Safety drives all aspects of IRU’s work

Secretary General, Umberto de Pretto presented IRU’s vision on road safety to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) High Level Panel for Road Safety.

The gathering engaged the private sector to raise much needed new resources and awareness for road safety in response to the global road safety crisis. It is part of the FIA Road Safety 2030 initiative, which convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to road safety’s most pressing challenges.

Presided by Jean Todt, FIA President and UN Special Envoy for Road Safety, the panel brings together an unprecedented coalition of leaders from the global business community, WorldBank, ITF, RedCross, UNECE, governments and NGOs.

Reinforcing the message that every accident is one too many, Umberto de Pretto outlined the need for a holistic approach, targeting main causes of accidents, and involving all relevant sectors including transport, police, education, health and insurance.

Commercial road transport has a key role to play and with 85% of accidents caused by human behaviour, he stressed the importance of training, as well as developing standards for commercial vehicles and sharing best practice. He also highlighted IRU’s work with a wide range of partners on new innovative technologies and processes to tackle the issue.