Taking Action for Road Safety in Croatia

Publication date: 29 April 2011

Director General FIA Region I, Jacob Bangsgaard, with HAK representatives.

Planned activities for the launch of the UN Decade of Action on Road Safety in Croatia were the main subject for discussion when Jacob Bangsgaard, Director General FIA Region I, visited the Croatian automobile club HAK in Zagreb on 28-29 April. The goal of the decade, endorsed by 100 governments, is to reduce forecast road fatalities by 50% over the next ten years. In real terms, this would mean 5 million lives saved and 50 million injuries prevented.

Mr Bangsgaard was greeted by HAK President, Mr Ivo Bikic, HAK Secretary General, Mr Zvonko Smuk, and the Head of International Relations for the club, Ms Eva Kostevc.  HAK’s event to mark the Decade of Action will present the 2011-2020 National Road Traffic Safety Programme. The event  is organised in collaboration with the Croatian Ministry of Health and Ministry of Interior and will be launched in the Hotel Sheraton Zagreb on 11 May 2011 – the official launch date for the Decade of Action. The 2011-2020 Croatian National Road Traffic Safety Programme has for the first time become a 10-years long programme, in order to be compatible with the UN Decade of action and FIA Action for Road Safety campaign. On the same day, twelve other events to mark the launch of the Decade of Action are being held across FIA Region I in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Apart from these discussions, the meeting was also an opportunity to get an insight into the activities of HAK and to strengthen cooperation between the club and the FIA. The priorities of FIA Region I were discussed with focus being on the interests of clubs like HAK within the FIA Coordination Forum for Eastern and Central European Clubs (COFO).  Mr Bangsgaard said that exchange of best practices between clubs is very important in COFO, in particular as Croatia is a leading accession candidate state to the European Union.

More on FIA Region I activities planned for the Decade of Action can be found here and the FIA Action for Road Safety site can be accessed here.

Visiting the HAK headquater with HAK President, Mr Ivo Bikic (r)