Hot News > International Development > IDP Focus Countries >

European Road Safety Charter.

In 2008 the UKRO became a signatory to the European Road Safety Charter (ERSC), thereby displaying a commitment to raising rescue standards whilst seeking to improve road safety in the areas infrastructure.

In essence the Charter is an appeal for organisations to provide a tangible contribution towards increasing road safety in Europe. It is a forum and a platform for the signatories to exchange experiences and new ideas, across national borders, in their efforts towards greater safety on European roads. It also provides a clear indication of the responsibility that all stakeholders assume in order to achieve the common goal of halving the number of traffic fatalities by the year 2010, (baseline figure of 2001) thereby saving 25,000 lives.

United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) is committed to improving rescue standards and promoting educational initiatives aimed at reducing the numbers of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions within Europe and internationally.

Through the International Development Programme (IDP), which was developed by UKRO and is delivered under the auspices of the World Rescue Organisation (WRO), we seek to enhance rescue and medical provision whilst operating in the pre-hospital environment.

It is recognised that the advances the WRO and its regional members have made, through the development of a recognised industry Standard, provide an invaluable system that is able to offer opportunities to areas of the world that wish to develop their rescue and emergency medical capabilities for dealing with the aftermath of road traffic collisions.

‘THE CHALLENGE TO PREVENT ROAD DEATH & INJURY DOES NOT END WITH THE COLLISION’

Actions placed by the UKRO in order to become a signitory are

Area: Reduce the occurrences of death and injury through further development of effective rescue and medical interventions in Spain.

Goal: Establish a Spanish national rescue organisation and rescue challenge concept

Action: Establish a liaison officer, assist in the development of Spanish organisation (APRAT), train assessors, set defined timeline, monitor progress.

Status: Acheived


Area: Reduce the occurrences of death and injury through further development of effective rescue and medical interventions in Poland.

Goal: Develop a ‘train the trainer’ system for Road Traffic Collisions in Poland and establish a national rescue organisation and the rescue challenge concept.

Action: Appoint a project manager, analyse existing system, make recommendations, programme training, monitor progress, develop national rescue organisation.

Status: Commenced


Area: Reduce the occurrences of death and injury through further development of effective rescue and medical interventions in the Republic of Ireland.

Goal: Establish a national rescue organisation and rescue challenge concept throughout the Republic of Ireland.

Action: Establish a liaison officer, develop a Republic of Ireland national organisation, train assessors, set defined timeline, monitor progress.

Status: Commenced


Area: Reduce the occurrences of death and injury through further development of effective rescue and medical interventions in Hungary.

Goal: Develop a ‘train the trainer’ system for Road Traffic Collisions in Hungary and establish a national rescue organisation and the rescue challenge concept.

Action: Analyse existing system, make recommendations, appoint a project manager/liaison officer, programme training, monitor progress, develop national rescue organisation.

Status: Commenced


For an update on the progress of the above projects contact the project managers for each country (see IDP Focus Country section) or contact Cameron Black, Head of IDP.

Next steps

To build on this commitment, UKRO and CFOA wish to encourage all FRSs that participate in the 2009 UK National Challenge to apply to become a signatory to the Charter, as it is our intention to have a Senior Officer from each Service attend a `mass signing` in Glasgow at some point during the event programme.

If you feel that your Service could participate in this initiative, further information can be found at: www.erscharter.eu and by contacting either Daniel Jacobs (European Road Safety Charter) at daniel.jacobs@paueducation.com (tel: 0034933670434), or Gordon Latimer (United Kingdom Rescue Organisation) at glatimer@ukro.org (tel: 02892664221)