Evey day 500 children die and 20 thousand are injured globally in road crashes. Road crashes are the main cause of death for children under 14 years of age, to address this issue the Second International Road Safety Forum was opened today in Santiago (FISEVI). More than 30 experts from all over the world will design road safety policies adapted to the needs in the region.

Gabriela Rosende, CONASET´s Executive Secretary, announced the future implementation of speed controls through automated control devices as the ones used in Spain where speeding crashes in highways were significantly reduced.

Also, the Minister Gómez-Lobo presented some alarming figures in Chile, where 1300 minors under 17 died and 80 thousand were injured in different road crashes in the last decade.

According to the Minister reducing these rates has been a challenge that has promoted a group of safety measures to be implemented, among them, raising the age to travel in the vehicle´s front seat to 12 years old, and a regulation making the use of CRS mandatory for children up to 8 years instead of 4. He also made reference to child restraint system´s certification that is now mandatory.

LEAD AGENCIES

This morning´s first panel was moderated by the World Bank expert, Soames Job, who pointed out that the first step to be taken by governments in the region is to create a lead agency coordinating inter-sectoral work.

Among the experts, there were, Carlos Pérez from the National Road Safety Agency in Argentina, Adrián Binga from Uruguay, Mathías Silva from the Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez, and Connie Hoe, from the Unted States; all experts agreed on the fact that governments should create lead, empowered bodies to have public policies implemented.

Connie Hoe stated that every four minutes a child dies as a consequence of a road crash, and that solutions should be provided at national level and not by the private sector. Presenters agreed on the fact that procedures for the issuance of driving licenses should be more stringent, and on the fact that training and education should be part of these measures.

Also, Alberto Escobar, Public Affairs Manager at the Automobile Club of Chile (ACCHI), stated that “it´s the parents´ moral duty to always look after their children, especially in potentially risky situations such as traveling by car. Adults are still not convinced that children´s safety is not negotiable. That explains the fact that nearly 80% of crashes involving children take place less than 8 km away form home," he said.

FISEVI is organized by the Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez from Uruguay and features the five pillars proposed by the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety that aims to eliminate this cause of child death. Its President, María Fernanda Rodríguez, said, “It is our duty to ensure that a child reaches adulthood safe and sound. It is time we quicken the pace with new proposals to improve child road safety."

FISEVI´s first edition was held in Uruguay in 2014. This second edition is expected to contribute to the implementation of public policies led by civil society organizations to promote the use of child restraint systems, among other topics.