Connecting EU and Jordan: Let’s share experiences to save lives on Jordan’s roads

Jordan is a valued partner for us Europeans at the global, regional and bilateral levels. We in particular admire Jordan’s central role in promoting stability, moderation and interfaith tolerance in the Middle East. We recognise that this is no easy task, but your huge efforts here do not go unnoticed in Europe.

Today, our cooperation is structured around three core objectives: macroeconomic stability and sustainable and knowledge-based growth, strengthening democratic governance, the rule of law and human rights and regional stability and security, including counterterrorism. Beyond national development objectives, our cooperation strategy aims to support Jordan’s progress towards mutually agreed commitments at a regional level, including in the areas of energy, environment, climate change and transport.

A key objective of my visit to Jordan is to shine a spotlight on an aspect of transport that is particularly dear to me: road safety. The World Health Organisation estimates that 2,306 people died on Jordan’s roads in 2016. That means 2,306 lives wasted, 2,306 mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and children, multiple times that number of lives torn apart. This is without including those seriously injured on roads. This loss of life is avoidable. We must no longer allow this silent killer of our times to roam our roads, in Europe and in Jordan.

During my visit to Jordan, I hope to be able to share my political vision — based on the knowledge, good practices and policies built up in the EU — with my hosts in Jordan. And of course, I look forward to hearing about Jordan’s experiences and ideas so that we may learn from one another. I know that Jordan also takes road safety seriously.

Between 2001 and 2010, the EU managed to cut the number of road deaths by 43 per cent, and between 2010 and 2017 by another 20 per cent. The numbers are impressive, but I personally will not be happy until we have zero road traffic fatalities and serious injuries in the EU. Every life counts. This is the idea behind our Vision Zero approach to road safety.

From our experience in the EU, I would suggest that Jordan’s journey towards its own Vision Zero begins with the adoption of a “safe systems” approach. This recognises that accidents will happen, but focuses on keeping road users and pedestrians safe, offering multiple layers of protection in terms of roads and roadsides, speeds, vehicles and road use. So if one part of the system fails, other parts will still protect those involved.

I would also invite Jordan to draft a clear road safety strategy, including aspirational targets and targeted measures. The measures might include actions on vehicle and infrastructure safety. And to measure progress towards these targets, quality and comparable data are, of course, indispensable, along with the continuous monitoring of results. Without evaluation, how can you know whether you are on the right track, and adjust measures if not?

Finally, we have found that enforcing traffic rules and providing better education for road users have a major impact on road safety in the EU. We have found our annual Mobility Week and Project EDWARD (European Day Without A Road Death) to be particularly effective here.

I look forward to hearing views on the EU’s approach during my visit to Jordan. The EU’s door is, of course, always open to Jordan and any country or region in the world wishing to learn more about how we have brought down road accident fatalities in Europe. Information shared means lives saved and there can be no reward greater than that.

The writer is the EU transport commissioner. She contributed this article to The Jordan Times