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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - UN Road Safety Resolution commends IRU for providing harmonised and internationally recognised standards for the vocational training of road transport professionals worldwide via its educational arm: the IRU Academy.

New York - In the framework of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, the United Nations General Assembly today adopted a Resolution on “Improving Road Safety”, expressing Governments’ concerns about the unacceptable number of road traffic fatalities and injuries that take a heavy toll on public health and development, with broad social and economic consequences.

The UN Resolution acknowledges “a number of important international efforts on road safety, with specific mention to initiatives such as … the International Road Transport Union's standards for vocational training of road transport professionals.”

Head of IRU Academy, Patrick Philipp, commented, “Road safety is a top priority for the road transport industry as every accident is one too many. Professional training is the best way to effectively address the human factor, which is statistically the main cause of accidents involving commercial vehicles. This is why the IRU Academy provides, through its Accredited Training Institutes spread across over 50 countries, various training programmes that directly address road safety-related issues. The latest one to date is our Crash Prevention Programme that we are just about to launch.”

The IRU Academy training portfolio supporting road safety includes Certificates of Professional Competence (CPC) for managers and drivers, the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), Safe Loading and Cargo Securing, Eco-driving Safely, Driving and Rest Time Rules and Crash Prevention coming soon, that help improve road safety by developing professional competence, skills and behaviours.

“Being recognised by the UN as a key player in road safety education is a major leap forward for the IRU Academy, which will continue to work with global partners within its Advisory Committee, such as the World Bank, the International Transport Forum, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the European Commission, to strive for a safe and sustainable road transport industry,” Patrick Philipp concluded.

The IRU’s initiative to fight distracted driving, launched last September together with the Government of Turkmenistan, was also taken on board as the UN Resolution “encourages Member States to consider enacting comprehensive legislation on key risk factors for road traffic injuries, including … inappropriate use of cell phones, including texting while driving”. IRU Under Secretary General and Head of the IRU Permanent Delegation to the UN, Igor Runov, stressed, “We are pleased that our initiative is so rapidly reflected in the UN road safety agenda, as it will help raise awareness on this major behavioural issue that seriously needs addressing.”