The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) released a position paper on global road safety, at the occasion of the Second Global High-level Conference on Road Safety, held in Brasilia on 18-19 November 2015. OICA President Yong Geun Kim, also president of the Korean Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (KAMA), stated that “Midway through the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020), it is appropriate to take stock of the situation and to develop a comprehensive position on how global road safety can be improved. The experience gained in developed countries can be put to good use in order to improve road safety in emerging countries”. He added that “Road safety is complex and combines various factors and stakeholders, including road user training, education and behaviour, road infrastructure, road traffic rules and their enforcement, efficient medical care system, data analysis, vehicle park age and composition, vehicle design, etc. It is only when all these elements are addressed in an integrated approach that clear improvements can be obtained.OICA intends to publish a comprehensive paper on this subject in the near future.” Matthias Wissmann, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and OICA 1st Vice-President, noted that “While OICA strongly advocates such integrated approach, the direct responsibility of the vehicle industry is with vehicle design and safety performance.” In this respect, he stressed that “Modern vehicles are much safer than in the past as can be seen in a large number of markets.” He therefore called on all governments worldwide to place all actors in the auto industry on an equal competitive footing by setting compulsory minimum vehicle safety performance standards for all new vehicles sold on their territory. “The experience gained in a number of welldeveloped markets shows that legislation has helped the vehicle industry in its constant efforts to improve the safety of its products, while preserving the principles of free and open competition, to the benefit of all road users”, Wissmann said. President Kim concluded that the OICA position paper “Contains a number of public policy recommendations” and that “Taking into account these recommendations, vehicle manufacturers worldwide would have no objections to the imposition of vehicle design requirements through the national or even preferably international rulemaking.”
Vehicle Design To Improve Global Situation
