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Vehicle safety key to zero road deaths

Posted on 03 October, 2016

A plan for improved safety on all new vehicles has been endorsed by an OECD report, which aims for no road deaths. The OECD’s International Transport Forum has produced a new report called Zero road deaths and serious injuries: leading a paradigm shift to a safe system. It demands governments change their thinking about road safety and provide strong leadership for a safe road system. The report also supports a roadmap by the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP), which calls for mandatory car safety standards by 2020 at the latest, GlobalNCAP.org reports. These standards include front and side impact protection, pedestrian safety standards and electronic stability control – regulations endorsed by the United Nations. The OECD report says significantly reducing road fatalities and serious injuries will require more than just increasing traditional road safety measures. It includes a clear call to action: “Better ways to protect lives and prevent injuries exist in a safe system. The time to act boldly is now.” The report calls for a sense of urgency and says governments should think of “safe roads”, not “safer roads”. The OECD report also recognises the important role of Global NCAP, and regional NCAPs, in increasing vehicle safety and reducing fatalities by encouraging legislative “push” and consumer “pull” in car markets across the world. The safe system paradigm shift is strongly supported by Global NCAP, secretary general David Ward says. “In 2015, from a total of 68 million new cars, as many as 25 per cent failed to meet UN minimum safety standards, lacking airbags, anti-lock brakes or electronic stability control,” he says. “By 2020 at the latest, Global NCAP wants all new cars to meet UN crash test standards with airbags, ABS and ESC fitted as standard. This needs government action to apply UN vehicle safety standards more widely and greater effort to stimulate customer demand for safer motor vehicles.”