Events
Expert Connect - Seat-belts
Experts Connect: Seat Belts According to the WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety, road traffic crashes claim approximately 1.19 million lives each year, with vehicle occupants accounting for about 25% of total road deaths. Safety belts (more commonly known as “seat belts”) are among the most effective and low-cost safety interventions, reducing the risk of death for front-seat occupants by 45–50% and for rear-seat occupants by 25–75%, depending on crash conditions. 

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Experts Connect: Seat Belts

According to the WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety, road traffic crashes claim approximately 1.19 million lives each year, with vehicle occupants accounting for about 25% of total road deaths. Safety belts (more commonly known as “seat belts”) are among the most effective and low-cost safety interventions, reducing the risk of death for front-seat occupants by 45–50% and for rear-seat occupants by 25–75%, depending on crash conditions.  

Despite this strong evidence, compliance remains uneven, particularly in many low- and middle-income countries where enforcement is limited, and rear-seat belt use remains low.   

As part of its Expert Connect Knowledge Sharing Platform, the UNRSF will host an online multi-stakeholder dialogue to advance global advocacy efforts to elevate seat-belt use as a critical road-safety intervention contributing to SDG 3.6.  

Agenda 

12:00 – Opening and welcome, Head of the UN Road Safety Fund, Nneka Henry  

  

12:02 - Keynote remarks, Chair of WP 1, Luciana Iorio    

  

12:05 - Knowledge Sharing by Experts (30 mins)  

Driven by data: why seat-belts are a lifesaving intervention    

  • PAHO:  Ricardo Perez-Nuñez - regional overview, data on injuries and deaths   

  • UNECE: Francois Guichard -safety standards  

  • Global NCAP: Jessica Truong - use of technology

  • Transportstyrelsen: Pernilla Bremer 

  • Autoliv: Jordi Lombarte – role of private sector  

  

12:40 - Successful experiences on awareness & use from the ground (55 mins)  

  • Seat-belts use: awareness and enforcement    

  • The journey in Austria and recent challenges for seat-belt usage, Karin Schranz, Road Safety Agency  

  • 2024 National Traffic Reform, Fuad Omar Jamil Al Maaytah, Public Security Directorate, Jordan  

  • Data in focus, Alvaro Gomez, General Traffic Direction, Spain  

  • Enforcement in the State of Para, Luiz Otavio Miranda, Traffic Department of State of Pará - DETRAN/PA, Brazil

  • Civil society advocacy that triggered compliance, Afef Behn Ghenia, Sécourité Routière, Tunisia  

  • Sustained journey, Figen Eker, Project Officer at the French Road Safety Observatory, France  

  • “Click before moving” 2025 campaign, Ts. Zulhaidi Mohd Jawi, MIROS, Malaysia  

  • Building capacity for child restraints, Tatiana Mihalova, Automobile Club, Moldova  

  • Partnerships with civil society for implementation, Ntsoaki Tsokolibane, General Manager-Road Safety Programmes at the Road Traffic Management Corporation, South Africa.  

  • The US data and the National Seat-belt day, Russ Rader, IIHS, US  

     

13:35 - Open discussion by UNRSF (20 mins)

13:55 - Vote of Thanks, Nneka Henry

 
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