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Through the Decade, Member States, with the support of the international community, commit to actions in areas such as developing and enforcing legislation on key risk factors: limiting speed, reducing drink-driving, and increasing the use of seatbelts, child restraints and motorcycle helmets. Efforts will also be undertaken to improve emergency trauma care, upgrade road and vehicle safety standards, promote road safety education and enhance road safety management generally.

This recent initiative comes on the heels of the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, hosted by the Government of the Russian Federation in November 2009. The "Moscow Declaration" issued by ministers and senior officials from 150 countries underlines the importance of protecting all road users, in particular those who are most vulnerable such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

Increasing motorcycle helmet use is a key road safety intervention in developing countries. Motorbikes are often a large proportion of personal vehicles; high helmet use quickly reduces fatalities and high cost brain injuries; and helmet use is an affordable, high return investment. Head injuries represent the most devastating injury subcategory for motorcyclists. Victims who survive a head injury often suffer brain damage that impedes their ability to continue as a breadwinner, and in fact may require a lifetime of personal care that can drain resources from already impoverished families.

The Helmet Vaccine Initiative will target this problem. Under the Helmet Vaccine Initiative, successful models already piloted in Vietnam will be able to be rapidly replicated and shared with other developing countries throughout South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Achieving near universal helmet use is challenging, yet the ‘vaccine’ is available. Other hurdles can similarly be bypassed: the distribution systems are only a matter of international shipping and costing, and it is morally acceptable to create mandatory, legal compliance. AIP Foundation has successfully achieved this ‘perfect storm’ of interventions in Vietnam and can provide knowledge and expertise to local partners to generate similar successes in other developing countries. It is a joint initiative of Asia Injury Prevention Foundation, FIA Foundation, World Bank Global Road Safety Facility to provide financial and technical support to the Helmet Vaccine Initiative.

Vision Zero is a road traffic safety project started in Sweden in 1997 which aims to achieve a highway system with no fatalities or serious injuries in road traffic. A core principle of the vision is that 'Life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits within the society' rather than the more conventional approach where an monetary value is placed on life and health which is then used with a Benefit-cost ratio evaluation before investing money in the road network to decrease risk. Zero vision is based on three principles:

• Ethics: Human life and health are paramount and take priority over mobility and other objectives of the road traffic system
• Responsibility: providers and regulators of the road traffic system share responsibility with users;
• Safety: road traffic systems should take account of human fallibility and minimize both the opportunities for errors and the harm done when they occur; and
• Mechanisms for change: providers and regulators must do their utmost to guarantee the safety of all citizens; they must cooperate with road users; and all three must be ready to change to achieve safety.

The Government of India is going to establish the National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board for the purpose of orderly development, regulation, promotion and optimization of modern and effective road safety and traffic management system and practices in relation to the national highways and improved safety standards in highway design, construction, operation and regulate high standards in production and maintenance of mechanically propelled vehicles and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board Bill, 2010 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on May 4, 2010 by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shri Kamal Nath. The Bill seeks to establish a National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board for the development and regulation of road safety, traffic management system and safety standards in highway design and construction.  The Board shall consist of a Chairperson and five members appointed by the central government on the recommendation of a Selection Committee.  The term shall be five years.  The Chairperson shall have professional knowledge of administration and road transport. Members shall have experience in road design, automobile engineering, accident investigation, traffic management and trauma care.

The alarming height of accidents, tragic loss of thousands of human lives and enormous costs of the accidents on road virtually transformed this crucial crisis from nobody’s concern to everybody’s concern. Forum for Prevention of Road Accidents and Rotary Club of Cuttack Greenfield were modestly attempting to raise a platform to share the state of art knowledge and learn successful strategies from participating Rotarians, other learned individuals, subject matter specialists and organizations. The focus of seminar was on mitigation options available to avert imminent road accidents. Factors like poor road conditions, lack of proper education on road safety, use of defective vehicles, defects in investigation and prosecution of accident cases, road traffic management, post-accident trauma care etc. were the central stage of debate. Eminent speakers like Dr. Gopal Ch. Mitra, IIT, Bhubaneswar; Dr. Neelima Chakraborty, CRRI, New Delhi; Sri Kanhu Ch. Mahali, IG of Police, Tamilnadu etc. addressed in the seminar. The programme was inaugurated by Rtn. Shashi Varvandkar, District Governor, RI District 3260.