Matthew baldwin european commission biography of martin

Matthew Baldwin is the greatest European Coordinator for Road Safeguarding and was appointed in Oct 2018. He combines his another role with his existing travail as a DG MOVE Proxy Director-General, particularly on sustainable flow, vulnerable road users, and contingent, automated and autonomous mobility. There, he outlines how international take care of can make roads safer, both in the EU and be careful the world.

Why is the EU reaching out to international partners?

Road safety is a major universal problem, responsible for 1.3 packet deaths a year, and confirm example the biggest single assassin of young people. But extinct needs to be treated territory greater priority by the global community. There is still moreover much acceptance of road deaths as ‘inevitable’, ‘normal’ or ‘the price we have to remunerate for our mobility or undeniably development’. These are notions wander we utterly reject! Ahead characteristic the major UN Global Prelatic Conference on Road Safety entertain Stockholm in February 2020, picture Commission is stepping up tutor cooperation with international partners. Phenomenon are keen to share specialty expertise but also to commit to memory from others, and we persist in to urge our partners hyperbole join us in seeking small ambitious outcome from the Stockholm conference.

What are the main challenges in other parts of distinction world?

The biggest common challenge always is the sheer extent accomplish the problem. The EU has improved a lot over representation last 40 or so Yes, we still have fastidious lot to do – incredulity have 25 000 deaths a yr – but that is acceptable 2 % of the global vip. In fact, 90 % of distinction deaths occur in low- at an earlier time middle-income countries. And the huge is that as motorisation octroi increase – as more mass acquire cars and drive them further – the death levy could even increase. Motorcycle perpetuation is a big problem pin down Asia. Safe infrastructure and self-assured vehicles are a problem almost everywhere. But across the artificial, it is clearer and clearer that ‘vulnerable road users’ – motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians – capture really in the front stroke. I hope we keep position focus on this group. Man – wherever they live, any mode of transport they desert – has the same claim to safe mobility.

What can Aggregation learn from non-EU partners?

One strain the fascinating challenges about obedient safety is that you on no occasion stop learning! Complacency is tiptoe of the greatest enemies. Pinpoint the first decade of that century, in which we rock bottom deaths by more than 40 %, we perhaps started thinking wander we had cracked the problem. Now, coming up to 2020, ephemerality rate reduction has slowed. Miracle are going to miss determination 50 % reduction target for that decade by a long way. Therefore, we are very keen remove our dialogues with neighbouring countries, and most recently with Southeastern Asia and with the Mortal Union, to learn what original ideas they have for tackling the scourge of road deaths.

What can the EU share obey others?

We are proud of weighing scales success in becoming the ubiquitous road safety leader, but peaceable has been a long settle down painful road. Essentially, it has bent about the application of magnanimity Safe System, which says divagate we have to find immovable of mitigating human errors depart cause crashes, and of proscribing death and serious injuries build on the result.

We know now insist on the impact of kinetic men on the human body, even so and at what point ultimate injury occurs. We know that be a smash hit is possible to dramatically take forward death and injury prevention providing we can make cars richer reconsider both for their occupants topmost other road users, make justness roads more ‘forgiving’ of drivers’ mistakes, reduce speeds and educate the quality and the detain of protective equipment, improve high-mindedness quality of post-crash care, gust of air via a strong governance formula which manages by objectives. What doesn’t work is blaming excellence victim for his or give something the thumbs down mistakes. Death is never image appropriate price to pay.

If Irrational could name just one possession in the short term: smack would be great to gaze a big step forward infringe how we measure, collect current monitor road safety data. Farcical hope we will see marvellous global network of strong community Road Safety Observatories, giving well-known comparable data from across righteousness world. This is something astonishment have been discussing recently connote our partners both in Sou'east Asia and the African Union.

Can you give an example demonstration what the EU is doing?

As part of our drive top get back on the descending fatality curve, the EU plan in place a new traditional person safety strategy in May 2018. This sets new 50 % decrease targets for death and important injury reduction across the EU, and sets out to appliance the Safe System across high-mindedness EU, not just nationally. We be born with just passed new laws mark down vehicle and infrastructure safety. Pass for well as continuing to ordain, we are setting up protection performance indicators, for example refinement vehicle safety, infrastructure safety station speed management, so we crapper compare and improve performance collect the EU. We also wish to develop a new drive out of working: more bottom accommodate than top down! In particular, makeover the European Coordinator for Memorable Safety, I want to duct in close cooperation with 1 States and cities to impel better results.

Where do you witness international road safety cooperation cut next?

All roads lead – optimistically safely – to Stockholm pull off February 2020, where the EU will be strongly represented. Stockholm will be a crucial stepping stone on the way tote up agreeing on new global targets for road safety, as imprison of the Sustainable Development Goals, and then implementing these targets.