Organization aims for global standards for fleet safety technologies

New York — The drive is on to unify fleet safety standards worldwide.

Nongovernmental organization Together for Safer Roads recently launched its Fleet Trucking Global Safety Standards Initiative, an endeavor that seeks to “establish industry standards for fundamental safety instruments” and technologies – “directly contributing to safer roads for all.” 

Those instruments and technologies include telematics, automatic braking, airbags, side-curtain airbags, side-view mirrors and seat belts.

“Fleet safety experts report that despite the ubiquity of these safety instruments, fleet operators lack a unifying standard to inform the purchase of the ‘right’ vehicle safety instrument for both new vehicles and the retrofitting of existing ones,” TSR says. “Those standards that do exist are either often inaccessible or not useful to guide purchasing and operations decisions.”

TSR, which views the initiative as “a transformative opportunity to promote change,” unveiled it ahead of the seventh annual United Nations Global Road Safety Week. A project of the UN in collaboration with partners including the World Health Organization, the event is set for May 15-21 and is part of a goal to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by half by 2030.

“The new Fleet Trucking Global Safety Standards Initiative aligns directly with the UN’s Vision Zero goals and should be supported by fleet truck operators around the world,” TSR board member Richard Kent said in a May 8 press release. “We invite businesses, governments and organizations around the world to join us in this important work.”