[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1220-E1221]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ROBERT WEXLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 20, 2009

  Mr. WEXLER. Madam Speaker, as cochair of the Congressional Caucus on 
Global Road Safety, I would like to extend my appreciation and 
sincerest thanks to the Board of Directors of the American Association 
of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), who recently passed 
a policy resolution in support of House Concurrent Resolution 74, a 
resolution introduced by myself and my fellow Caucus cochairs, 
Congressman Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Dan Burton, 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 and urging the Obama administration to 
take a leadership role at the First Ministerial Conference on Road 
Safety in Moscow later this year.
  My fellow cochairs and I believe it is critical that the United 
States 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, and I sincerely 
appreciate AASHTO's support for this resolution and for their efforts 
to work with the Global Road Safety Caucus to educate Members of 
Congress on the issue of road safety. To that end, I encourage all of 
my colleagues to review the text of AASHTO's resolution, which I am 
including in the Congressional Record.

  Policy Resolution PR-2-09 Supporting House Concurrent Resolution 74

       Whereas, AASHTO and its members departments remain fully 
     committed to reducing the number of deaths on our Nation's 
     roads as evidenced by current AASHTO policy positions and 
     efforts to implement AASHTO's Strategic Highway Safety Plan, 
     including the adoption by the Board of Directors in December, 
     1997 and revised and updated in December, 2004, a goal to 
     reduce fatalities by half in 20 years;
       Whereas, According to the 2004 World Report on Road Traffic 
     Injury Prevention, 40,000 people on 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;
       Whereas, The current estimated monetary cost of motor 
     vehicles crashes worldwide is greater than $500,000,000,000 
     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 the World Health Organization, motorist 
     related deaths and cost 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 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'' 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, professional 
     associations, and within civil society, as well as 
     relationships among the Federal Highway Administration, the 
     National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 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 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 in Moscow in November 
     2009;
       Whereas, The Ministerial Consultive Committee of the First 
     Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety on Moscow has 
     drafted a declaration to designate 2010-2020 as the ``Decade 
     of Action for Global Road Safety''; now, therefore be it
       Resolved, By the American Association of State Highway and 
     Transportation Officials that AASHTO supports the goals and 
     ideals of a decade of action for global road safety with a 
     global target to reduce by 50 percent the predicted increase 
     in global road deaths between 2010 and 2020; be it further

[[Page E1221]]

       Resolved, AASHTO 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 finally be it
       Resolved, AASHTO encourages the United States to take a 
     leadership role at the First Ministerial Conference on Road 
     Safety 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.

                          ____________________