Speeding-up the fight for Road Safety: the FIA High Level Panel for Road Safety Advisors and Experts' group meets in Leipzig

22.05.18

Today, over 35 road safety advisors and experts from the private sector, international organisations and NGOs gathered ahead of the International Transport Forum (ITF) 2018 Summit in Leipzig to discuss the FIA High Level Panel for Road Safety’s (HLP) work plan for 2018-19.

The main focus of the meeting was the operationalisation of the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund. Officially launched during the United Nations General Assembly on 12 April, the Fund aims to mobilise and unlock financial and technical resources to support road safety programmes. Participants welcomed the creation of the Fund, which has long been supported by the Panel. Those in attendance were also reminded that the feeding of the fund is critical to tackle the global road safety challenge and views were exchanged on fundraising strategies that could trigger this much-needed change. 

The meeting was also an occasion for an update on the numerous other initiatives of the Panel. This encompassed among others the establishment and reinforcement of Regional Road Safety Observatories, including by the forthcoming Memorandum of Understanding that will be signed by the FIA, the World Bank and the ITF, as well as an overview on the ongoing discussions with UNECE and vehicle manufacturers on a Manufacturer's Voluntary Agreement on Minimum Safety Standards.