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.

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

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.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in observance of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims and their Families, which was observed on Sunday, November 15, 2009, as well as to offer my heartfelt condolences to all those who have lost loved ones to road crashes.

The third Sunday in November was designated as World Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims by the United Nations earlier this decade, and in support of this effort, both the House of Representatives and Senate unanimously passed concurrent resolutions during the 110th Congress. This day allows us all to reflect upon the more than 1.3 million people worldwide who die on the world's roads each year, as well as the more than 50 million who are injured. An estimated 44,000 of those deaths occur in the United States, and the global death and injury toll is rising precipitously. At the current rate of growth, road crashes will be the fifth leading cause of death by the year 2030, rivaling the top global health epidemics.

Road crashes do not discriminate; they know no bounds of age, class, gender, race, nationality, or geography. Globally, more than 40 percent of all road traffic deaths occur among individuals under 25 years old, and crashes are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 10-25 years old. Over the next decade, this is estimated to become the leading cause of death for children 5 and older worldwide.

In some African countries, up to half of all hospital surgical beds are occupied by road crash victims, while in others the fatalities rank second only to HIV/AIDS. Here in the U.S., road crashes are the leading cause of death for Hispanics under 34 years of age. The human cost of this problem is unfathomable: 1.3 million deaths per year is the equivalent of 10 jumbo jets crashing each day.

Road crashes also come at a great cost to the global economy. It is estimated that road crashes cost $518 billion globally each year. In developing countries, road crashes have a dramatic impact on their fragile economies, costing an estimated $100 billion, often exceeding the total amount received by these countries in development assistance. Furthermore, road crashes affect first responder services, health care services, and health insurance services, as many victims require extensive, and expensive, critical care, as well as follow-up care and rehabilitation. In countries where a primary bread winner is killed or injured, or must care for the injured, this can destroy livelihoods and devastate communities.

Road crashes are predictable and can be prevented, however, and America is playing a critical, active role domestically and internationally to address this epidemic. Earlier this

year, the Congressional Caucus on Global Road Safety, which I am privileged to co-chair along with Congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana, introduced House Concurrent Resolution 74, supporting 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. This resolution also urged the Obama Administration to take a leadership role at the First Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, to be held in Moscow later this week. The House of Representatives heeded the call to action on road safety and achieved a significant step toward reversing the increase in road deaths and injuries by unanimously passing H. Con. Res. 74 on September 23 of this year.

As more Americans travel abroad and more of our college students participate in study abroad programs in developing countries, many of them will be at risk of injury or death due to hazardous road conditions. Now is the time to foster the courageous initiatives building around the world to keep our citizens and our loved ones safe, and Madam Speaker, as we commemorate World Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims this year and look forward to the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Moscow later this week, I urge my colleagues to work with the Obama Administration toward enacting meaningful policy reform, both at home and abroad.

Mr. Speaker, as a co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Global Road Safety, I, along with the other co-Chairs, introduced House Concurrent Resolution 74 earlier this year to shed light on an epidemic too few in this country or around the world comprehend: the devastating toll of deaths and injuries from road crashes.

I want to especially thank Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros- Lehtinen for their extraordinary help in bringing this resolution to the floor as well as the several colleagues who joined with me in supporting this resolution.

According to the ``World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention'' study, which was produced in conjunction with the World Health Organization and the World Bank, every year road travel causes 1.3 million deaths and 50 million injuries. This is the equivalent of 10 jumbo jets crashing every day. Sadly, many of these deaths and injuries are preventable.

The upcoming Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Moscow, which was inspired by the passing of United Nations Resolution 62/244 on March 31, 2008, is the culmination of a 5-year effort by a global community of stakeholders from multilateral and bilateral institutions, from governmental and nongovernmental organizations and from academia and civil society to raise international awareness and to call for a global response commensurate with the magnitude of the worldwide road traffic injury and fatality epidemic.

The conference will work to establish new benchmarks for best practices and road traffic injury prevention. It will encourage regional casualty reduction targets, and it will provide a new framework for international cooperation on global road safety.

