The ITF Safer City Network’s third meeting focused in particular on international road safety initiatives, with the network’s other priorities – pedestrian safety, cycling safety, risk indicators, mobility statistics, crash data systems, health data sources, and urban road safety policies –also discussed over the two days.

The ITF Safer City Streets initiative offers a platform for road safety experts working with cities to share their experience and build a global dataset for urban road safety and mobility. It was launched in October 2016 at the UN Habitat III Conference. Thanks to support from the FIA Road Safety Grant programme, and the International Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group (IRTAD), it has grown rapidly to include more than 40 cities.

The cities of Rome and London were elected as co-chairs of the network. The meeting was opened by Rome’s councillor for mobility Ms Linda Meleo. Rome’s Mobility Agency made several presentations on the city’s Sustainable Mobility Plan and Cycle Network Plan.

The meeting was hosted by the Automobile Club of Italy (ACI) whose President Mr Angelo Sticchi Damiani welcomed participants and explained that “ACI has, for over 110 years, disseminated the values of responsible and sustainable mobility, and encouraged the exchange of information between all the forces in the field”.

ACI then delivered thought-provoking presentations on pedestrian safety, physical accessibility and on the comparison of road safety statistics across Italian cities. The FIA presented the #3500LIVES campaign as that has been on display in over 900 cities across more than 75 countries, making it the world’s largest campaign dedicated to road safety.

The meeting attracted over 55 participants, representing a total 18 cities: Accra, Addis Ababa, Bandung, Bangkok, Belgrade, Bogota, Budapest, Fortaleza, Gothenburg, Lisbon, London, Malta, Milan, Mumbai, Rome, São Paulo, Shanghai and Zurich.

London has offered to host the next meeting in November 2018.