Road safety targets included in the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
From August 3, 2015 by FIA Foundation
Road safety targets have been included in the final text of the new Sustainable Development Goals adopted by UN member states in New York.
A specific stand-alone target in the Health Goal to reduce road traffic fatalities by 50% by 2020 and a target on sustainable urban transport in the Cities Goal have been approved, in a landmark achievement for the global road safety community to secure inclusion of road safety in the global development agenda for the first time. The SDGs will guide all global development efforts over the next 15 years, designed to ‘stimulate action in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet’.
The final wording of the targets, which will be formally adopted by world leaders at a special summit in New York in September, is:
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages:
3.6. By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents
(In the Health Goal, the stand-alone road safety target is lined up alongside other major priorities including maternal and under-5 mortality, AIDS and universal health coverage. The 2020 SDG target is far more ambitious than the 2020 goal set for the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety to ‘stabilise and reduce’ road deaths.)
Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable:
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.
The Global Road Safety Partnership would like to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of the FIA Foundation and a wide consortium of supporting actors in securing this clear recognition of road safety as a key development issue.
