Regional leaders talk about road safety in Youth and Speed session for UNGRSW
Last Tuesday, May 18, some of the Coalition’s members joined the webinar on Youth and Speed: realities from around the world led by the Center on Commercial Determinants of Health (CCDH), George Washington University, and YOURS – Youth for Road Safety.
The Coalition represented four regions during the session; Belgium, Africa, Latin America, and Europe through members Linda Nekesa Masibo, Nkumbuye Amie, Sofía Aguirre Moreno, and James Brown.
The session was opened by CCDH Associate Director and Assistant Research Professor at the Department of Global Health at Milken Institute of Public Health, Dr. Nino Paichadze. During her opening remark, Dr. Nino talked about the importance of having young people in the efforts to ensure road safety through research, decision-making, and project design.
Following the introduction, the Coalition members each began their discussions on what road safety is like in their respective regions.
Linda Nekesa Masibo kicked off the session by talking about road safety in Belgium. As a migrant from Kenya, Linda compared the road safety situation in both countries. Linda talked about how the cycling culture is different for both Kenya and Belgium, explaining that the road safety facilities and how the cities are built have a great influence on road safety in both regions.
Moving onto Europe, James Brown’s speech focused more on speed limits in Europe, specifically in Manchester where he leads the Manchester Chapter of the Vision Zero Youth Council. He emphasized the importance of speed limits, emphasizing that speed is a significant risk factor when it comes to the severity of injury that can be received upon impact with a vehicle. He cited 20s plenty as a great initiative that seeks to reduce speed limits to 20 mp/h (30 km/h) in areas across the United Kingdom.
Following James, Sofia Aguirre Moreno from Argentina in Latin America discussed how policy makers, decision-makers, and even influencers need to focus efforts on creating and advocating for infrastructure that will keep vulnerable road users safe. She emphasized how young people have a hard time on the streets because they don’t feel safe to walk or cycle.
Finally, Nkumbuye Amie talked about the poor road designs in Rwanda and emphasized the need for better road safety infrastructure, road signs, and speed limits to make sure that young people and all vulnerable road users are safe. Amie also acknowledged the work of the Coalition in equipping its members with opportunities and resources to help them make concrete changes in their communities.
“As young people, we can take the lead to advocate for safer streets to our decision-makers”