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ISO FocusThe Magazine of the International Organization for Standardization

• Global Road Safety Forum charts the course ahead

• ISO/IEC 27000 series secures eVoting system

Volume 6, No. 9 October 2009

ISSN 1729-8709

ISO Focus is published 11 times a year (single issue : July-August). It is available in English.

Annual subscription 158 Swiss Francs Individual copies 16 Swiss Francs

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ISSN 1729-8709Printed in Switzerland

Cover photo : iStock. Montage ISO

Contents1 Comment Claes Tingvall, Chair of ISO/PC 241, Road

traffic safety management system, ISO paves the road to traffic safety management systems

2 World Scene Highlights of events from around the world

3 ISO SceneHighlights of news and developments from ISO members

4 Guest ViewDr. Mark Rosenberg, Director, Global Road Safety Forum

8 Main FocusTaking action on road •safetyWHO’s role in preventing •road traffic injuriesRules of the road – Clear, •compulsory and crucialZero deaths, zero injuries•Championing safe, clean •and affordable transportBuilding the world’s safest •roadsOne-stop-shop for a smooth •rideAn ISO standard for road •traffic safety managementThe world’s best dummy•Spotting the fake – A new •kind of driving licenceIntelligent solutions – •Next generation warning and control systemsUncovering eCall’s potential – the European experience•

38 Developments and InitiativesThe State of Geneva designs a secure Internet voting system • New fan standard for energy efficiency • Graphic arts standardization development forum draws impressive turnout in China • Future ISO 26000 on social responsibility published as Draft International Standard

47 New on the shelfISO 9000 quality management • ISO shines new light on sun protection methods • ISO standard to ensure safe operation of hedge trimmers

49 Coming upISO Focus October 2009

On the road to safety

ISO Focus 2009 10.indd 1 06.10.2009 15:44:47

© ISO Focus, www.iso.org/isofocus

Comment

A “ human catastrophe ” is the description often made of the global traffic safety situation,

with more than one million fatalities each year.

The World Health Organiza-tion (WHO) projects that by 2030, the fifth most common reason for loss of health will be an injury generated within the road transport system. This forecast is not only catastrophic, but also tragic since most of these deaths can be avoided or, at the very least, dramatically decreased. Unfortunate-ly, there is not enough being done to apply existing knowledge and man-age the actions taken. What’s more, too much is either blamed on the indi-vidual, or on the ineffective measures used. This inaction or lack of know-ledge can and must be changed.

While in the past traffic safety has been considered a matter between a country and its citizens, we now understand that there is another level of engagement in all societies. Today, the transport industry, together with the automotive industry and a number of others, are collaborating within their organizations or between their organ-izations and their stakeholders. They are cooperating on transferring knowl-edge, and bringing together evidence-based strategies and countermeasures that will improve their market situa-tion, increase safety at work, reduce costs, etc.

ISO’s endeavour to develop a management system for all those stake-holders that use the road transport sys-tem, or that have a major impact on the safety of road transport systems, is a landmark initiative. By bringing togeth-er all the common knowledge that has been developed over the years, ISO’s management system for road traffic safety is the answer to reducing inju-ries and deaths on our roads.

The future ISO 39001 will also help to improve the migration proc-ess of traffic safety technology into our vehicles. New vehicles across the world, for example, will be equipped with advanced safety systems to sup-port the user to take the right action, and if needed, to control the vehicle in critical situations. This migration process, which is the strongest trend in traffic safety, will be market driv-en and will spread quickly around the world. This is expected to signif-icantly reduce the number of crashes and injuries.

The importance of the new man-agement standard cannot be overesti-mated. It will have a modern view on what we should be doing, that is, to eliminate health losses on the road. What’s more, it will serve as a tool to avoid ineffective solutions and to con-centrate on the most important issues to improve safety. It’s a milestone in the history of traffic safety and will enable thousands and potentially millions of organizations to secure their activities in the road transport system.

Some 30 countries worldwide are involved in the development of the standard, and a number of liai-son organizations including WHO, the World Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), the Organisation for Eco-nomic Co-operation and Develop-ment (OECD)/International Trans-port Forum (ITF) and the Global Road Safety (GRSF).

Some of these organizations share their aspirations in this edi-

tion of ISO Focus for the future ISO 39001, including why they are partic-ipating in its development. If we can achieve the same success with ISO 39001 as we have with, for example ISO 14001, we can look forward to a major breakthrough of traffic safety across the world.

While actions taken on the country level will have a major impact on the development of traffic safety, swathes of organizations will play a growing role to diminish a major pub-lic health problem across the world. Once again, ISO will be the meeting point for such a process.

I encourage you all to come on-board – your participation will ensure that all interests are well represented.

ISO paves the road to traffic safety management systems

“ We can look forward to a major breakthrough of traffic safety across

the world.”

Claes Tingvall

Chair of ISO/PC 241, Road traffic safety management system

ISO Focus October 2009 1


World SceneWorld Scenelet me know what your expecta-tions are. What should ISO be doing then ? This consultation is a valuable opportunity to have a say in shaping ISO’s future”.

Long standing cooperation for accreditationThe long cooperation between the International Accredita-tion Forum (IAF), the Interna-tional Laboratory Accredita-tion Cooperation (ILAC) and ISO was reiterated at their 10th joint working group meeting in London, United Kingdom, in June 2009.

The organizations agreed to review the IAF-ISO action plan for monitoring and advancing the effectiveness of accredited management sys-tems certification, so that it continues to improve credibil-ity, and to ensure that identi-fied actions are implemented.

The plan recognizes that IAF and ILAC have a need to develop mandatory documents to implement their multilater-al agreements, but where these contain requirements applicable to the clients of an accreditation body, they should be incorporated into the ISO/IEC conformity assessment International Standards.

The three organizations, together with the ISO technical committees on quality man-agement (ISO/TC 176) and environmental management (ISO/TC 207) have finalized two documents on the expected outcomes for accredited certification to ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environment).

