What we do

The Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020)

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon supports the Decade of Action for Road Safety

 

Every day around the world 3,500 people leave home and never return because they have been suddenly,violently, killed in a road traffic crash.

Traffic fatalities are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030 if immediate action is not taken. However, the World Bank estimates that by 2020, more than 2.5 million lives could be saved, 37.5 million hospitalizations prevented, and 175 million injuries avoided, if the fatalities per vehicle rates in these countries were further reduced by 30 percent.

In March 2010, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a "Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020."  This resolution was co-sponsored by more than 90 countries including Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia. The Decade of Action for Road Safety's goal is to stabilize and then reduce the forecasted level of road traffic fatalities around the world by 2020.

During the Decade of Action for Road Safety, AIP Foundation will be a leader in efforts to reduce the burden of this growing epidemic through the Global Helmet Vaccine Initiative.

For further information about how to get involved in the Decade of Action for Road Safety, please click here

 

11 May 2011: Launching the Decade of Action

The Decade of Action for Road Safety will be launched on Wednesday 11 May 2011. A truly global event, launches will occur in every time zone under a common message: it is Time for Action.  These events will generate significant media coverage and global attention to garner support for road safety initiatives.

For a calendar of global events, please click here

AIP Foundation Events

Vietnam

Traffic Standstill

To launch the Decade of Action for Road Safety, AIP Foundation will organize a one minute standstill of all traffic outside the Hanoi opera house at 6:30 AM with a tagline of "Stop For One Minute and Save 98 Lives."[1]  The standstill will be announced by the Minister of Transport and AIP Foundation.  Prior to the standstill, AIP Foundation will conduct a public awareness campaign featuring celebrity endorsements of the Decade of Action for Road Safety as well as a support statement from the prime minister.

Helmet Distribution

On the morning of 10 May 2011, AIP Foundation will host a high profile Helmets for Kids school event in Hanoi sponsored by the Australian government and featuring a visit from the Governor General of Australia.  AIP Foundation will engage in extensive media coverage of all activities, including student performances, classroom educational activities, and an exhibition of a "Kids Love Helmets" drawing competition.

Community Activities

AIP Foundation will also host a variety of community-based activities to launch the Decade of Action for Road Safety, including the following:

• Decade of Action Street Walks-Students participating in AIP Foundation's pedestrian safety program will conduct street walks holding highly visible yellow "STOP" hands to attract attention and support for the Decade of Action.
• Traffic Safety Park Demonstration-AIP Foundation staff will train students and teachers on safe road skills using the recently constructed 1,700 square-meter traffic safety park in Dong Nai province. To date, students from 32 schools have benefitted from lessons and activities at the traffic safety park.
• PHOTOVOICE Exhibition-AIP Foundation will exhibit the winning photographs from its PHOTOVOICE contest in 16 primary schools in Ho Chi Minh City between March and May 2011. The PHOTOVOICE competition engages students to be more aware of their surrounding traffic environment through a photography and caption writing competition. Photographs will express the students' experiences in their traffic environments.

Cambodia

On 11 May, the government will announce its national strategy for the Decade of Action for Road Safety. To support the Decade launch, AIP Foundation will  run a public awareness campaign promoting helmet use through television commercials and a recently filmed documentary featuring Global Road Safety Ambassador Michelle Yeoh.  In the documentary, Michelle Yeoh advocates for Cambodia's mandatory helmet law to be extended to passengers as well as drivers and interviews crash victims, government officials, road safety stakeholders, doctors, and socially responsible corporations to provide a portrait of the road safety situation in Cambodia.

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[1] Number of road traffic crash fatalities and injuries caused every minute.