Volvo Group joins global bodies in road safety drive

Volvo Group recently endorsed the Global Road Safety Initiative [GRSI] & the Road Safety Partnership [RSPI] in India in a move initiated by FIA and World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The GRSI-RSPI manifesto includes a list of areas, both globally and in India, where closer public-private collaboration is deemed meaningful and feasible in order to accelerate and support the Indian government's initiatives to improve safety. The Road Safety Manifesto gives a priority list of road safety principles and polices. Stakeholders endorsed the manifesto at the meet where Minister of Finance and Planning, Punjab, Manpreet Singh Badal, was a keynote speaker representing the Indian government. Distinguished representatives of the business community, including Volvo Group, World Bank, the United Nations, International Road Federation, International Federation of Red Cross, the Global Road Safety Partnership and the local NGO SaveLife Foundation shared new ways to improve road safety in India. Chief Sustainability Officer, Volvo Group, Niklas Gustafsson said that safety is an integral part of sustainable development and social prosperity. About 1.35 million people die and 50 million are seriously injured on the world's roads every year, and an urgent change is required. Following best practices and cooperation amongst key stakeholders could help turn the tide. Road safety is more feasible now due to new technologies and innovations, provided there is effective collaboration between authorities, industries and the civil society.

President & MD, Volvo Group in India, Kamal Bali, said that his company welcomes the Road Safety Partnership as country is the company's home base and safety is a priority. Volvo is keen to extend its expertise and collaborate with stakeholders to help improve and support the government's initiatives towards improved transport safety. The joint Global Road Safety Initiative of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) seeks to address this challenge, with special focus on low-and-middle-income countries. The initiative commenced in 2018 with a pilot project to establish a RSPI. FIA President and UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, presented the GRSI-RSPI project to the Mobility Stewards and to the Automotive Governors, during the Annual Meetings of the World Economic Forum in Davos. He said that the high toll of road accidents on human lives is unacceptable and underlined that new tools are needed to deliver concrete, tangible results. On behalf of WEF, Christoph Wolff, Head of Future Mobility Systems, gave the broader context of sustainable mobility and said that WEF is deeply committed to identify root causes for road safety fatalities and work with FIA and the stakeholders to eradicate them. He also linked the joint FIA-WEF road safety project with other activities of the Mobilit Stewards and the Automotive Governors.