The two documents are aimed primarily at manage-ment systems auditors, and clarify what can be realistically expected from an organization that has been certified to these management system standards. Another document aimed at the general public will be published at a later date.

Europe’s global approach to standardizationThe policy direction of Euro-pean standardization, and other key decisions, were the outcome of the 35th General Assembly of the European Committee for Standardiza-tion (CEN), the 5th joint Annual Meeting of CEN and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardiza-tion (CENELEC), and the 49th CENELEC General Assembly. The events, held in Madrid, Spain from 29 June to 2 July 2009, were hosted by AENOR, ISO member for Spain.

At the CEN General Assembly, ISO Vice-President Jacob Holmblad spoke about the Vienna Agreement, where the formal structure of the techni-cal cooperation between ISO and CEN is laid out, and highlighted the importance of this collaboration. “ The turn of the decade [when the

Strengthening collaboration within Euro-Asian countriesCooperation within Euro Asian countries was the objective of the 35th meeting of the the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC), an intergovernmental body of the Commonwealth of Independ-ence States (CIS). The event was held in Minsk, Belarus, in June 2009 (photo above).

Presentations addressed EASC work on harmonization of technical regulations and interstate standardization, metrology, conformity assess-ment and accreditation.

ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele highlighted ISO’s achievements, and noted the increasing participation of EASC members in ISO’s work and governance. “ The combined efforts of the ISO team contribute to the gross domestic product of countries, reduce suffering, and provide practical tools to address the major challenges facing the global community,” he emphasized.

At the meeting, EASC mem-bers adopted 66 interstate stand-ards harmonized with Interna-tional and European standards, accounting for a harmonization level of over 50 %.

In the context of the global economic crisis, the members reiterated their commitment to halting the proliferation of barriers to trade, and decided to concentrate forces in devel-oping standards on, for exam-ple, energy efficiency, energy saving and energy resources.

Mrs. Larysa Losyuk, Head of the State Committee of Ukraine on technical regula-tion and consumer policy, ISO member for the country, was elected Chair of EASC.

WTO workshop on environment-related private standardsThe Committee on Trade and Environment of the World Trade Organization (WTO/CTE) held a one-day workshop in Geneva, Switzerland, to deepen the knowledge and understanding of recent devel-opments taking place in the pri-vate sector in the fields of envi-ronmental standards, as well as certification and labelling.

The workshop brought attend-ees deeper into the proliferation and possible harmonization of these private standards, trans-parency in the standard devel-opment processes, environmen-tal impact and effectiveness of these standards, as well as capacity building in this field.

Information was provided on a variety of schemes in various sectors, including their envi-ronmental and sustainable development objectives, stand-ard development processes, conformity assessment proce-dures, stakeholders involved, market access opportunities and challenges faced, in partic-ular by producers and export-ers in developing countries.

ISO Deputy Secretary-General Kevin McKinley highlighted principles according to which ISO standards are developed, including transparency and con-sensus. He also explained ISO’s commitment to enhance the participation of developing countries in international stand-ardization work and related activities, as well as to improve their standardization infrastruc-tures and capacities.

Participants from Geneva-based delegations attended the one-day workshop, which was held back-to-back with the meeting of the WTO/CTE.

For more information, see : www.wto.org

agreement will reach its 10-year milestone] offers a natural opportunity for con-sidering to re-vitalize and upgrade the Vienna Agree-ment,” he concluded.

Also present at the event, ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele welcomed the contribution to international standardization of CEN members – who together represent about 19 % of ISO’s membership.

Mr. Steele urged members to participate in the ISO Strategic Plan 2011-2015 consultation. “ Imagine 2016 ” he said, “ and

From left: CEN President Juan Carlos López Agüí with ISO Vice-President Jacob Holmblad.

2 ISO Focus October 2009


ISO SceneCreated in 1975, REMCO aims to carry out and encour-age a broad international effort for the harmonization and promotion of reference materials, their production and applications. Today, ISO/REMCO has 33 participating member countries, with another 37 as observers and 18 international organizations in liaison.

ISO at the International Ergonomics CongressISO technical committee ISO/TC 159, Ergonomics, made a strong showing at the 17th Congress of the Interna-tional Ergonomics Association (IEA), in Beijing, China, in August 2009.

Presentations on ISO Interna-tional Standards were made by representatives of ISO/TC 159, which also held open sessions during the event. A brochure detailing the work of the TC and promoting ISO standards for ergonomics was distributed at the congress and presented at its official opening.

Also known as human factors, ergonomics is a multi-disci-plinary science that focuses on the needs of the human in the design of products, work processes and technology systems.

The congress provided an opportunity to reinforce ties between ISO and the IEA, one of the many international organizations in liaison with ISO/TC 159. Progress was made, among other items, on developing the IEA’s flagship project, Ergonomics QUality In Design (EQUID) as an International Standard.

Following the congress, ISO/TC 159 held its annual plena-ry meeting, which was hosted by the China National Insti-tute of Standardization.

Building awareness for reference materialsBuilding awareness was a main subject of the recently held meeting of the ISO Committee on reference materials (ISO/REMCO). Over 40 committee delegates and representatives from organizations in liaison attended the July 2009 meeting in Teddington, United Kingdom.

Conformity assessment for tradeSome 180 professionals from industry, government, trade regulators, standardization officials, conformity assess-ment providers (laboratories, inspection and certification bodies) and other interested stakeholders attended a three-day workshop in June 2009, in Accra, Ghana (photo above).

The aim was to raise aware-ness of the “ CASCO toolbox ”, and the role of conformity assessment in trade facilitation. Emphasis was placed on the requirements and advantages of implementing standards for laboratories (ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 15189) and certifica-tion and inspection bodies (ISO/IEC 17021, ISO/IEC Guide 65 and ISO/IEC 17020).

