Jean Todt, UN Special Envoy for Road Safety - Speech at the launch of the Global Campaign Johannesburg, South Africa

Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, distinguished guests: Thank you for your warm welcome here in Johannesburg today.  This gathering of people from so many different walks of life, all sharing the same purpose, is extremely encouraging. Only by coming together in this way can we hope to end the tragic loss of life that occurs every few seconds in a road crash across the world.

This occasion is not a happy one. Globally, over one million lives are lost annually due to preventable road crashes. And, every year, South Africans account for more than 14,500 of those road deaths. I know these figures will surprise many of you here today – and this is why I continue to call road deaths a silent pandemic.

The UN, our partners JCDecaux and Saatchi & Saatchi and celebrities don’t want to be silent about the road safety crisis. We want to make a global noise around the tragedy as well as some of the ways we can all combat it. The #MakeASafetyStatement campaign of the United Nations in collaboration with JCDecaux and Saatchi & Saatchi, is a global call to action. 

It aims at individuals, communities, and governments in a collective effort to create a safer and more inclusive future on our roads.  By launching the campaign in South Africa, we are taking another critical step towards reshaping road safety throughout the continent. We are all road users – pedestrians, cyclists, drivers. So we must all take responsibility. 

How can we take responsibility? By understanding the dangers, demanding action, and making a safety statement – on buckling up, obeying speed limits, driving sober, not using a telephone – we can improve our own safety and the safety of those around us. Please join us and our many influential personalities – like Michelle Yeoh, Naomi Campbell, or Didier Drogba – to encourage users to adopt simple, effective rules to keep their roads safe. I also thank the local celebrities that we have here today for offering your time and support: When an Yvonne Chaka, a Caster Semanya or a Doctor Khumalo speak about this terrible scourge, millions will listen to them. 

Our approach is many-sided: leveraging the reach of JCDecaux’s signage networks and the creative talents of Saatchi & Saatchi to spread our message globally. By the end of next year, the campaign will be present in 80 countries, appearing on billboards, bus shelters and bikeshares, with a strong presence on social media platforms as well. So once again, I thank all of you here today, as well as the government of South Africa for your help.

Above all, please remember that road crashes are not inevitable. They are predictable; and we have the prescription to stop the carnage. Among the most urgent needs in South Africa are legislation on urban speed limits for passenger cars and motorcycles; and legislation on child restraint systems. The latter can lead to a 60 percent reduction in fatalities; while the proper use of homologated helmets can reduce the risk of death by more than 40 percent, and injury by almost 70 percent.  Through the UN Road Safety Fund, the UN is also tackling the road safety crisis through concrete capacity building support to governments in these areas.

We must not wait for change. Alongside government actions, we must change things ourselves, starting today, here in Johannesburg. Thank you.