Total Is a Founding Member of the UN Road Safety Trust Fund

 

 

I have had contact with roadways in many different fields. I quickly understood the dangers of the road, both in sports and daily use. And I thought it was time for me to add my voice to help make a difference.

 

As Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations for Road Safety, my role is to raise awareness about the plague of road accidents around the world.

 

 

Every year, 1.3 million people die on the roads, and 50 million are injured. No true support had been given to improve the situation in a comprehensive way. Road accidents are a pandemic as serious as AIDS, malaria, or tuberculosis. Unlike these other pandemics, road safety programs have received no true funding.

The United Nations Secretary General is setting up a road safety fund. This fund will include donations from UN countries and also from private donors.

Obviously, the first step was the decision to create this fund. The second and most important step is to find partners who will join us. We are counting on United Nations member countries and private donors.

Total is present in 130 countries, where there are far too many victims on the road. Total is one of the major players in these countries. Total's involvement with us in these programs is an absolute priority.

 

 

Unlike AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis where no real solution exists yet, we know how to treat the road pandemic. It is a matter of educating, applying the laws, checking the condition of vehicles, the condition of the road, and the quality of assistance in the event of an accident.

I'll give you a very simple example. In developing countries, if all drivers and passengers used a seat belt and helmet, if they followed the speed limits, did not drive when drunk, and did not use the telephone while driving, we would immediately reduce the number of victims on the road by 50%.

 

 

Our goal must be Vision Zero, both in motor racing and on the roads around the world.

When considering what is happening in Bangladesh, India, China, Kenya, or Uganda, Unfortunately, vision zero is impossible.

But between reducing the carnage that exists on these roads today and vision zero we must begin by taking a step, starting now.