The workshop was officially opened by Ghana’s Ministry of Trade and Industry Director of Standards, J.C.T Armah, and GSB Executive Director, and ISO/DEVCO Chair Adu G. Darkwa.

ISO, in collaboration with the Ghana Standards Board, the ISO member for the country, organized the workshop, within the framework of the ISO Action Plan for Develop-ing Countries 2005-2010.

For more information, contact : [email protected]

Updates on terminologyISO technical committee ISO/TC 37 held its 42nd plenary meeting in August 2009, in Bogotá, Colombia. The ISO/TC 37 plenary was hosted by the Instituto Colombiano de Normas Técnicas y Certifi-cación (ICONTEC), ISO member for Colombia, which provided excellent and well-equipped facilities in a warm and hospitable atmosphere.

The technical committee is in the process of publishing a number of new key docu-ments. A new version of ISO 704, Terminology work – Principles and methods, has been completed and will be published later this year. Another standard, ISO 12620, which provides a methodology for the description of basic data categories for linguistic applications, is close to publi-cations, and a Web-accessible database (www.isocat.org) is in operation to support the development and storage of the data categories.

A number of important deci-sions were taken to improve awareness of the committee’s work, including a brochure detailing its objectives, publi-cations, membership, and the international organizations in liaison with REMCO.

“ We look forward to the com-mittee growing significantly,” said ISO/REMCO Chair Professor Hendrik Emons. “ Its impact will be more rele-vant than ever in the coming years.”

Among the meeting’s high-lights was an update of REM-CO’s work programme, which includes the revised Guide 34 for competence requirements of reference material produc-ers, used as the worldwide reference for their accredita-tion. In addition to the revi-sion of existing guides, the development of a new guide for quality control materials (ISO Guide 80) and a guid-ance document for the pro-duction of reference materials for “ qualitative analysis ” were also discussed.

Christian Galinski, far right, who is now the twinned Secretary with Zhou Changqing, far left, together with Havard Hjulstadt, second from left, and his successor, Kara Warburton (Canada), the new Chair of ISO/TC 37 starting Janu-ary 2010.

Other new standards of ISO/TC 37 relate to requirements for terminology management systems (ISO 26162). Work is also progressing on several standards related to transla-tion and interpretation servi-ces, as well as on principles for the mark-up of texts in order to facilitate computer-assisted processing of large text collections. Last, but not least, content interoperability related to ontologies is being addressed as a topic for the future.

This was the first plenary hosted under the new ISO/ TC 37 secretariat, now held by China.

Informationon REMCO

ISO Committee

on reference

materials

International

Organization for

Standardization



Guest View

Mark L. Rosenberg

Dr. Mark Rosenberg is Director of the Global Road Safety Forum, a programme of the Task Force

for Global Health. He also serves as President and CEO of the Task Force, a non-profit public health organiza-tion working to build coalitions to pro-mote global health and human develop-ment. Prior to leading the Task Force, Dr. Rosenberg served 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention (CDC), including early work in smallpox eradication, enteric diseases, and HIV/AIDS. He was instrumental in establishing CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) and became the first permanent director in 1994, serving as Director and Assist-ant Surgeon General until 1999. Dr. Rosenberg has done research and consulted widely – with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Bank – on effective collaboration in global health, and is the lead author of Real Collab-oration : What Global Health Needs to Succeed (2009). Dr. Rosenberg is a member of the Institute of Medicine, where he served seven years on the Board on Global Health. He was also co-editor-in-chief of the Internation-al Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion.

Dr. Rosenberg was educated at Harvard University, where he received his under-graduate degree as well as degrees in public policy and medicine. He com-pleted a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in infectious diseas-es at Massachusetts General Hospital, a residency in psychiatry at the Boston Beth Israel Hospital, and a residency in preventive medicine at the CDC.

“ Road traffic deaths are both predictable and

preventable. For this reason, we should no longer call

them accidents.”

the United Nations (UN) and helped to organize two sessions of the UN General Assembly focusing on this issue.

In 2008, the UN General Assem-bly passed a historic resolution calling for the first ever global ministerial confer-ence on road safety in Moscow, Russia, in November 2009. GRSF also worked to help Latin American and Caribbean countries to collaborate to stop this epi-demic, and has brought together stake-holders in the region for three Stake-holders Forums on Road Safety.

GRSF also works to build capacity for road safety at the country level, and is working to improve the safety of children on the roads of Uruguay, and explore ways to help build the technical and manageri-al capacity of developing country govern-ments’ lead agency for road safety.

From its inception, the GRSF aims to generate widespread demand for road safety, build political will, and mobi-

lize the resources needed to respond to the global epidemic of road traffic injuries and deaths. It does this through building coali-tions, working closely with the UN General Assembly, WHO, UNICEF, UN Development Programme, the World Bank, foundations, non-government agencies, and the private sector. In 2008, the GRSF decided to focus more on regional- and national-level coali-tions and let the UN Road Safety Collabo-ration (UNRSC) take the lead in organizing road safety forums at the global level.

The UNRSC has undertaken several initiatives, including developing a series of manuals on good practice ; creating a web-based database on road safety legislation; completing and updating a series of res-olutions on road traffic signs and signals adapted in the European region ; follow-ing-up on regional stakeholder meetings ; and establishing of an annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

ISO Focus : What are the objectives of the Global Road Safety Forum ?

Dr. Rosenberg : The Global Road Safe-ty Forum (GRSF) is a programme of the Task Force for Global Health, a non-gov-ernment organization located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. With the ultimate goal of saving lives and turning around an epi-demic that threatens to kill 75 million people by 2050, the GRSF has worked in the role of advocate, facilitator, and con-vener of global and regional partnerships and forums on road safety. GRSF helped to bring road safety to the attention of



will inevitably increase as a country becomes more and more motorized. In fact, we know that this is not true. For this reason, we try never to use the word “ accident ” because accident implies that a collision or injury was completely unpredictable, and if it is not predictable then it is not prevent-able so why even try to prevent these injuries and deaths ?

