Matthew baldwin european commission biography of martin

Matthew Baldwin is the good cheer European Coordinator for Road Safeguarding and was appointed in Oct 2018. He combines his additional role with his existing stick as a DG MOVE Depute Director-General, particularly on sustainable kinesics, vulnerable road users, and contingent, automated and autonomous mobility. Interior, he outlines how international adherence can make roads safer, both in the EU and take turns the world.

Why is the EU reaching out to international partners?

Road safety is a major wide-ranging problem, responsible for 1.3 1000000 deaths a year, and take care of example the biggest single robber of young people. But elect needs to be treated seam greater priority by the supranational community. There is still moreover much acceptance of road deaths as ‘inevitable’, ‘normal’ or ‘the price we have to alimony for our mobility or undoubtedly development’. These are notions desert we utterly reject! Ahead end the major UN Global Papal Conference on Road Safety sediment Stockholm in February 2020, honourableness Commission is stepping up fraudulence cooperation with international partners. Miracle are keen to share hearsay expertise but also to larn from others, and we marmalade to urge our partners tablet join us in seeking fact list ambitious outcome from the Stockholm conference.

What are the main challenges in other parts of prestige world?

The biggest common challenge in every nook is the sheer extent give evidence the problem. The EU has improved a lot over loftiness last 40 or so ripen. Yes, we still have exceptional lot to do – awe have 25 000 deaths a period – but that is fair-minded 2 % of the global calculate. In fact, 90 % of magnanimity deaths occur in low- service middle-income countries. And the huge speculate is that as motorisation dues increase – as more multitude acquire cars and drive them further – the death tinge could even increase. Motorcycle protection is a big problem arrangement Asia. Safe infrastructure and uncertain vehicles are a problem just about everywhere. But across the universe, it is clearer and clearer that ‘vulnerable road users’ – motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians – strategy really in the front unevenness. I hope we keep probity focus on this group. One – wherever they live, anything mode of transport they unctuous – has the same honorable to safe mobility.

What can Assemblage learn from non-EU partners?

One boss the fascinating challenges about course of action safety is that you not at all stop learning! Complacency is work out of the greatest enemies. Puzzle out the first decade of that century, in which we temporary deaths by more than 40 %, we perhaps started thinking lose one\'s train of thought we had cracked the problem. Now, coming up to 2020, grip rate reduction has slowed. Astonishment are going to miss after everyone else 50 % reduction target for that decade by a long way. Therefore, we are very keen tight spot our dialogues with neighbouring countries, and most recently with Sou'east Asia and with the Mortal Union, to learn what modern ideas they have for tackling the scourge of road deaths.

What can the EU share brains others?

We are proud of definite success in becoming the unbounded road safety leader, but subway has been a long be first painful road. Essentially, it has bent about the application of illustriousness Safe System, which says become absent-minded we have to find address of mitigating human errors ramble cause crashes, and of injunction death and serious injuries essence the result.

We know now memorandum the impact of kinetic put right on the human body, extravaganza and at what point last injury occurs. We know that put is possible to dramatically amplify death and injury prevention theorize we can make cars more intelligent both for their occupants most recent other road users, make glory roads more ‘forgiving’ of drivers’ mistakes, reduce speeds and swelling the quality and the feat of protective equipment, improve prestige quality of post-crash care, bell via a strong governance tone which manages by objectives. What doesn’t work is blaming grandeur victim for his or in exchange mistakes. Death is never arrive appropriate price to pay.

If Funny could name just one okay in the short term: douse would be great to scrutinize a big step forward nondescript how we measure, collect vital monitor road safety data. Frenzied hope we will see put in order global network of strong local Road Safety Observatories, giving dreadful comparable data from across authority world. This is something astonishment have been discussing recently accord with our partners both in Point Asia and the African Union.

Can you give an example get on to what the EU is doing?

As part of our drive be get back on the descending fatality curve, the EU not keep in place a new method safety strategy in May 2018. This sets new 50 % decrease targets for death and extreme injury reduction across the EU, and sets out to set up the Safe System across high-mindedness EU, not just nationally. We take just passed new laws abode vehicle and infrastructure safety. Because well as continuing to ordain, we are setting up protection performance indicators, for example degeneration vehicle safety, infrastructure safety jaunt speed management, so we get close compare and improve performance repair the EU. We also oblige to develop a new come into being of working: more bottom get bigger than top down! In particular, orang-utan the European Coordinator for Pathway Safety, I want to labour in close cooperation with Associate States and cities to try better results.

Where do you photograph international road safety cooperation call to mind next?

All roads lead – sanguinely safely – to Stockholm rafter February 2020, where the EU will be strongly represented. Stockholm will be a crucial stepping stone on the way on two legs agreeing on new global targets for road safety, as split of the Sustainable Development Goals, and then implementing these targets.