Programme Vision Zero Conference

The Global Ministerial Conference in Stockholm 2020 marks a real shift. The conference elaborated road safety as an integral part of United Nations 2030 Agenda, where health, climate and equity are the main headings. Road safety has a significant role in the 2030 Agenda not only by having its own target, but also as an enabler for other qualities and ambitions of the society. More importantly, road safety is now on the same level as global warming, equal rights, safe workplaces etc. and has a legitimate access to many processes and tools that could speed up the actions leading to a reduced global road toll. Targets for the sustainability goals are absolute and indivisible. We now also have the United Nations Resolution on Improving Global Road Safety and the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety to support us. This conference will give us an opportunity to link road safety to other sustainability challenges, to go from visions to implementation, and to take road safety to the next level. 

Welcome to Sweden

Andreas Carlson, Government Offices of Sweden

Roberto Maiorana, Swedish Transport Administration

Jenny Elfsberg, Swedish innovation agency Vinnova

Anders Thornberg, Swedish Police Authority

International community

Etienne Krug, World Health Organization

Key note address

Maria Krafft, Swedish Transport Administration

Message from the United Nations

Jean Todt, United Nations

Message from the private sector

Michel Charton, Total Energies

Vision Zero is about a road transport system without fatalities and severe injuries. Reaching Vision Zero requires radical changes in many areas. In many countries and contexts, it is clear that just “doing a little bit more of the same” is not sufficient. Right now, we experience radical changes in many areas of our societies like sustainable energy production, electric vehicles, and also extensive and disrupted supply chains. These changes were impossible to anticipate only a few years ago. Considering road safety we might be encouraged to be braver in taking new, and bigger steps to achieve the Vision Zero.

But what are the game changers that might sparkle brave decisions and fast safety improvements? Is it visions, crises or economic returns? In this session, we let politics, science and the private sector meet to discuss radical road safety steps in our communities.

Session moderator

Jeffrey Michael, Johns Hopkins University

Introducer to the subject

Gabriel Wikström, Swedish National Coordinator 2030 Agenda

Discussants

Boya Zhou, China Automative Technology & Research Center CATARC

Thomas Deloison, World Business Council for Sustainable development (WBCSD)

Wolfram Hell, GMTTB Society of Medical and Technical Trauma Biomechanics, Germany

Ylva Wessén, Insurance company Folksam, Sweden

Safe working conditions, liveable cities and equal rights to walk or cycle safely to school for all children are examples of ambitions that has road safety as a core integrated quality already on the planning stage. Cities, multinational corporations and many state authorities across the world can benefit from the integration of road safety in building a sustainable community. But how and when can road safety become a significant topic for occupational health and safety, public procurement and city planning?

In this session we let representatives from inside and outside the road safety community delve deeper into what they can do, how we can use their instruments, and how they can benefit from road safety qualities.

Session moderator

Nahn Tran, World Health Organization

Introducer to the subject

Helena Stigson, Insurance company Folksam, Sweden

Discussants

Ellen Townsend, European Transport Safety Council (ETSC)

Claudia Adriazola, World Resources Institute (WRI)

Saul Billingsley, FIA Foundation

Maria Eugenia Keller, Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q), Australia   

The Stockholm Declaration, UN Resolution on Road Safety and the Global Plan emphasise the involvement and contribution from the private sector. Even though we do not yet have reliable statistics, it is clear that many road fatalities occur in the private sector’s value chain. Many multinational companies have extensive value chains, which often start in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This means that understanding how road safety is influenced by these value chains will have a positive effect on road safety everywhere and thereby reduce their road safety footprint. The challenge is now how to trigger the private sector to take responsibility for this and to integrate a systematic road safety work and safe organisational behaviour in their value chains based on the Vision Zero. Tools like ISO 39001, sustainability reporting and the FIA Road Safety Index can be used to support this integration.

In this session, we invite the financial and business sectors to discuss how their safety footprint could be a business risk that has to be eliminated and what is needed to trigger this elimination.

Session moderator

Anders Lie, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

Introducer to the subject

Arati Davis, Sweden - India Business Council, Sweden - India Transport, Innovation and Safety Partnership

Discussants

Elisabeth Fauvelle Munck af Rosenschöld, Supply Chain Operations, Inter IKEA Group

Peter Kronberg, Autoliv Inc.