ISO Focus : Over 90 % of the deaths in road accidents occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which are also hardest hit by the financial pressure result-ing from road traffic crashes. To what extent does enacting and enforcing appropriate legislation contribute to decreasing the con-siderable economic and social costs caused by road traffic crash-es ? What is your opinion on this, in terms of both developing and devel-oped countries ? Can you please comment on the benefits of Interna-tional Standards ?

Dr. Rosenberg : Our biggest threat in road safety is not from people who speed, not from people who drive drunk, and not from pedestrians who are not careful where they are going. Our biggest threat is from fatalism, the sense that nothing can be done to pre-vent road traffic deaths and injuries, the sense that these are just a part of life that

Photo by Jan Golinksi, UNFCCC

“ 90 % of the fatalities are in poor and middle

income nations.”

When residents of Nairobi’s huge slum, Kibera, leave the slum for work in the city

they must cross multiple lane highways with no provisions for safe pedestrian crossing.

We believe that road traffic deaths are both predictable and pre-ventable. For this reason, we should no longer call them accidents. To emphasize that point, we developed a fine system for getting rid of the word accident : whenever someone uses it, we fine them a dollar. It used to be just

25 cents but the cost has gone up.

But this fine system alone won’t bring about the changes that we need. It

A woman getting ready to run across the highway with a baby strapped to her back. There are no provisions for pedestrians to cross.



has been demonstrated many times over that the right policies and legislation, if rigorously enacted and enforced over a sustained period, can prevent road traffic injuries. Enforcement of speed limits and rules against drinking and driving, enforcement of helmet and seat belt laws, and policies for safe roadway construc-tion all have helped to reduce the social and economic costs of road traffic crashes and injuries. This has been demonstrated in both developed and developing countries.

First, it primarily affects devel-oping countries – 90 % of the fatalities are in poor and middle income nations. What happens in these places happens out of the sight of the developed coun-tries. In addition, the developed coun-tries are actually doing better and better in terms of reducing road traffic injuries and deaths, and when this happens the people in these countries tend to forget about this problem.

Second, road traffic injuries hap-pen one or two at a time, thus not draw-ing the kind of attention that would be given to the crash of a jumbo jet with 300 people on board – even in a country like India where there may be as many as 700 deaths per day – equivalent to two jumbo jets.

Third, we have inadequate metric systems to accurately quantify the prob-lem; estimates in many countries are as much as ten times too low. The lack of reliable metrics also hampers our abil-ity to demonstrate the effectiveness of our interventions.

Fourth, in many developing coun-tries the majority of the victims are fre-quently vulnerable road users, very often those too poor to have cars, and bilat-eral aid agencies and governments cur-rently do not take the needs of the urban poor into account in their infrastructure development strategies ; instead they are focused on improving motorized trans-port and often ignore the impact of new roads on the vulnerable road users. Their approach to building roads assumes the majority of road users are using motor-ized transport.

In Kenya, where we have been looking at this problem in more detail, the majority of road traffic victims are pedestrians and users of non-motorized transport, the urban poor looking for and

going to and from their work. The lack of attention paid to their needs not only results in needless deaths and injuries but also in a vicious circle of poverty where the costs are borne by families of the victims who are most frequently the family’s wage earner.

Fifth, we are fatalistic and have become anesthetized, thinking that there is nothing that can be done, that road traf-fic incidents are just “ accidents,” just a part of development – the price of mobil-ity we all must bear.

Guest View

Photo by Jan Golinksi, UNFCCC

One of the most dramatic and impressive demonstrations of this has been the impact of Sweden’sVision Zero. It has demonstrated that a concerted effort that addresses the whole road safety sys-tem can both predict and prevent road traffic crashes.

About 35 years ago, there were 137 children killed on the roads in Swe-den ; four years ago there were 11; three years ago there was one. The important question for us is how do we describe the types of policies and standards, the kind of system management that brought this about. If we could translate these into a set of International Standards that could be used by developing and developed coun-tries alike, they could avoid having to re-invent the wheel and save many lives.

ISO Focus : By 2015, road crashes will be the leading cause of death for children aged 5-14 in the developing world. What are some of today’s major obstacles towards road safety becom-ing a mainstream development issue ? What role could ISO standards play in overcoming some of these obstacles ?

Dr. Rosenberg : There are a number of rea-sons why road safety does not get onto the agenda of most development agencies.

First UN Stakeholders Global Road Safety Forum at the UN, New York City, April 2004.

“ We must take all road users into account, pedestrians, as well as drivers, poor as

well as rich.”

Sixth, the issue of safety falls through the cracks and no one ministry takes ownership of road safety. Most peo-ple assume that road safety “ belongs ” to the ministry of transport, but the priority for the ministry of transport is usually road construction and their goal is to move more goods and vehicles farther and faster. They are usually busy with this and don’t have time for safety. When a transport ministry does pay attention to safety it is usually air safety, or railroad safety, or maritime safety – areas where governments often perceive a collective governmental responsibility ; not road safety where the responsibility for safety is usually put onto individual drivers and road users. Sometimes when a min-istry of transport does have responsibility for road safety, it is limited to developing policies, not enforcing them.

Ministries of roads usually focus on building more roads or repairing damaged roads, not building safe roads or upgrad-ing old roads to make them safer. Police pay more attention to catching criminals and preventing violence than to catching traffic violators. And ministries of health these days have their hands full taking care of the infectious diseases – includ-ing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malar-ia – that have traditionally been the main

Front cover of the Global Road Safety Forum Report from the First UN General Assembly meeting on the global road safety crisis and the First UN Global Road Safety Stakeholders’ Forum.



focus of public health ; they don’t have time to take on a problem that, initially at least, seems to be under the control of other ministries.

