Comprehensive road safety legislation—which incorporates evidence-based measures and strict and appropriate penalties, backed by consistent, sustained enforcement and public education—has been proven to reduce road traffic injuries and fatalities. We call this the road safety ‘system’ and young people have a major role to play in preventing crashes by becoming safe road users and advocating for road safety laws. Find out how you could use this manual to make an impact in your country for road safety.
The Global status report on road safety 2013: Supporting a decade of action revealed that legislation on five known KEY risk factors for road traffic injuries (speeding, drink–driving, non-use of motorcycle helmets, seat-belts and child restraints) is incomplete in the majority of countries and that current laws are often inadequately enforced, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The Global status report on road safety 2013 revealed that only 28 countries (covering just 7% of the world’s population) have comprehensive laws on these five risk factors. More works need to be done to improve road safety legislation globally.
Learn about the five key risk factors for road safety in the Youth and Road Safety Action Kit
Strengthening road safety legislation: a practice resource manual for countries describes methods and provides resources that practitioners and decision-makers can use for enacting new laws or amending existing ones as part of a comprehensive road safety strategy. In particular, it recommends a stepwise approach to assessing and improving legislation relating to five specific risk factors for road-traffic injuries, as well as post-crash care.
The manual can be used to:
- develop an understanding of the framework of legislation and relevant processes that are applicable in a country;
- review current national legislation and regulations and identify barriers to the implementation and enforcement of effective road safety measures;
- identify available resources, such as international agreements, and evidence-based guidance and recommendations on effective measures, to improve legislation;
- prepare action plans to strengthen national legislation and regulations for the five main risk factors and for post-crash care, including advocating for improvement.
How can youth use this manual?
Youth are passionate, creative and committed and understanding where your country stands in terms of roa safety legislation can be a powerful piece of information to lobby road safety decision makers to make change following the steps in the guide. Alongside the push for adequate laws is a need for ‘safe road users’, young people who know enough about road safety to make a conscious effort to be safe road users as well as campaign to share information with their peers.
On understanding the situation in their country (a situation assessment) young people can use this informaton to tackle road safety and push for legislation that protects all road users. The Youth and Road Safety Action Kit offers bitesized information on how to go about creating a project for road safety; especially calling for new laws.