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2020 CONCORDIA ANNUAL SUMMIT

Technology Innovations in Safer Roads

Main Stage


 

Summary

    • According to David Braunstein, more than 1.35 million deaths are occurring each year on the world’s roads. More than half of these deaths are among pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Road traffic injuries are now the leading cause of death among children and young adults. 
  • “We [Together for Safer Roads] like to refer to ourselves as a coalition but also a corporate social accelerator,” David Braunstein 

    • Founded in 2014, Together for Safer Roads is a coalition of companies that aims to bring private sector data, technology, and expertise to the road safety community. Undergirding the coalition’s modus operandi is the belief that traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities are preventable. 
    • Road safety is a priority for AB InBev, since some 170,000 AB InBev employees travel on the world’s roads each and every day. John Blood highlighted the importance of partnerships in bringing about safer roads and, more broadly, in advancing social impact: we need to work with the community that surrounds us—from our neighbors and local nonprofits to provincial, state, and federal governments—if we are to bring about social change. 
    • Blood identified a specific example that cogently demonstrates the power of the Together for Safer Roads coalition. In São Paulo, Together for Safer Roads supported a pilot that sought to determine the root cause of an inordinate number of accidents that were occurring on a particular road. After using private sector management techniques to gain key insights, Together for Safer Roads members and the government of Sao Paulo discovered that accidents were occurring owing to sand residue from sandstorms. Together for Safer Roads members then worked with local municipalities to devise a mechanism that would track the sand on the road as well as the cleanup crews tasked with removing the sand. Because of this pilot, the road has seen a dramatic decrease in fatalities. 
  • “To make a real impact on the community, to make a real impact where we live and work, we need to work with the community all around us […] once you realize that, you start to see the importance of partnerships, and Together for Safer Roads is a great example of a partnership that works,” John Blood 

    • UPS is acutely aware of the fact that young people are disproportionately impacted by road accidents. Ten years ago, revealed Eduardo Martinez, UPS collaborated with the Boys and Girls Club of America to launch the UPS Road Code, a program that seeks to educate teens and young adults about road safety best practices. Since the program’s inception, UPS personnel have provided road safety training to over 100,000 young people around the U.S., and the program has been expanded to other countries, including Canada, Germany, the U.K., Mexico, and Austria. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has confirmed that the UPS Road Code is saving lives.
    • Erick Gustafson underscored the important role that the insurance industry plays in promoting safe and efficient transportation. For example, many businesses are now employing the usage of scooters and e-bikes, necessitating a risk mitigation system that would allow these businesses to safely and effectively continue their operations; this is where the insurance industry is key. 

Key takeaways & next steps:

  • UPS is getting ready to integrate virtual reality into the UPS Road Code program. 
  • Together for Safer Roads is joining forces with the federal government of Brazil to implement programs similar to the Sao Paulo pilot in other municipalities. 
  • Together for Safer Roads is collaborating with UNITAR to develop road safety toolkits derived from the insights gained from the Sao Paulo pilot. The coalition hopes that these toolkits will be used in 20 countries by 2021.

Video:

Session Speakers