Seventh, and finally, all of these obstacles have an effect on politicians – always faced with many competing pri-orities – that keeps them from seeing the road safety issue as an issue they want to commit to and lead. Without politi-cal will, the issue does not rise high on the development agenda.

ISO standards that are backed by data and evidence can help to overcome every one of these obstacles. Coming with evi-dence of effectiveness, they can help bring attention to the problem as a solvable prob-lem, with solutions that can work in devel-oping as well as developed nations.

International Standards suggest that the collection and analysis of road safety data are an integral part of any road safety system, and that even if they occur one or two at a time, we know how to and must track these events ; and we must do this accurately if we want to be able to improve our systems.

International Standards make it clear that we must take all road users into account pedestrians, as well as drivers, poor as well as rich. Standards, and the results that they have helped to achieve in countries like Sweden, show that they can be incredibly effective.

What could be stronger proof that road traffic deaths don’t have to happen than the accomplishments of Vision Zero ? To translate the developments that made Vision Zero a reality into a set of stand-ards is to put into everyone’s hands the tools and knowledge to guarantee that road traffic deaths can be prevented. If ISO

The future ISO 39001 can make it more likely that a country can develop the management capacity it needs. It will be important, however, to go beyond just writing the standard and really provide support for its implementation.

ISO Focus : How do you perceive ISO’s efforts to develop specific stand-ards such as crash test dummies, air bags, motorcycle safety, tyre and rim performance, and driver licenses, just to name a few, that may contribute to improving road safety ?

Dr. Rosenberg : It is important to look at all components of the system as a whole, because every part matters. For example, Uruguay recently passed a national law requiring seat belts for all passengers in all cars. But when we looked at the stock of cars, a majority of both old and new cars did not have the appropriate hard-ware for safely installing seat belts.

So the legislation by itself would have been ineffective ; or worse, it might have led to installation of two-point restraints in the rear seats which might have actually increased the risk of serious injury to child passengers. This is a point that Claes Tingvall makes over and over : all parts of the system contribute to the outcomes we want so the standards must address all parts of the system (see Com-ment by Claes Tingvall on page 1).

ISO Focus : What new International Standards would the Forum like to see coming out of ISO ? Are there areas for which you would like to see more or dif-ferent standards ?

Dr. Rosenberg : The Global Road Safety Forum emphasizes the value of looking at the conditions that make our roads unsafe for pedestrians as well as motorists. Pedes-trians and vulnerable road users make up a majority of the road traffic injury victims, but most infrastructure design is based on the needs of the motorists and doesn’t take the safety of pedestrians into account. There are frequently no provisions made to allow pedestrians and non-motorized traffic to cross dual or multi-lane roadways, and no barriers to keep mini-buses off pedestrian pathways or sidewalks. It would be nice to see ISO standards for these conditions.

standards can help to lay out the roles and responsibilities of each ministry or sector for road safety, they can help to draw on the potential contributions of each min-istry, rather than leaving this issue where it might never become a priority.

Finally, a set of International Standards speaks to politicians because it gives them a clear target, a clear ration-ale, and a proven-effective way of reach-ing that target. This is what will make them stand up and take notice.

ISO Focus : What is your view on how ISO project committee ISO/PC 241, which is charged with developing a road traffic safety management sys-tem (ISO 39001), can contribute to halting and reversing the current glo-bal trend of increasing road traffic deaths and injuries?

Dr. Rosenberg : If the future ISO 39001 provides guidance on developing, nur-turing, and sustaining a management system for road traffic safety, it will go a very long way to stopping the current epidemic of road traffic deaths, an epi-demic that is out of control and quickly getting worse in developing countries.

The lack of management capaci-ty is probably the single most important missing ingredient in road safety in low- and middle-income countries. Countries often know what they ought to do, but don’t have the capacity to do it. The lead agency that is so often highlighted as an important component of road safety is really a metaphor for management capac-ity, the critical link for successful imple-mentation or for the effective delivery of effective road safety measures.

The 1st Latin America and Caribbean Stakeholders’ Forum on Global Road Safety held in San José, from left , Karla Gonzalez, Costa Rican Minister of Transport ; Oscar Arias Sánchez, President of Costa Rica ; and Mark Rosenberg, Director of Global Road Safety Forum.



Main Focus





Taking action on road safety

by François Abram, former Technical Programme Manager, ISO Central Secretariat

S ince the alarm sounded by His Excellency Fuad Mubarak Al-Hinai, Permanent representative of the

sultanate of Oman to the United Nations, at the April 2004 UN General Assembly and repeated by Mr. Kofi A. Annan, the then Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), road safety has come to the top of the international agenda.

The World Health Organization was entrusted by the UN with leading the campaign against road traffic crashes – and thus reduce the number of people killed and injured in road-traffic crashes all other the world. Several international governmental organizations, such as the World Bank, and non-governmental organizations, including ISO, joined forces to tackle this ambitious, difficult and complex task, which is nonetheless necessary and urgent.

About the author

François Abram served as Technical Programme Manager at ISO Central Secre-tariat for almost 40 years. Dur-ing his profes-sional carreer at ISO, he was in

charge of the transport sector, including road vehicles, aerospace, shipping, freight containers, and ensured close liaison with many international organi-zations. From 2004, he represented ISO in the UNRSC contributing to the devel-opment of ISO activities in the road safety area. Mr. Abram, who was an active contributor of ISO Focus, provid-ed valuable support to the realization of this ISO Focus issue. Mr. Abram sends his warmest thanks to all.

First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety

On 19-20 November 2009, the Government of the Russian Federation will host the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety. The Ministerial Conference – requested by the UN General Assembly – represents a historic opportunity to make progress on addressing an important public health problem. The Ministerial Conference is expected to convene as many as 1 000 participants including Ministers of Health, Transport, Education, Foreign Affairs and others ; representatives of United Nations agencies; leaders from non-governmental and civil society organizations ; representatives from private companies ; and many other of the world’s leading road safety experts.

