[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 74 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 74

 Supporting the goals and ideals of a decade of action for road safety 
with a global target to reduce by 50 percent the predicted increase in 
               global road deaths between 2010 and 2020.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 16, 2009

  Mr. Wexler (for himself and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Supporting the goals and ideals of a decade of action for road safety 
with a global target to reduce by 50 percent the predicted increase in 
               global road deaths between 2010 and 2020.

Whereas according to the 2004 World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention, 
        40,000 people in the United States and 1,300,000 people globally die in 
        road crashes each year;
Whereas another 20,000,000 to 50,000,000 people globally are injured each year 
        as a result of speeding motor vehicles and the increased use of motor 
        vehicles;
Whereas road crashes are the leading cause of death globally for young people 
        between the ages of 10 and 24 years around the world;
Whereas the current estimated monetary cost of motor vehicle crashes worldwide 
        is $518,000,000,000 annually, representing between 3 and 5 percent of 
        the gross domestic product of each nation;
Whereas according to the World Health Organization, over 90 percent of motorist-
        related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries;
Whereas according to the World Health Organization, motorist-related deaths and 
        costs continue to rise in these countries due to a lack of appropriate 
        road engineering and injury prevention programs in public health 
        sectors;
Whereas the United States, United Nations, and international community should 
        promote the improvement of data collection and comparability, including 
        by adopting the standard definition of a road death as ``any person 
        killed immediately or dying within 30 days as a result of a road traffic 
        crash'' as standard definitions of injury, and the facilitation of 
        international cooperation to develop reliable data systems and 
        analytical capability;
Whereas it is critical that the international community support collaborative 
        action to enhance global road safety and reduce the risk of road crash 
        death and injury around the world by fostering partnerships and 
        cooperation between governments, private and public sectors, and within 
        civil society, as well as relationships between the National Highway 
        Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and other national and 
        international road safety authorities;
Whereas the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2005 
        designating the third Sunday of November as a day of remembrance for 
        road crash victims and their families, and calling on nations globally 
        to improve road safety;
Whereas the United States Congress passed H. Con. Res. 87, as well as S. Con. 
        Res. 39, in the 110th Congress supporting the goals and ideals of a 
        world day of remembrance for road crash victims;
Whereas the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2008 
        highlighting the impact of global road safety issues, encouraging 
        nations to take action to reduce road crash risks across the world, and 
        creating the first global high-level conference on road safety, to be 
        hosted by the Russian Federation in Moscow in November 2009; and
Whereas the Ministerial Consultative Committee of the First Global Ministerial 
        Conference on Road Safety in Moscow has drafted a declaration to 
        designate 2010-2020 as the ``Decade of Action for Road Safety'': Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) supports the goals and ideals of a decade of action for 
        road safety with a global target to reduce by 50 percent the 
        predicted increase in global road deaths between 2010 and 2020;
            (2) urges the Obama Administration and the Department of 
        State, in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety 
        Administration (NHTSA), to set ambitious road traffic casualty 
        reduction targets for United States citizens traveling abroad;
            (3) encourages international harmonization of road safety 
        regulations and good practices through accession to and 
        implementation of related United Nations legal instruments, 
        resolutions, and manuals issued by the United Nations Road 
        Safety Collaboration; and
            (4) urges the Obama Administration to take a leadership 
        role at the First Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in 
        Moscow and for the United States to work with nations around 
        the world to achieve the goals and ideals of a decade of action 
        for road safety and to reduce the impact of this health 
        epidemic on the global community.
                                 <all>