholars to exchange and share experiences and research results in all aspects of road safety. 

International Research Conference
The conference on road safety, transport, and road statistics is part of the International Research Conference – a federated organization dedicated to bringing together significant numbers of diverse and scholarly events for presentation.

World Academy of Science, Engineering, and Technology describes the conference as a premier interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners, and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, concerns, and solutions in the field of road safety, transport, and road statistics.

Applicants are invited to submit research abstracts, papers, e-posters, and research contributions describing original and unpublished results in all areas of road safety.

The deadline to submit abstracts and Full-Text Papers is on 28 January 2021 for the November conference in Rome, Italy.

Road Safety in Data
The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the importance of data in saying that it can be used to raise awareness about particular road safety issues. Road safety data also acts as evidence and is able to draw support for policies, programs, or allocation of resources.

Having accurate road safety data allows different organizations to create successful plans, projects, and initiatives that can address road safety issues in local and global settings. In the latest Capacity Development session launched by the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, YOURS Executive Director, Floor Lieshout, raised the importance of gathering road safety data before creating a project plan.

Help contribute to the data and resources in road safety, transport, and road safety statistics by sending your paper.

MORE INFORMATION HERE  

The World Transport Bank published a paper called Road Crash Trauma, Climate Change, Pollution and the Total Costs of Speed to raise awareness on the impact of speed on the safety of road users on congestion, pollution, and total costs of road travel to raise its case for speed reduction. Global Road Safety Partnership called this “an enormous opportunity to reduce road trauma”. 

Speed and the risk of fatal crashes 

Speeding is directly related to the likelihood of a crash occurring and the severity of the consequences of the crash. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that every 1km/h increase in speed raises the risk of an injury by 3% while also raising the risk of a fatal crash by 4-5%.

Speeding increases the likelihood that a driver will lose control of the vehicle because of a reduced reaction time to anticipate and respond to oncoming hazards. A high speeding vehicle also has “increased instability” and is more dangerous in an approaching curve.

In 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that speeding was a factor in 26% of all traffic fatalities which means 25 deaths per day. For more than two decades, speeding has been involved in approximately one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities.

Speed management
With the new Decade of Action for Road Safety, governments and organizations have begun to address road safety risks.

Earlier this year, the Brussels Capital-Region set a default speed limit of 30hp from the original 50kph. The new speed will not only apply to the capital but also to all minor roads in the region. According to Brussels Mobility, about 60% of roads in the Brussels region are already in a 30kph zone.

Apart from official mandates, WHO lists other tools to help effectively manage speed. The organization presents six tools; speed zoning and speed limits, changing behavior – regulating and enforcing speed, changing behavior – public education, engineering treatments, use of speed-limiting technology and intelligent speed adaptation, and speed management by employees.

To continue raising awareness on speed, the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) declared that the 6^th UN Road Safety Week to be held this May will focus on speed. 

READ ABOUT UN ROAD SAFETY WEEK 

The International Training Centre has launched the Winter Online Global Youth Forum – a two-week immersive experience that consists of live sessions, group activities, knowledge-sharing, and remote networking gatherings. The aim of the Forum is to explore the critical role that young people can play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Deadline of applications is set on the 16^th of January. 

Scope of the forum
According to the website, the forum aims to explore the critical role of young people in the realization of the global goals. The course seeks to build a deeper understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how the different stakeholders play important roles in its achievement.

Because of the global pandemic, youth leaders who have been accepted into the forum will be challenged to create innovations that would allow the local and global communities to build back better, putting emphasis on how young people have been affected.

The website also mentions that participants will be able to engage in constructive debates on youth participation in achieving the SDGs and in practical workshops on how to support the achievement of the Goals in their local communities.

The course would take two weeks or thirty (30) working hours.

The first week will include sessions on the UN Sustainable Development Agenda and SDGs, a discussion with international experts from the UN system, private sector, international NGOs, and Civil Societies, and practical workshops on how to create innovative solutions to include vulnerable groups to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Agenda.

The second week will include the Leadership and Skills lab and exchanges with young leaders and professionals.

Road safety and the global goals 
According to the Global Youth Statement for Road Safety, road safety and sustainable mobility connect with five (5) other SDGs, specifically SDG 3: Health, SDG 4: Education, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities, and SDG 13: Climate Action. 

Specifically, road safety targets set in the SDGs are Target 3.6 – halve the number of road-related deaths and injuries by the year 2030 and Target 11.2 – By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations (women, children, persons with disabilities, and older persons).

Road safety connects with so many of the global goals. Better road infrastructure and safer and more sustainable mobility contribute directly to the contribution of the other goals. 

Safe and sustainable transport ensures that everyone is able to move freely without fear of getting involved in dangerous situations, it would mean students getting to school with enough time to spare, it means less pollution and better overall community health, and more. A safer transport system made up of better road infrastructure would mean reduced or even eliminated road-related deaths globally. 

