Will Aquino sign the Road Safety Pledge?

BEING the country’s No. 1 motorist, President Benigno S. Aquino III probably will. The only question is when and where.

For the Philippine Global Road Safety Partnership (PGRSP), that question is of earth-shaking importance as the global launch of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 is fast approaching. The multisectoral members of the PGRSP, which is chaired by the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP), hope and pray that P-Noy (President Aquino) will sign the Road Safety Pledge in full view of news cameras on May 11 when the Decade is launched at 8 a.m. at the ADB complex in Pasig City.

Photos and news bytes of the President of the Republic of the Philippines signing a pledge that supports the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety and then reading the Presidential Proclamation on Road Safety would dramatize the importance of the Decade’s goal, which is to cut projected road deaths worldwide by 50 percent over the next 10 years. That translates into saving five million lives globally over the next decade since 1.3 million people are killed in road crashes every year, with 90 percent of the fatalities recorded in developing countries like the Philippines.

KILLER

The almost daily news reports of fatal and crippling road crashes in the Philippines make the Decade of Action especially urgent for us. As a killer, road accidents take more lives worldwide than malaria. The shocking statistics moved the UN General Assembly to approve a resolution in March 2010 declaring 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety.

This resolution was proposed to the UN by the FIA [Federation Internationale de l’Automobile], which has 227 member motoring clubs from 132 countries and actively promotes the interests of motorists on issues such as road safety and the environment at the UN, the European Union and other international institutions. International actress Michelle Yeoh, as the FIA Foundation’s Make Roads Safe Ambassador, addressed the UN General Assembly to support the resolution.

Endorsed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the landmark UN resolution was signed by the delegates of some 100 governments that will launch the Decade in their own countries on May 11. Each country will implement a national program to stabilize and then reduce the scale of road deaths. The FIA Foundation recommends dramatic action on all aspects of road safety, working toward safer roads and vehicles, increased use of seatbelts and helmets, education and legislation to encourage safer behavior, better road safety management, and improved post-crash responses.

In the Philippines, the PGRSP is finalizing the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan 2011-2020 and organizing the Decade’s May 11 ceremonial launch that will be ushered in by the nationwide ringing of church bells and the honking of car horns. The partners of the non-stock, non-profit PGRSP, aside from AAP, are the Departments of Transportation and Communications, Public Works and Highways, and Health, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi), Truck Manufacturers Association, Tollways Association of the Philippines, Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., PLDT-Smart Foundation, and Ford Group Philippines.

The PGRSP is a country partner of the GRSP, a Geneva-based program of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which brings together government, private sector and civil society organizations to address road safety problems in low- and middle-income countries.

ACTION PLAN

On May 11, after the Presidential Proclamation on Road Safety is read (hopefully by P-Noy himself), the Senate and House resolutions supporting the Decade will be read followed by the signing of the Road Safety Pledge and the distribution of copies of the National Road Safety Action Plan Book, first of all to the surviving family members of some road crash victims and then to all those present.

A unifying global symbol, the yellow Road Safety “Tag,” will highlight the Decade’s launching ceremonies worldwide. The Tag, which was conceptualized by the FIA Foundation and approved by the UN and the World Health Organization as a symbol of support for the Decade, challenges all to “Wear. Believe. Act” to make roads safer for all road users. The Tag will be distributed to those who sign the Road Safety Pledge.

AAP, as the only Philippine affiliate of the FIA, prepared the Road Safety Pledge that President Aquino has been invited to be the first to sign. On the form of a raised hand, the pledge says:

I SUPPORT THE DECADE OF ACTION FOR ROAD SAFETY 2011-2020

As a road user, I pledge:

Not to use my cell phone while driving;

Not to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs;

To always use a seatbelt while driving;

To maintain my car in good, roadworthy condition;

Not to be goaded into road rage by aggressive drivers and motorcyclists;

Not to throw garbage out of my car;

To always observe and follow road laws, rules and regulations.

The global plan to make roads safe, supported by 100 governments in the United Nations, will benefit developing countries like ours where the rising number of road deaths and injuries impedes economic and social progress. The ending question now is: Will this crisis be compelling enough to motivate the President to wake up earlier than usual for the 8 a.m. May 11 launch of the Decade of Action for Road Safety? We’ll all know by next week.