The objectives of the Ministerial Conference are to : • Draw attention to the need for action to address the large and growing

global impact of road traffic crashes, in particular in low- and middle- income countries

• Review progress on implementation of the “World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention” and the UN General Assembly resolutions

• Provide a high-level global multisectoral policy platform to share information and good practices on road safety

• Propose a number of actions for the future, including a discussion of the resources needed to fulfill these actions.

The programme will feature statements from dignitaries, plenary presentations on best practices and panel discussions on a wide range of road safety related topics. A road safety exhibit will also be held in conjunction with the Ministerial Conference. It is hoped that the outcomes of the Ministerial Conference will feed into preparations for a Decade of Action on Road Safety which may be decided upon by the UN General Assembly in 2010.

A number of international initia-tives have proved successful, among them the 2nd UN Stakeholders Global Road Safety Forum 1) and a UN special session 2). Road safety campaigns have been organized in many regions and countries worldwide. And the UN Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC), with some 60 organizations including ISO, has already met 10 times in various part of the world.

Despite the efforts made, road crashes account for 1.3 million fatali-ties each year. The number of people killed is on the increase particularly in

low- and middle-income countries. It is crucial that governments commit to implementing a series of specific and attainable actions, including the setting of ambitious road casualty reduction targets. The sharing of know-how and experience is also needed.

Now, a unique occasion to address these issues is coming up. The UN General Assembly approved last year a Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, which will meet in Moscow, Rus-sia, in November 2009 (see Box above). It will no doubt be an opportunity for the international community to review the progress made, and agree on a map for the coming years.

“ Road safety has come to the top of the international

agenda.”

1) Geneva, Switzerland, April 2007.

2) New York, USA, March 2008.




Main Focus

In the driver seat of best practice

ISO standards are powerful tools for promoting good practice. With the support of the automotive industry and its users, ISO has devoted a lot of effort to the preparation of International Standards in the field of vehicle design and equipment (with more than 200 in the field of road safety), and in close cooperation with WP.29 – the World Forum for Harmo-nization of Vehicle Regulations.

ISO’s efforts to develop a road traffic safety management system (ISO 39001) will constitute yet another valuable contribution. The goal is to provide a structured, holistic approach to road-traffic safety as a complement to pertinent programmes and rules. The future ISO 39001 will employ a process approach, including the plan-do-check-act cycle and continual improvement. It will provide an internationally har-monized tool for all interested in audit-ing the effectiveness of road safety programmes, analyzing accident black spots and providing funding or award-ing prizes for road safety.

In addition to ISO 39001, ISO is active in a multitude of areas such as intelligent systems, medical equipment, computerization of documents such as driving licences, anti-counterfeiting tools, and fraud countermeasures and control.

At its meeting in Rome, Italy, in May 2009, the Commission for Global Road Safety approved the following recommendation :

“ 2. Governments should commit to attain the Decade goal by

implementing a five pillar Action Plan designed to (1) build manage-ment capacity, (2) influence road design and network management,

(3) influence safety design, (4) influence road user behaviour and

(5) improve post-crash care.”

Here again, ISO is able to sup-port these and other initiatives with the development of International Standards. The publication of ISO 39001, for exam-ple, will play a key role. It will serve to extensively promote the existing rules (standards and regulations) developed by competent organizations on a much broader scale than ever seen today.

WHO’s role in preventing road traffic injuries

by Dr. Etienne Krug, Director, Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability, WHO

Road traffic injuries are a major public health problem and a lead-ing cause of death, injury and dis-

ability around the world. Nearly 1.3 mil-lion people die each year, and between 20 and 50 million more are injured as a result of accidents involving vehicles. More than 90 % of the deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world’s vehi-cles. Road traffic injuries are the lead-ing cause of death for people between 15 and 29 years of age.

Beyond the impact on those directly affected, road traffic crashes have an enormous detrimental effect on the economies of many countries. Globally, losses incurred as a result of traffic injuries are estimated to be more than USD 518 billion, while at the national level they cost govern-ments between one percent and three percent of their gross national product

and place a huge strain on the health-care services of many countries.

Catalyst for actionThe “ World Report on Road

Traffic Injury Prevention ”, published jointly by the World Health Organiza-tion (WHO) and the World Bank (WB) in 2004, helped catalyze action at an international level towards addressing the problem of road traffic crashes. It stresses the role of diverse sectors of society in the prevention of these inju-ries and describes the fundamental con-cepts of prevention, the magnitude and impact of injuries, major determinants and risk factors, and effective interven-tion strategies. The report serves as both an advocacy tool and a technical docu-ment containing six major recommen-dations on actions countries can take to address the problem.

Following the report’s publica-tion, the United Nations adopted resolu-tion 58/289, entitled “ Improving global road safety ”, which recognized the need for the UN system to support efforts to address the global road safety crisis. The resolution invited WHO, working in collaboration with the UN regional commissions, to act as coordinator on road safety issues within the UN sys-tem. It also underlined the need to fur-ther strengthen international coopera-

The World Health Assembly endorses a resolution recognizing road safety as a pressing health and development issue.




1) UN organizations, governments, non-governmental organizations, donors, research agencies and the private sector.

tion for road safety issues, taking into account the needs of low- and middle-income countries. Further UN Gener-al Assembly resolutions and a World Health Assembly resolution have called upon member states to prioritize road safety as a public health issue and take effective steps towards reducing road traffic injuries.

United Nations Road Safety Collaboration

In accordance with the mandate conferred upon it by the General Assem-bly, WHO has worked closely with the UN regional commissions to coordinate the United Nations Road Safety Collab-oration (UNRSC), a group comprised of UN and international road safety organi-zations. The broad support for this collab-orative effort is reinforced by the swathes and diverse range of organizations from the transport, health and safety sectors.1) As of June 2009, the group is comprised of approximately 60 agencies working in international or regional road safety.

