The UN Road Safety Fund (UNRSF), created by the United Nations in partnership with institutions and private individuals (including Pirelli) to make roads safer at global level and especially in low- and middle-income countries, has organised the sixth edition of Global Road Safety Week from 17th to 23rd May.
The 2021 edition is called “Street for life” and its main focus is to raise awareness as to the importance of setting the limit to 30 kilometres per hour (20 miles per hour in Anglo-Saxon countries) in cities, towns and villages around the world. Low-speed roads make it possible both to save lives and to make urban areas safer, allowing people to get around safely on foot or by bicycle, with all the resulting positive environmental consequences of this paradigm shift.
The long-term objective of UNRSF, which is ambitious, is to halve fatal accidents by 2030, and lowering speed limits is an important part of this process, which ties in especially with two of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the third (ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) and the eleventh (make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable). "Low-speed roads are safe, they protect their users, especially vulnerable people such as pedestrians, cyclists, children, the elderly and disabled people, they are green and vital in the effort toward zero-emission mobility," states the programme for Road safety week.
The “Streets for life” week will kick-start the next road safety initiatives and above all will be an opportunity to discuss current programmes, to raise awareness and to try to involve as many people and institutions as possible, both private, public and political. The UN Road Safety Fund promotes a comprehensive approach to road safety, aiming to improve the safety characteristics of vehicles and infrastructure, to raise awareness as to dangerous conduct and to implement efficient roadside assistance systems. These days, the Fund is developing several projects in low-income countries, from South-East Asia to South America and Africa.
Pirelli, which has always believed in a safer and more sustainable mobility, has supported the Road Safety Fund since it was established in 2018, as well as for this current important awareness-raising initiative, by joining the #SlowdownChallenge social media campaign where people are invited to post their own walking and cycling routes (including swimming!) in all cases at under 30km/h. In the same week, the new electric bicycle rental service, CYCL-e around™, will be available for its employees at the Milan headquarters to use both to commute to work and for leisure during the weekend.
