The World Road Safety Experts meeting in Apeldoorn in the Netherlands from May 23, 2004 to May 28 2004 are pleased to present the following.

Send their warm greetings to the Secretary General of the United Nations and to commend him and the United Nations on the Resolution of 14 April 2004, improving Global Road Safety, of the General Assembly.

To pledge to the United Nations their full support and participation to work within the terms of the Resolution to provide and make available their expertise, knowledge, skills and full technical support in achieving the objectives and goals of the Resolution.

To request of the Secretary General to assist world road safety experts, especially in developing countries, in identifying, facilitating and generally to provide these experts with the ability to implement demonstration road safety programs in various parts of the world in accordance with the Resolution.

It is the considered judgment of this body of road safety experts that it accepts the United Nations determination:

• That 80% of road collisions occur in developing countries;
• That they have determined that this reality costs the developing countries, on an average, at least twice the development aid they now receive;
• That the United Nations has recognized in their Millennium Declaration that their organization and countries of the world must reduce world poverty and have dedicated themselves to this goal;
• That the experts have agreed that immediate introduction of road safety measures can achieve in the shortest time, and at the least cost, a reduction of the money now spent on road incidents and injury; immediately allowing that the portion of aid now received to be applied to other needs and programs, substantially reducing poverty. 

The expert meeting recommends that working groups be formed to develop demonstration programs that can be applied to a variety of sections of roads in different parts of the world which could demonstrate the positive results which can be obtained by applying the appropriate road safety measures. That the availability of these programs to the United Nations, and the world generally, be made known and promoted world wide.

The meeting approved and commends the initiative and leadership of the United Nations through UNITAR in supporting the initial demonstration program in India as part of the WRSN effort. Members of the WRSN have taken such actions.

The meeting receives with thanks and grateful appreciation the detailed and informative reports from the assembled experts and directs the secretariat of the Institute for Traffic Care to prepare a complete report of the presentations before the end of 2004 and to make the report available.

The participants of this expert meeting commend and agree that the model should support and assist developing countries in their road safety efforts taking into consideration the following issues:

To provide the correct environment by ensuring:

• Governments (national and local) strategy involving all departments (health, education, justice, transport etc.);
• Budget to be spent proportionately on education, enforcement, engineering and emergency care with each area open to evaluation and validation;
• Build and improve roads and infrastructure suitable for all road users;
• Understand the causes of collisions;
• Coordinate the work of all agencies (licensing, regulating, enforcement, education, etc.).

To development proper educational road safety programs for:

• The public, schools, in the home, on the road and at work focused on better behaviour;
• All agencies concerned with road safety training (include rescue, justice and education).

To empower:

• All stakeholders concerned to deliver road safety outcomes.

To be sensitive and to ensure careful attention to the issues of:

• Developing acceptable standards;
• Make regular monitoring processes;
• Integrate solutions with poverty relief, health issues and family life;
• Recognizing diversity, cultural differences, local customs and beliefs, behaviour, operating procedures and training;
• Find and encourage local champions;
• That any effort be open and flexible (Asian model).
• To collect, disseminate and use DATA which will meet minimum international standards, taking into consideration local needs.
• The expert-meeting agreed further that:
• It was presented and demonstrated that many training programs, materials and studies have been developed. It is requested that they should be further evaluated, made culturally specific and more effort should be made to put them into use.

It further requests that a greater evaluation be made in the short and long term of the effects of road collisions on the victims as well as their families, more attention should be paid to this issue, especially on police, justice and education level.

The expert-meeting resolved to:

• Promote and pledge support for the formation of an International Road Safety Academy with the first regional centre in India;
• Recognize the importance in capacity building and generally furthering the objectives and goals as discussed at this meeting;
• Establish a quality assurance framework to assess Road Safety training, enforcement, performance and community education programs within developing countries;
• Establish a web based interactive data base for the sharing of good practice, strategies, programs and concepts for police road safety education and enforcements;
• Establish a data base for registration and distribution of any surplus traffic enforcement equipment (with appropriate training support) for re-use in developing countries.

The Expert Meeting expresses its grateful thanks to:

The United Nations
The City of Apeldoorn (the Netherlands)
The Province of Gelderland (the Netherlands)
The ROA, Amsterdam (the Netherlands)
The sponsors and their supporting staff

The following organizations:

The Institute for Traffic Care
VIA Traffic Care
IRTE
WRSN
UNIHORN
GATSO

in making this historic meeting possible and successful. 

Given this day, 28 May 2004
Apeldoorn, the Netherlands
Agreed upon unanimously, by the delegates assembled, by acclamation.