ISO, as a member of the UNRSC since 2005, brings a unique perspec-tive with its International Standards, in particular with the development of an International Standard for road traffic safety management systems.

The goals of the UNRSC are :

• To facilitate international cooperation

• To strengthen global and regional coordination among UN agencies

• To implement UN General Assem-bly Resolutions 58/289, 60/5 and 62/244

• To implement the recommendations contained in the world report, there-by supporting national road safety programmes.

A number of objectives to meet the goals have also been identified, including :

• Supporting assessments of the road safety situation and existing nation-al facilities to address the problem

• Developing guidance and support for effective road safety interventions

• Disseminating good practices

• Providing capacity development on road safety issues

• Advocating and encouraging the demand for road safety

• Strengthening global and regional coordination on road safety

• Improving the safety of UN fleets for all road users.

Pedestrians, cyclists at risk

WHO has also recently completed the first global assessment of road safe-ty. The results, published in the “Global Status Report on Road Safety”, confirm that road safety is still a major public health issue, particularly in low- and

“ Pedestrians, cyclists and riders on motorized two-

wheelers account for almost half of global road traffic

deaths.”

The new “ Global Status Report on Road Safety ” finds that almost half of those killed on the world’s roads are not protected by the shell of a car.



Main Focus

About the author

Dr. Etienne Krug is Direc-tor of of the Department of Violence and Injury Preven-tion and Dis-ability (VIP) of the World Health Organi-zation, since his

appointment in October 2000. Dr. Krug holds a degree of Medical Doctor from the University of Louvain near Brussels, Belgium, his native country, and a Mas-ters Degree in Public Health from Har-vard University, USA.

Prior to joining WHO, Dr. Krug held several positions working on violence and injuries prevention and served as a Director for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in various low-income countries.

middle-income countries where road traffic fatality rates are highest.

Providing the first global anal-ysis of road traffic deaths according to the type of road user, the results show that pedestrians, cyclists and riders of motorized two-wheelers account for almost half of global road traffic deaths. The results presented here suggest that many countries, despite the international endorsement of the 2004 “World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention”, have yet to fully implement its recommen-dations, including the enforcement of comprehensive laws that address key risk factors and the establishment of systems to collect reliable data.

The standardized methodology employed in collecting data for the glo-bal status report means that the coun-tries can use this information to com-pare their road safety situation with other countries. At a global level, such assessments are important to enable the international road safety community to measure global progress towards reduc-ing traffic injuries.

The timely publication of the glo-bal status report will provide the plat-form for discussion at the upcoming Ministerial Conference on Road Safe-ty, in Moscow, Russia, in November 2009. The report’s key findings should

be considered in international discus-sions, such as:

• The need to give more attention to protecting vulnerable road users

• Strategies for making national road safe-ty legislation more comprehensive

• Strengthening enforcement of these laws.

WHO has worked for many years at the national level to provide techni-cal support to countries implementing road safety programmes. For example, WHO works closely with governments in Cambodia, Mexico, and Vietnam to identify and address key risk factors in road traffic injuries, including drink-ing and driving and the use of helmets and seat belts.

WHO will continue to work at both the international and national lev-els. At the country level, this will involve using the data from the global status report to help identify where action is needed in particular countries, as well as working with national governments to provide the technical support for plan-ning and implementing responses. At the international level, WHO will con-tinue to work to facilitate cooperation and support road safety advocacy and policy efforts.

For more information about WHO’s work in road safety, see : www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/en/

To download the “ Global Status Report on Road Safety”, see :

www.who. int /v io lence_injury_ prevention/road_safety_status/ 2009/en/




Rules of the road – Clear, compulsory and crucial

by Eva Molnar, Director, Transport Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

We are all familiar with the appalling numbers of dead and injured from traffic accidents.

But to put these tragic numbers into per-spective, consider that unless the current trend is reversed, the number of people killed in the next 15 to 20 years will equal that of the last 60 years’ major wars put together 1). Put another way, road crash-es will claim three times more lives over the next 60 years than wars have done since the end of World War II. This is clearly unacceptable.

From awareness to political commitment

During the past decade, a great deal of effort has been concentrated on addressing this dire prognosis by raising awareness about the importance of road safety. Has this goal been achieved? By and large, yes. But there is a difference between awareness and commitment. To narrow and eventually eliminate this gap, far more involvement from civil society is needed. Citizens’ votes should reflect support for those who will take action. For this to happen, road safety awareness must penetrate the whole society.

This is of course easier said than done. Here at the United Nations Eco-nomic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) we are attempting to reach the younger – and often most vulnerable – road users through the world of sports. As athletes are powerful role models for the young, collaboration between UN/ECE and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) is designed to instil a sense of respect for traffic rules in young road users – similar to how athletes must respect the rules of their sport.

1) Since the end of the Second World War in 1945 there have been more than 250 major wars, in which over 23 million people have been killed.

The Vienna Conventions:

Convention on Road Traffic (1968)

Convention on Road Signs and Signals (1968)

European Agreement supplementing the 1968 Convention on Road Traffic (1971)

European Agreement supplementing the 1968 Convention on Road Signs and Signals (1971)

Protocol on Road Markings, Additional to the European Agreements supplementing the 1968 Convention on Road Signs and Signals (1973).

From rules to respectJust as we cannot play basketball

without rules, we cannot participate in road traffic without observing the rules.

Most of the standard rules that apply in road traffic come from the Vien-na Conventions. These are the multilat-erally recognized minimum rules, or the legal lingua franca, for traffic safety (see Box above). Among other provi-sions, they include : • A set of internationally agreed road

traffic regulations

• Road signs, signals and markings

• Uniform safety requirements for driver’s licences, motor vehicles and other internationally accepted regulations.

