China, Shanghai chosen for global road safety initiative
China is among five countries and Shanghai among 10 cities worldwide chosen by Bloomberg Philanthropies to participate in the foundation’s Global Road Safety Initiative, which aims to reduce fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes.
The five countries selected to receive technical support to review and strengthen road safety legislation are: China, India, the Philippines, Thailand and Tanzania.
More than 1 million people are killed in road crashes annually worldwide. With a new commitment of $125 million over five years, the program will work at both the national level to strengthen road safety legislation and the city level implementing proven road safety interventions, the organization said in a news release.
China also participated in the organization’s 2010 program, which contributed to the creation of stronger penalties for drinking and driving in the country in 2011.
Aside from Shanghai, the winning cities were Accra, Ghana; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Bandung, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand; Bogota, Colombia; Fortaleza, Brazil; Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; Mumbai, India; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
“We can prevent millions of road traffic fatalities and injuries through stronger laws, more effective enforcement and better infrastructure. The 10 cities selected to participate in our next fiveyear road safety program have demonstrated a commitment to this work,” Michael R. Bloomberg said in a statement.
Bloomberg is founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and three-term mayor of New York City.
The proposals that cities submitted detailed how they plan to address road safety by applying solutions to a number of challenges.
They included improving pedestrian and cyclist safety, increasing awareness through graphic media campaigns and increasing police enforcement to combat drinking and driving and speeding as well as encouraging the use of motorcycle helmets, seat-belts and child restraints.
Infrastructure solutions such as widened sidewalks and improved pedestrian crossings are also included in the cities’ proposals.
With assistance from the world’s leading experts in road safety, winning cities will establish an elite network of visionary municipal leaders who commit to implementing bold, new efforts to save lives and protect their citizens from road traffic injuries, the organization said.
“The investments in road safety by Bloomberg Philanthropies since 2010 have driven momentum for the UN’s Decade of Action on Road Safety, energized the NGO community worldwide and led to significant legislative advances in many countries,” said Saul Billingsley, director general of the FIA Foundation, a UK non-governmental organization dedicated to road safety.
“Bloomberg Philanthropies has shown great vision and leadership in supporting global road traffic injury prevention, and we hope other public health philanthropies will heed and follow their example.”
More t han 1.2 million people die and 20 to 50 million people are severely injured from road traffic crashes around the world every year.