Member Initiatives

In 2019, the Italian Red Cross reached out to the GRSP as it was interested in engaging more deeply in road safety. The relationship matured into a multi-country regional programme that engaged the Bangladesh Red Crescent, the Nepal Red Cross, and the Pakistan Red Crescent. The Italian Red Cross-funded programme built the capacity of the three National Societies in road safety and collaborated with them to implement the VIA Child Road Safety Education programme in selected schools and communities. Despite the objective difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the three National Societies brought their respective projects to a successful close in 2023 after making impressive leaps forward in terms of school deployment and community engagement in a very short time.

This success was recognized by the Italian Red Cross who, towards the end of 2023, decided to further invest in road safety in an additional three countries in the region (namely, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Samoa) for a second phase of the regional programme. In this second phase, the project’s focus expanded and is geared around three main pillars: capacity building for National Societies on “Road Safety Essentials”, the implementation of Safe to School – Safe to Home in local communities, and the development of case studies. Furthermore, together with partner National Societies, we are also pioneering the inclusion of Psychological First Aid activities and training (for Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers) focused on victims’ families and communities.

Projects currently active with:

• Malaysia Red Crescent
• Pakistan Red Crescent
• Samoa Red Cross

Bridgestone Global Road Safety Programme (2022 – ongoing)

GRSP supported Bridgestone to leverage the work done on the pilot Asia Regional Road Safety Initiative (2020-2022) which brought road safety actions under a single regional umbrella to develop a strategy for taking this coordinated approach global. This strategy was approved by Bridgestone senior management in Tokyo, Japan, leading to GRSP supporting Bridgestone in developing a ‘Road Safety Playbook’ to be used as a resource for Bridgestone regions to implement effective, evidence-based road safety actions. GRSP also worked with a global Bridgestone task force to develop a common Impact Framework to monitor and report on road safety actions around the world.

The impact of this global approach has been recognized with the prestigious Prince Michael of Kent International Road Safety Award 2024.

Bridgestone Asia Regional Road Safety Programme (2020-2022)

The year 2021 marked the second year of GRSP’s work with Bridgestone (China Asia-Pacific) on a three-year pilot of a regional road safety initiative. The initiative is part of a bold ambition to demonstrate the collective impact of a coordinated approach to road safety which seeks to build the road safety capacity of the Bridgestone teams regionally, and implement and monitor evidence-based projects at a country and community level in ten countries—namely, Australia, China, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

As part of the initiative, GRSP gathered and shared with the Bridgestone teams key road safety data relevant to the region and country, as well as data referencing specific risk factors and risk groups to help teams accurately target programmatic content. Over the course of the year through four tailored sessions of GRSP’s ‘Road Safety Essentials’ training, the capacity of teams was strengthened to identify, implement and monitor impactful road safety actions such as the flagship launch in China of ‘Safe to School – Safe to Home 2.0’ – a ready-to-implement, comprehensive road safety programme designed, tested and refined by GRSP and partners over the last decade.

Please see here the video contribution of Mei Ling Tan, Regional Head of Sustainability, Bridgestone Asia Pacific.

VIA is a modular, flexible, accessible and easily replicable programme for child road safety education developed to be implemented anywhere in the world. Read more here.

Michelin Foundation, GRSP and YOURS, have partnered to develop and launch the Michelin Road Safety Youth Ambassadors Programme in the Limpopo province in South Africa. The aim of the programme is to involve the local youth in addressing road safety issues in their communities, through spreading new skills and knowledge. If like to learn more about this programme, please read here and here.

Vale Foundation, Michelin Foundation and the GRSP have joint their efforts on a road safety project aimed at improving urban mobility and traffic safety. Read more about his project here.

In early 2017, Shell Myanmar, together with the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRC) and with support from the GRSP kick-off a road safety campaign to educate drivers and community members along the Yangon-Nay Pyi Taw Highway, a roadway notorious for its high crash rate. A year later this initiative was awarded the SABRE Asia Pacific Awards. Read more about this project and its impact on local communities here and here.

The aim of Safe to School – Safe to Home is to contribute to a reduction in death and injury from road crashes for children travelling to and from school. Read more here.

Safer City Roads is a road safety strategy created specifically for use in Communities – cities, towns, municipalities – and it is based on sustainable partnerships between Government, Business and Civil Society in the town. Read more here.

Insurance for Safer Roads is a collaborative initiative looking at new levers to improve road safety from the perspective of the insurance industry, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. Read more here.