The address by Mr. Victor Kiryanov, the Head of the Road Safety Department, Ministry of Interior of the Russian Federation

for the

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

delivered on 13 November 2009

It’s not for the first time when the world community commemorates road traffic victims on the third Sunday in November under the UN auspices.
The World Day of Remembrance is set to draw everybody’s attention to the magnitude of this problem and to express deep concern about global threats brought by the increasing rate of road accidents. Nowadays everybody is a road user – as a driver, a passenger or a pedestrian. That’s why road safety is a matter of life and death for every person.

At present road crashes carry away more human lives than wars and terrorism. After the WW II - the worst tragedy in the XX century – there was a saying: “The war took a toll of each family”.
With a horrifying and stunning rapidity the mankind is coming to the point when it would be fair to state: “Not a single family has bypassed a grief over the loss of a relative in a road crash”.

Joint efforts should be undertaken to avoid a situation when a vehicle – a wonderful technical achievement and a courageous embodiment of imagination – would become the main menace to human life.

Grief and sorrow experienced by relatives who have lost their beloved ones in road crashes should shove countries and governments to the resolute actions focused on the development of comprehensive road safety laws, creation of a sustainable infrastructure, proper training of traffic police personnel, intensive public awareness campaigns, improving emergency medical aid rendering services. It is essential to deliver actions both nationally and internationally to foster the best practices exchange between the countries.

On the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims I urge all road users to show their prudence and demonstrate commitment to reverse the situation, to save lives as their own as of those who are close by on the road now.

Mutual respect and compliance provide sufficient road space for all users!