Road Safety

The FIA is dedicated to improving the safety of every day road users throughout the world.

An estimated 1,3 million people are killed each year on the roads worldwide and 50 million injured. That corresponds to 3,000 fatalities every day, including 500 children: an unacceptable human, economic and social cost for our societies.

To combat this, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile has created the FIA Action for Road Safety campaign, employed the UN’s Safe System Approach and strengthened cooperation with motoring and sporting member clubs via the deployment of the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme.

In May 2011, when the United Nations launched the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety with a goal to save five million lives and reduce road-related injuries by 50 million worldwide over the next 10 years, the FIA created the Action for Road Safety campaign. This campaign supports the UN initiative through its global network of motoring and touring clubs and its involvement with motor sports. The FIA Foundation welcomed this initiative and agreed to fund the FIA Strategic Road Safety Programme with an endowment of one million euros per annum.

To further tackle this global crisis, the FIA actively supports the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, calling on governments at a national and international level to embrace the Safe System Approach and promote action on capacity building, safe drivers, safer vehicles, safer infrastructure and post-crash response.

The efforts of the FIA in these fields are complemented by the activities of the FIA’s motoring clubs, which have become leading voices for road safety in their respective countries, encouraging governments to make road safety a national priority.

Lastly, the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme, supported by the FIA Foundation, reinforces and coordinates initiatives from its member clubs in promoting concrete action in the five main areas of the UN Decade of Action global plan. Since 2012, the Grant Programme has since awarded road safety projects all over the world. Over 180 innovative road safety initiatives have been started in over 60 countries: awareness campaigns, educational programmes and training, vulnerable road users' protection, conferences, events and workshops, road infrastructure safety information and vehicle inspection programmes. Programmes subsequently introduced have positively impacted on Clubs and their activities, from raising service standards to the development of sustainable projects and enhanced services in the mobility sector, as well as in motorised sports.

To learn more about the Road Safety Grant Programme activities, you can download our 2012-2014 projects brochure here. For any further information about the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme, please contact Irene Papanikolaou ([email protected]).

The Safe System Approach:

Capacity building

In its role of observer at the UN Economic Commission for Europe/ Geneva (UNECE) the FIA is actively supporting the work of the Working Party on Road Traffic Safety (WP.1), the only permanent body in the United Nations system that focuses on improving road safety globally.

With the view of facilitating international cooperation and strengthening global coordination with UN agencies and other international stakeholders working on road safety, the FIA is an active member of the UN Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC).

The FIA is contributing to the work of IRTAD, the International Road Traffic and Accident Database, established at OECD as a mechanism for providing an aggregated database in which international accident and exposure data are collected on a continuous basis.

As a global campaigner the FIA plays a leading role in promoting awareness and responsibility not only among motorists, but all road users through education, campaign and information. Campaigns are aimed at encouraging safe driving practices as well as lifelong learning and training, targeting the different risk groups.

Safe drivers

As a global campaigner the FIA plays a leading role in promoting awareness and responsibility not only among motorists, but all road users through education, campaign and information. Campaigns (link to sessions “campaigns”) are aimed at encouraging safe driving practices as well as lifelong learning and training, targeting the different risk groups.

Safer vehicles

The FIA promotes vehicle design that protects the driver and the occupants as well as vulnerable users. Cofounder and member of the EuroNCAP programme, the FIA and its member clubs cooperate with other CAPs globally to improve vehicle safety and to provide consumers with an independent assessment of the safety performance of their vehicles.

Member of the UNECE World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29), the worldwide regulatory forum related to safety and environmental aspects of the vehicles.

As new technologies are creating greater opportunities for road safety with more intelligent systems being developed for road vehicles, the FIA is fully committed to encouraging the deployment of the most promising active safety solutions to improve road safety.

Safe infrastructure

Safer road infrastructure is a key element of effective strategies to reduce the rising trend of road fatalities. The FIA and its members started and continue to support the iRAP program, operating in more than 70 countries, in partnership with governments and non-government organisations to inspect high-risk roads and develop star ratings and safer road investment plans.

Post-crash interventions

Prompt, good-quality first aid can save the lives of many people injured in road traffic crashes.

Building on the established cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world's largest humanitarian network, the FIA promotes initiatives in regions of the world aimed at raising the awareness of the importance of first aid knowledge in giving immediate assistance to victims of road accidents.