Mr. Van Hollen of Maryland, Mr. Burton of Indiana, and I, as co- Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Global Road Safety, encourage the Obama administration to take a strong leadership role at this conference.

It is in this vein that I introduced this resolution which supports 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.

This resolution also urges the Obama administration and the Department of State, in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to set ambitious road traffic casualty reduction targets for American citizens traveling abroad and to work with foreign governments and with international organizations to harmonize road safety regulations and good practices.

Finally, it urges the Obama administration to take a leadership role at the first Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Moscow in late November of this year, and it urges 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 public health epidemic in the global community.

Mr. Speaker, road safety is a rapidly growing problem throughout the developed and developing worlds alike that respects no boundaries of geography, nationality, race, age, gender or socioeconomic status. Furthermore, it is a problem that uniquely spans many key areas of concern for Members of Congress and their constituents, not the least of which is the health and safety of American citizens both at home and abroad.

Therefore, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 74, which supports 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. Road safety is a critical issue not only in my district and across the country, but in countries around the world.

As the Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection, I believe that road safety is a critical component of protecting the nation. I fought for the building of infrastructure for safe roads in my district and I believe that this fight should be extended on a national and a global scale. According to the World Health Organization, WHO, the rise in both fatalities from motor vehicle deaths and subsequent costs is caused by the lack of appropriate road engineering and safety promotion in the public health sector.

My home State of Texas is afflicted by the scourge of road fatalities. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2008, there were 3,382 deaths across the state with 1,552 of those traffic fatalities occurring in urban areas such as my district in Houston, Texas. In 2007 there were 209 road deaths in Houston, Texas, killing nearly 10 people for every 100,000. According to the 2004 World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention, 40,000 people die each year in road crashes in the United States alone.

Across the globe, 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year. Another 20 to 50 million people across the globe are injured in motor vehicle accidents, often as a result of speeding. Road crashes are the number one killer of young people between the ages of 10 and 24 world- wide. Road crashes not only bring tragedy and devastation to the lives of the victims and their families, they are also extremely costly. The estimated monetary cost of motor vehicle crashes is nearly $520 billion, or roughly 3 to 5 percent of the cumulative gross domestic product of the world.

The tragedy of road accidents is not only the economic loss, pain and suffering, and loss of life but also the knowledge that road crashes can be prevented. I applaud the efforts of the Ministerial Consultative Committee, which drafted a declaration for the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Moscow to designate 2010-2020 as the ``Decade for Action on Road Safety.'' I hope that this conference will succeed in increasing the global awareness on road safety and generate meaningful action against road fatalities.

Road safety is an international effort that almost everyone can support. More than 90 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries. I believe the efforts to raise awareness for the need for road safety and strong action to help reduce motor vehicle fatalities will help our standing in those countries that need it the most. I strongly urge passage of this important Resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 74) 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, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. Road crashes are a worldwide epidemic that annually take the lives of 1.2 million people and that injure 50 million others.

While the Congress has admirably focused on the fight against infectious disease, such as HIV and AIDS and malaria, while it has improved access to clean drinking water and while it has focused on other critical global health issues, not enough attention has been paid to those whose lives have been lost in road accidents.

A road accident is the leading cause of death among young people around the world, 85 percent of which occur in low- and middle-income countries. Yet all too often, these road accidents could have been prevented by better driver and pedestrian education and by improved engineering. In many countries, safety precautions that we take for granted, such as sidewalks, guardrails and crosswalks, simply don't exist. Pedestrians cross streets at their peril, and drivers use roads without lane markings or traffic lights. With more drivers taking to the roads in developing countries, global road deaths are likely to increase in the decade to come.

The U.S. and the international community can prevent many of these accidents by promoting improved data collection techniques, by supporting collaborative efforts to reduce the risks of road crash deaths and by fostering partnerships and cooperation between governments, the private and public sectors and within civil society.

We have no excuse for not taking a more aggressive approach to preventing millions of deaths and injuries along the world's roads and highways. I urge my colleagues to join me in raising awareness of the importance of reducing global road deaths and injuries by supporting this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the sponsor of the bill, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.