120 Years of FIA: Celebrating Partnerships for Safer Journeys

Original article from iRAP website

More than 150 FIA mobility clubs in 96 countries are partnering with iRAP to support their advocacy and action to create safer journeys for members supported by the iRAP Methodology and tools.

As clubs gather in Uzbekistan this week for the 2024 Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Annual Conference, we are proud to recognise their work helping to make roads and school journeys safer in communities across world.

iRAP’s Global Programme Director Greg Smith will be at the Conference and delighted to meet with clubs to discuss partnership opportunities.

From supporting road safety assessments to implementing the Star Rating for Schools programme, developing free tools and resources for club members, driving advocacy and improved policy, and rolling out innovative funding programmes for safer school journeys, FIA partnerships are critical to ensuring high-risk roads are actioned and eliminated in local communities spanning the globe.

Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for young people from the ages of five to 29, and FIA mobility clubs are working with iRAP in local partnerships to deliver the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) programme for safer school journeys.

Clubs are embracing the programme supported by the FIA School Assessment Toolkit and annual Road Safety Grants programme, supported by the FIA Foundation.

The programme has supported clubs to improve the safety of school zones in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Botswana, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Kenya, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia.

The Automobile Club of Moldova (ACM) received the 2023 FIA President’s Award for its Safer School Zone campaign that drove infrastructure improvements and school zone policy changes including 30km/h limits.

The annual €400,000 FIA Foundation fund for Star Rating for Schools, deployed as part of the Child Health Initiative Advocacy Hub, is supporting FIA clubs in expanding and deepening their projects and advocacy for safe journeys to school.

A long-term support programme partnership is also underway between iRAP and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and last year, with MCC support, Mobilite Club Maroc assessed 13 schools in Marrakech.

Beyond schools, iRAP is also working with clubs to support changes to make roads safer for drivers and other vulnerable road users.

The National Autosport and Karting Federation of Uzbekistan (NACU) is supporting an innovative project to improve road design standards for CAREC countries, and in particular the pilot countries of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

This year, the Reial Automobil Club de Catalunya (RACC) and Real Automovil Club de Espana  presented the 20th edition of annual Crash Risk Mapping of the Spanish road network, and RACC presented the 22nd year of risk mapping results for the Catalan network. RACC Spain also supported the first iRAP Star Rating assessment of Andorra’s primary road network in 2021.

In Australia, iRAP is working closely the national and state-based clubs, with a range of AusRAP assessments underway. In two recent success stories, the Australian Government has  committed to transparency in publishing road safety data (including on the quality of roads), following extensive advocacy by the Australian Automobile Association supported by the state clubs. In addition, the Government has committed A$467 million to fast track upgrades on Queensland’s main Bruce Highway following the long-term advocacy of the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ).

Automovil Club Del Ecuador (ANETA) and Automovil Club De Costa Rica (ACCR) are working on an important innovation partnership with iRAP, and the Royal Dutch Touring Club (ANWB) has been a key partner in iRAP’s innovative CycleRAP development for safer journeys for cyclists and light mobility users.

CycleRAP projects are also benefitting from the FIA Grants Programme. The safety of over 140km of cycling infrastructure in Skopje, North Macedonia is being assessed in partnership with the Auto Moto Association of Macedonia (AMSM), and several cycle lanes in Lisbon will be assessed in partnership with the Automovel Club de Portugal, with potential scalability to other Portuguese cities. Both projects are being led by CycleRAP Trusted Supplier Factual Consulting.

Last year, Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) and the National Automobile Club of Tunisia completed large Crash Risk Mapping assessments of 17,500km and 14,800km respectively, to understand the investments and speeds required to save lives and serious injuries in their countries.

iRAP is actively working with FIA Region I, II and IV to build capacity and projects to support safer journeys in the regions. For example:

• This month, a one-day iRAP training course will be hosted for public servants in Brazil in collaboration with FIA Region IV and Automovel Clube Brasileiro (ACBr)
• In May, iRAP’s Safer Journeys Specialist Samar Abouraad joined the FIA Region 1 Spring Meeting in Cairo, sharing the potential of iRAP and SR4S to support safer journeys in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Whilst there, she presented to 25 representatives of Arab clubs in ACTAC-MENA;
• In January, representatives of nine African Touring and Automobile Clubs (from Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Nigeria) gathered in Tanzania for a three-day road safety training; and
• In November last year, FIA Region II Clubs participated in a series of four online training sessions focused on enhancing school zone safety.

iRAP congratulates the FIA and club network for their extensive investment and work to promote safer journeys world-wide.

The 2024 FIA Conference will be held from 11-14 June in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and will be a very special event celebrating the 120th Anniversary of the FIA. The conference will bring together presidents and senior executives of its world-wide member organisations with a focus on honouring the Federation’s legacy in mobility and motorsports, and plans to work together to accelerate a future of innovation and sustainable progress.