Urgent Plea for support in Defending Road Safety in Italy

A collective plea is raised to convey the gravity of concerns and oppose the approval of the proposed Road Traffic Code reform, going in the wrong direction in terms of road safety. Everyone endorsement will not only amplify a collective voice but also underscore the international community's unwavering commitment to safeguarding pedestrian rights.

Concerns with the potential threats posed by the proposed reform are in brief:

• Lack of effective measures to prevent and reduce road fatalities and injuries, deviating from the VisionZero goal.

• Adverse impact on sustainable mobility, particularly cycling, by de-normativizing life-saving infrastructures as bike lanes, and weakening rules that protect vulnerable road users.
• Failure to address the primary causes of road violence, notably excessive speed, through severely limiting speed controls with cameras and new technologies.
• Reducing significantly municipal autonomy in terms of traffic control, mobility management, restricted traffic zones, pedestrian areas, and regulated parking, centralizing authority to the Ministry through new decrees and delegated norms.

"These aspects contradict the objectives outlined in the WHO Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 and distance us from achieving a safer road environment", says the network campaign. Italy currently stands as an anomaly in Europe with 53 road deaths per million inhabitants, a figure on the rise, compared to 26 in the United Kingdom and 36 in Spain (European Commission 2022). The alarming statistics of 3,159 fatalities in 2022, a 9% increase from 2021, along with 223,475 injuries, emphasize the urgency of effective road safety measures.

Everyone support is invaluable for stopping the new Road Traffic Code approval, and would carry significant weight to our joint efforts to protect fundamental rights.