The 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety was held from February 19 to 20 in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Morocco is a remarkable country with kind and friendly people, making it one of the most attractive destinations in the world. Marrakesh, in particular, is renowned for its rich cultural heritage and stunning landscapes.
The conference was organised by the Kingdom of Morocco with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO). It provided an opportunity to host satellite events related to improving global road safety and advancing initiatives to achieve global targets.
Report by:
Prasanna de Zoysa,
Sectional Chairman
(Road Safety, Buildings and Environmental)
Automobile Association of Ceylon
The event was well attended, with approximately 1,500 delegates, including ministers from various countries, senior officials from United Nations agencies, and representatives from civil society, academia, and the private sector.
Deputy Minister Transport and Highways Dr. Prasanna Kumara Gunasena along with Chairperson of National Council for Road Safety Mrs. Kumari Jayaratne, from the Automobile Association of Ceylon President Dhammika Attygalle, Secretray Devapriya Hettiarachchi and Executive Committee members attended the conference.
The conference served as a platform to accelerate actions aimed at improving road safety through the implementation of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030. The following topics were discussed:
- Child Health Initiative Manifesto 2030
- Protecting Young Lives – A Global Status Report on Child & Adolescent Road Safety
- Perspectives on Meeting Challenge 2030 – What Has Worked, What Hasn’t, and What’s Next?
- Supporting the Global Road Safety Agenda and Engaging with the Private Sector
- Ensuring the Highest Levels of Safety Across Organisational Value Chains
- FIA Road Safety Roadmap
At the conference, it was highly commended that the FIA Foundation has made significant progress in addressing global road traffic injuries in multiple ways. However, it was acknowledged that more work is needed to achieve the set road safety targets. Continuous efforts at the global, national, and city levels have been made to reduce deaths and injuries by implementing effective strategies such as safer vehicles, improved road design, speed limit management, standardized motorcycle helmets, and the adoption of new technologies.
Despite FIA’s efforts to reduce global road fatalities, the rise in population and motorisation has led to an increase in road accidents. More than a million people lose their lives each year, while 10’s of millions suffer life-changing injuries.
The conference highlighted specific causes of the increase in accidents, including poorly designed highways, freeways, and road networks, which lead to unnecessary deaths and injuries. Other contributing factors include motorists failing to follow road signs and speed limits and the poor quality of safety helmets.
However, in Sri Lanka according to Statistics of Police Department, 30,000 accidents occur during each year. 2,500 accidents per month, 85 accidents daily and 8 fatal accidents per day.
Ensuring safer vehicles for all drivers and passengers is a fundamental right, regardless of where they live. The conference noted that some regions still sell cars that fail to meet United Nations safety standards. The Government of India launched the ‘Safer cars for India’ campaign in 2023 to address this issue.
It is crucial for Sri Lanka to address the unsafe modification of vehicles and the installation of hazardous motor accessories, as recent accidents have shown that many passenger deaths and injuries occurred due to such modifications.
Making seatbelt use mandatory for all passengers in cars and buses is essential to improving road safety.
In Sri Lanka, the Automobile Association of Ceylon represents following Committees and Agencies:
- National Council for Road Safety
- Safer and Cleaner Roads headed by President Secretariat
- Standing Committee on Traffic, Highways and Transportation of Colombo Municipal Council
- Appointment to High – Level Committee to provide Directions to Address Road Safety Challenges in Sri Lanka.
- Automobile Sector Industry Skills Council
- Public Utility Commission of Sri Lanka
Moving forward
If Sri Lanka adopts Globally recommended Road Safety measures, Sri Lanka should be able to achieve the Global Road Safety Goals by 2030.
The Automobile Association of Ceylon will facilitate and assist the Government of Sri Lanka in achieving these targets and road safety goals by 2030.
