WDR 2019

The slogan for this year’s commemoration of the World Day of Remembrance relates to Pillar 3 of the Global Decade of Action: Safer vehicles. In addition, it accords with the general theme of the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety that  will take place in Stockholm in February 2020 – “Achieving Global Goals 2030”.

Notwithstanding global efforts to the  contrary, the  type of road  mobility that  is in place throughout  the world still fosters an unbearable number  of deaths,  serious injuries and illnesses  every  year,  both  as  the  immediate  consequence   of  road  traffic crashes  and through air pollution.

Every year, at least 1.3 million die and as many as 50 million more are seriously injured due to road   crashes   around   the   world.  To  this,  we   must   add   an   estimated  4.2  millionii premature  deaths caused by outdoor  air pollutioniii, many of which result from transport- related causes. In addition dozens  of millions more  people suffer from pollution-related diseases caused in part by exhaust fumes and brake and tyre particles.

Motorised road  vehicles are  built to  offer users  freedom  of movement  and  a sense  of personal  power  through  speed.  These  very properties  make  them  appealing  yet  risky machines. Human life is not  a car part  that  can be replaced  if broken.  So, the danger of being killed by them,  either through  lack of  kinetic control  or  by absorption of  deadly exhaust  particles, is not  a removable accessory: danger is an integral component  of their design.

Thus,  to achieve  the  UN Sustainable  Development  Goals 3.6 and 11.2 (better  health  and more   sustainable  urban  environments),  we  must  embrace   a  truly  holistic vision and understand   that   Zero  Vision is  not  only  a  desired  goal  in  terms  of  the   immediate consequences   of  a  road  traffic  crash  through  lighter  and  safer  vehicles  that   respect occupants  and  other  road  users,  but  it  also entails aiming for zero  emissions  (exhaust fumes,  and  brake  & tire residues), promoting other,  softer  and  more  active  means  of transportation,  and  reducing   long  distance   travels   by  focusing  on  “zero  kilometre products”.

This year, for the fifth time in a row, our country was amongst the countries from around the world marking the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, and just like in the previous years in Kosovo, the activities were coordinated by the Tempulli and the Kosovo Association of Motorization “AMRKS”, with the support from partners of Kosovo Forum for Road Safety.For the past five years our activities have been regularly posted in the official WDR calendar.

Agenda: Date: 15 November 2019, 6:00 p.m. Place: College of Applied Technical Sciences “Tempulli” and the National Theatre of Kosovo-Prishtinë. Activity: Commemorative march (walking on foot) from Arbëria neighborhood-street Fehmi Agani-the National Theatre of Kosovo, where 97 candles were lit up in memory of 97 persons who died in road traffic accidents so far in 2019.