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For months, the virus put the world under house arrest. Well, everyone was affected, especially those who relied on the mobility sector for traveling purposes. The biggest percentage of travelers are estimated to be below the age of 40 with those within the age range of 18 to 30 still the highest. The latter age is the most active, most restless, most productive in the economic sector who also have the most demanding zeal to be everywhere and do everything at the same time.

The mere fact that this age group makes up the majority of the world population means that their presence will dominate a majority of the areas at any time, save restricted places identified by local governments and health organizations.

Young people travel for different reasons. These reasons range from business, education and study tours, corporate and official duty, tourism, sports, individual research activities, and many others like family and friend visits, religious crusades, entertainment, recreation, and more.

In Uganda, for instance, transport systems were greatly affected by the onset of partial lockdown with great changes in mobility systems and a hike in transport fares. These circumstances saw passengers paying up to a 100 percent increment in the charges from the original rates for respective destinations.

But, are these hikes realistic to a youth traveler looking for survival in a poor economy and with no stable source of income?

Considering the exorbitant travel rates, can one earn still make the money they are using when they travel?

In the case of Uganda (and many other African countries), there are no standard billing systems and governments have very little control (if any) over transport charges and transport systems. Sadly, the voices that raise concerns may be ignored and disregarded.

The reason for the high charges for public transport compensates for the seats that were kept empty in the effort to maintain social distancing while traveling. In most cases, however, passengers pay higher fares and are still crowded in the vehicle to capacity.

There are no proper safety monitoring systems ensured in the transport and mobility systems to ensures strict safety standards. This makes control of the spread of the virus difficult. 

While there are conditional circumstances where one must travel, the risk of the transmission of the virus increases as one cannot be constantly careful throughout the journey which may sometimes take a few hours or more.

Recently, Ugandan authorities reported the 4th stage of community transmission of the virus. Unfortunately, a clear-cut strategy to curb the transmission was never released. This makes travelers remain at risk of virus transmission, economic breakdown, poor health safety, and vulnerability to the virus.

It should be remembered that the vulnerability of the youth in this situation goes beyond road safety and COVID-19. When they are affected, several other social and governance systems will be compromised, as well.

The youth need to be supported and valued for a safer future. Young people make up a large portion of the population and are thus able to help contribute to the overall development of their communities and their countries.

As the infection from the virus continues to soar, the best way to ensure the safety of travelers would be to disinfect the mobility systems, employ health workers, and traffic officers at bus and taxi stations to monitor behaviors, and ensure all health protocols are strictly followed.

There is no point in hiking the fares if the health protocols cannot be followed. This would only put the lives of travelers at risk with an increased chance of infection.

Tanzania has had everything running normally throughout the period of global lockdown. Clearly, strict policies on restrictions and health protocols have been implemented and followed to avoid transmissions of the virus and it worked for them. 

There are always opportunities for improvement. To discover better ways, travelers should ensure their own safety and speak when the health protocols are being violated. 

 If the regulations were adhered to, the systems monitored properly, and the safety standards were kept at all points, maybe we would be moving towards a reduced burden of infection and even eliminate the virus sooner. 

As the governments play their role, people must also be responsible and commit to ensuring safe travels and a reduced rate of transmission of COVID-19. This will help economic activities return to normal without a burden. One thing for sure is that there is always a need for one to travel. 

Written by: Brian Odama – Director Operations/Co-Founder, RoadWays Uganda

2021 marks the beginning of the new Decade of Action for Road Safety. Global leaders have shown their commitment to reach the road safety targets according to the Sustainable Development Goals through the Stockholm Declaration which was created during the 3rd Ministerial Conference for Road Safety. To meet this ambitious target, the world has to deliver in order to halve the number of road-related deaths and injuries globally.

The last year has shown us how important it is to have access to safe and sustainable mobility. Road safety connects not just with transport but also with education, work, the economy, and more.

To continuously push the road safety movement forward, young people need to be involved. Youth have deep insights into the reality of road safety on the ground. 

Young people have described how road traffic injuries have affected their lives and how important it is to address this so that others may not experience the loss and tragedy that comes with road crashes. 

“While humanity is facing the coronavirus pandemic, we see the world coming together. Countries are working side-by-side and ramping up efforts to tackle this outbreak. And although it is uncertain how the world will look in the coming year, this might be the time to reset and reshape our future on how we travel for the better.” – Floor Lieshout 

A new artwork has appeared in Birmingham by our 2nd World Youth Assembly resident artist, Mohammed Ali. It depicts 20 as the year of covid and some hope for 2021 that restrictions may eventually lift and enable us some freedoms again.

The work for safer roads and more sustainable mobility continues! We wish for a productive and successful 2021 in road safety and global development. Happy New Year! 

READ YOUTH ACTIVITIES FOR ROAD SAFETY