Weimin Ren, Transport Division, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)

Said Dahdah, Global Road Safety Facility of the World Bank

Per Ericson, Autoliv Inc.

Sven Ove Hansson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

Kristian Schmidt, European Commission

Nazir Alli, PIARC - World Road Association

The implementation of the Global Plan requires new knowledge on how different stakeholders can contribute to road safety. Further, how safety issues more effectively and appropriately can be solved and thus be of practical benefit to both the individual and the society. The Global Plan requires a deeper understanding of the dynamic process that aims to formulate and implement road safety policy. The plan is also elaborating how road safety is effectively disseminated and how it can be integrated into other policy agendas. Ensuring effective implementation of the Vision Zero approach is essential to realising significant road safety improvements and innovation in this decade. 

The challenge is to use only science-based and proven treatments and practices across the world. How can we make sure that we use the best possible knowledge, given the resources, the local environment and in all relevant processes? Is there a room for a worldwide curriculum?

In this session, we elaborate on how the world can move together in knowledge and application of best evidence treatment and finally move away from amateurism and well-meant initiatives without effects.

Session moderator

Dave Cliff, Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP)

Introducer to the subject

Anna Nilsson-Ehle, Swedish innovation agency Vinnova

Discussants

Michael Nieuwesteeg, Australian and New Zealand transport agencies - Austroads

Matts-Åke Belin, World Health Organization

Lars Ekman, Swedish Transport Administration

Frederico Carneiro, Chamber of Deputies, Brazil

The Stockholm Declaration underlines the need to ”speed up the shift towards safer, cleaner, more energy efficient and affordable modes of transport...” in order to support health, climate and equity and to improve liveability. To do so, we need to improve the safety of cities and villages, including lowering the speed limits in mixed traffic to a maximum of 30 km/h. We also need to take into account the frequent use of powered two-wheelers, including micro-mobility, as the most commonly used transport mode in many parts of the world, and improve the safety for their riders – both drivers and passengers.

But whilst we promote and support active mobility and health, we must also make sure there is mobility for all - in everyday life. Public transport and shared mobility services might also be an answer to modal shift, both in cities and in rural settings.

In this session, we invite discussants to talk about future mobility and liveable communities that also are safe.

Session moderator

Véronique Feypell, International Transport Forum (ITF) / Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Introducer to the subject

Shaw Voon Wong, Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS)

Discussants

Hideaki Takaishi, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. & Honda R&D Co.

Eduardo Pompeo, Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI)

Mikkel Balskilde Hansen, City of Copenhagen, Denmark

David Adonteng, National Road Safety Authority, Ghana

Vehicles have had a remarkable safety development during the past 25 years and it is now important for global road safety that current state-of-art systems in high-income countries are made standard also in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Vehicle-based systems to support safe use are currently increasing rapidly, and safety based communication systems between vehicles and with infrastructure are emerging.  Addressing all these three parts of the system; vehicle, user and the infrastructure, is a cornerstone of vision zero and next step is integrating all three to support each other which will give synergy effects that will enhance the safety level of the system even more. But while we can see the accessibility to technology must be distributed across the whole world, the democratising of technology is limited through different standards and marketplaces. Buses, heavy and light trucks and vans used in business have a lower safety standard than passenger cars, despite the fact that they are workplaces for many. Is there an opportunity to expect that useful technology becomes available, used across the world, and has the old argument that “this is too costly” expired? Moreover, will worldwide businesses accept variations on safety performance in different parts of the world?

Session moderator

Jessica Truong, Towards Zero Foundation (TZF)

Introducer to the subject

Samantha Cockfield, Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and Australasian NCAP (ANCAP)

Discussants

James Bradford, International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP)

Cecilia Sunnevång, Autoliv Inc.

Ursula Edström, Swedish Police Authority

Måns Svensson, Halmstad University, Sweden

Lotte Brondum, Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety

Nhan Tran, World Health Organization

Anna Wrige Berling, Volvo Trucks

Vision Zero Academy: Eva Björk and Kenneth Svensson, Swedish Transport Administration

Roberto Maiorana, Swedish Transport Administration