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The major personalities of Europe, USA and Australia within the field of road safety deposited their views in front of an audience of over 600 participants between which there were representatives of the Swedish Government and deputies of all parties represented in the Parliament.

Central speaker and honored person of the Conference was Vassiliki Danelli-Mylonas, the President of Road Safety Institute (RSI) “Panos Mylonas” who was invited to present the initiative and social offer of RSI in the prevention of road accidents.

There were extended comments on the event from the Swedish Press while favorable references were made on the struggle of the Greek mother, President of the Institute, who, in memory of Panos Mylonas, her unduly gone child, turns the grief of the pain into an initiative which has made an impression and has the support and acceptance of major personalities, scientists and Organizations within the field of road safety.

During the Conference, the Tylösand Declaration which lays down principal rights of citizen’s road traffic safety was adopted and ratified. These rights serve to protect the citizen from the loss of life and health caused by road traffic and they rest on the general assumption that no road user wishes to harm either himself or herself or any other fellow human being, whatever the circumstances under which they are using the roads.

This year, 50 years are completed from the first organization of MHF (Swedish Abstaining Motorists’ Association, http://www.mhf.se/) for road safety in Tylösand, 10 years from the moment when the Swedish Government and Parliament adopted the “Vision Zero” in road safety aiming at 0 road accidents and 40 years from the institution of driving οn the right lane of circulation.

2007 is also the year that the Swedish Road Administration has put as an aim not to surpass the number of 270 road accidents in his effort to harmonize with the “Vision Zero”.

A comparison of the level of Sweden in road safety with that of other countries brings Sweden at the top with a 24% reduction in road deaths since 2001. Seat belt use in Sweden in the front seat of cars and vans was at 92% in 2005 while in France, Germany and Malta exceeds 95% today.

However, Sweden has not made the same progress on drink driving when numbers of drivers killed in traffic crashes with a positive BAC over the last years have remained high.

Major reductions in driving speed have been reported in countries such as France and Belgium. In Switzerland and the UK reductions of 3% to 11% in mean speed have been recorded, depending on the road type.

“Any ambitious road safety effort must encompass action in three areas – the roads, the vehicles and the drivers. While the drivers cannot be solely held responsible, they cannot be let off the hook entirely. They too must deliver their contribution to a safer road transport system. Europe has much to learn from Sweden on how to improve road safety. It is time that the country also takes the lead on improving driver behaviour”, said Jörg Beckmann, ETSC Executive Director (http://www.etsc.be/documents/PIN%20_Report.pdf).

Sweden however aims at further improvements. As Ingemar Skogö said, Director General of Swedish Road Administration (Swedish Road Administration, Vagverket. www.vv.se) “Making comparisons between countries is a powerful way to learn and stimulate progress. While we are pleased with the progress in many areas of traffic safety, we are deeply worried about our situation regarding drink driving. We are also slightly embarrassed to be one of the leading countries in the world in traffic safety, but at the same time so poor in speed management. We are now applying many of the methods that have been successful in other countries”.

“All research shows that human behaviour is important for road safety. Sweden needs to focus even more on human behaviour and continue our work to improve road safety”, said Urban Karlström, Director General of The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute.

For information please contact:

RSI “Panos Mylonas”: tel.: +30 210 8620150 and +30 6977207756, info@ioas.gr, danelliv@otenet.gr, http://www.ioas.gr

For more information please contact:

ETSC – Mrs Franziska Achterberg franziska.acheterberg@etsc.be or +32 498362403

Vagverket, SRA Swedish Road Administration

Professor Claes Tingvall, Director of Traffic Safety, SRA, claes.tingvall@vv.se

Mr Thomas Andersson, Thomas.andersson@vv.se  +46 (0) 771 119 119, www.vv.se