Workshop on ICT and road safety

On 11 May 2011, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a global initiative to increase actions to save lives on the world’s roads: the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. It is startling that some 1.3 million people are estimated to die on the world’s roads each year, while as many as 50 million are injured. Although many governments already have programmes in place to reduce road deaths and injuries, the number of road fatalities is increasing, and if current trends continue, road crashes are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030.

In April 2010, ITU Council noted that information and communication systems, including intelligent transportation systems (ITS), provide mechanisms for vehicular and passenger safety. Council also considered, however, that the proliferation of integrated in-vehicle ICT and nomadic devices, including navigational information and electronic data communications devices, may contribute to driver distraction, and are among the leading contributors to road traffic fatalities and injuries.

This thematic workshop was held on 19 May 2011 in Geneva and brought together advocates of road safety from intergovernmental organizations, civil society and the private sector to discuss road safety, and how ICT can impact or increase road safety.