In The News

Canada Rolls Out New Road Safety Strategy

Canada's Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety have approved a new five-year Road Safety Strategy under which Canada will continue to strive to have the safest roads in the world. The strategy will be used by individual jurisdictions to develop federal/provincial/territorial action plans to address key highway safety concerns and priorities for their respective and unique situations.

Road Safety Strategy 2015 will carry on the progress that has been achieved in reducing fatalities and serious injuries on Canada's roads since 1996 when Canada's first road safety plan was introduced. The provisional fatality total for 2009 is 8.7 percent lower than the number of road users killed in traffic crashes during 2008 and represents a 25.1 percent reduction over the 1996-2001 baseline figure. This is the lowest death toll on record in Canada in more than 60 years.

The new Road Safety Strategy is the result of a broad collaborative effort between all levels of government, public and private road safety stakeholders and the enforcement community. It provides each province and territory with a wide variety of solutions to address key road safety risks -- initiatives that are focused on road users, the vehicles they use and the roadway infrastructure on which they operate. The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators will lead the implementation of the strategy and support stakeholders in the process.

"This strategy represents Canada's desire to be a leader in road safety," said Chuck Strahl, the Federal Minister of Transport and Co-Chair of the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety. "It highlights our ambition to have the best possible road safety outcomes for Canada."

"The number of road fatalities and serious injuries is declining nationwide," said Luke Ouellette, Minister of Transportation of Alberta and Co-Chair of the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety. "These results are encouraging and we look forward to continued improvement over the next five years."

The unveiling of Road Safety Strategy 2015 coincides with the National Year of Road Safety in 2011, an ambitious undertaking which aims to raise public awareness and promote road safety activities across Canada. The Canadian Global Road Safety Committee, whose membership is made up of injury prevention and road safety professionals, is leading this initiative.

It is expected that Road Safety Strategy 2015 will continue to inspire all Canadians to work together toward the common objective of making Canada's roads the safest in the world. Road Safety Strategy 2015 will be officially launched at CCMTA's 2011 Annual Meeting, to be held May 15-19, 2011, in Victoria, B.C.

More info: www.ccmta.ca .

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