The Vienna Conventions exist to improve the efficiency and safety of road traffic. These conventions are regularly revised and updated to introduce stricter safety requirements and technological developments. These instruments pro-vide governments with the legal basis and the technical rules and regulations for their national highway codes.



Main Focus

Just over one third of the world has signed the conventions. The goal, howev-er, is to make them universal, and a great deal of work remains. In addition, many countries that ratified the 1949 agreements on road traffic and on road signs and sig-nals have not joined the new, more mod-ern 1968 conventions.

Another challenge is to ensure the adequate implementation of the conven-tions. We are acutely aware that improved mechanisms to monitor implementation should be developed. The UN/ECE Road Traffic Safety Forum (WP.1) has put this issue on its agenda and expects to launch a simple and efficient monitoring mecha-nism within a year.

With the rapid changes of the cen-tres of production in the world, there are countries that have become important parts of the automotive industry, but are not yet full members of the World Forum, and as such they have not yet signed the relevant international agreements (see Box above) and do not yet enforce the life-saving regulations.

It is worth checking whether your country has signed these legal instru-ments. If not, your intervention could make a difference.

From expertise to technical assistance

The broad and deep knowledge base that has developed over the years helps us to understand the road safety challenge, which leads to better plan-ning and implementation of safety meas-ures. But how widespread is this knowl-edge ? I am convinced that the core of road safety expertise should be locat-ed in the countries at national and sub-national level, but we have still a long way to go to before we have an army ready to fight for road safety.

Technical assistance to countries needs to be increased and strengthened. To this end, UN/ECE, together with the other regional commissions of the UN, has launched a project entitled “ Improv-ing global road safety : Setting region-al and national road traffic casualty

reduction targets ”. The objective is to assist low- and middle-income coun-tries in developing regional and nation-al road traffic casualty reduction tar-gets, and to provide them with exam-ples of good road safety practices that will help achieve the targets by 2015. As a minimum level, the expected out-come of the project is that road safe-ty improvement targets are set nation-ally, sub-regionally, and regionally so that changes – hopefully improvements – can be monitored and the most effec-tive interventions undertaken.

From wise words to enabling environments

Expert knowledge is crucial. But even the most experienced of experts are doomed to fail if there is no enabling environment where they can fight their daily battle for more efficient enforce-ment, better roads and safer vehicles. This includes :

• Strong leadership – with a real champion

Vehicle related legal instruments

Agreement concerning the Adoption of Uniform Technical Prescriptions for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which can be fitted and/or be used on Wheeled Vehicles and the Conditions for Reciprocal Recognition of Approvals granted on the Basis of these Prescriptions (1958)

Agreement concerning the Establishing of Global Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which can be fitted and/or be used on Wheeled Vehicles (1998)

Agreement concerning the Adoption of Uniform Conditions for Periodical Technical Inspections of Wheeled Vehicles and the Reciprocal Recognition of Such Inspection (1997)

Road traffic rules address the behavioural aspect of road safety. But road users also benefit from regulations and standards on other aspects, including road infrastructure, vehicles, tyres and other vehicle parts, as well as protective helmets for motorcyclists.

Regulations for vehicles and parts are processed through a global negotiating mechanism, the World Forum for Harmo-nization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29), managed by UN/ECE, which produces globally harmonized regulations. ISO, in close cooperation with WP.29, pre-pares International Standards in the field of vehicle design and their equipment – with more than 200 for road safety.

The value of the international pub-lic policy achieved through WP.29 is dem-onstrated by the fact that these technical regulations are among the most effective tools for governments to improve vehi-cle safety. Among these are regulations on brakes, tyres, lighting and signalling devices, safety belts, child restraint sys-tems and crashworthiness.

One would assume that once gov-ernments agree upon these technical regu-lations, consumers can be sure that prod-ucts in official trade are made accordingly. While this is usually the case – since indus-try representatives actively participate in the debates before governments decide – the sad truth is we cannot blindly trust in adherence to the rules and implementation of the World Forum’s regulations.

“We cannot participate in road traffic without observing the rules.”

About the author

Eva Molnar, an economist, is the Director of Transport in the United Nations Economic Com-mission for Europe (UN/ECE). Prior to this, she was the Sector Manager

for Transport in the World Bank, Europe and Central Asia Region and for several years a guest lecturer at the Budapest University of Economics and Technical Sciences. Previously she worked as an infrastructure and management consultant for several years and for more than 10 years, she held different senior positions in the Hungarian Transport Ministry. During this time, she was the CEO of Kapos Volan, a road transport company in Hungary, as well as a member of the supervisory boards of different transport enterprises, like the Austro-Hungarian railways, Raberbahn.



by Eric Howard, Chair, OECD/ITF Joint Transport Research Centre Working Group

The “ Global Status Report on Road Safety”, published by the World Health Organization (WHO), high-

lights the effects of inadequate safety levels on the world’s road networks. The report, an assessment of road safety in 178 countries, concludes that approxi-mately 1.3 million people die annually, and between 20 and 50 million sustain injuries. Globally, losses due to road acci-dents are estimated at USD 518 billion, or

about one percent to three percent of gross national product (GNP). This exceeds the development assistance received global-ly by low- and middle-income countries. Its conclusions include : • Injuries related to road traffic remain

an important international public health problem, particularly for low- and middle-income countries

• Significantly more preventative action is needed to make road travel safer.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/International Transport Forum (ITF)

• Strong institutions with good gov-ernance, preferably with a nation-al road safety council in charge of coordination

• Adequate, predictable and reliable long-term funding.

Countries that have been the most successful in improving road safety can be considered as prototypes for the ena-bling environment. In these countries, the results are beyond road traffic safety. They can be proud of their well-function-ing roads and highway management, traf-fic police, healthcare systems, statistics and overall law enforcement. In addition, these countries have also given birth to a new area of consultancy, specialized in road safety. We have also seen that safe roads are efficient roads that reduce costs to commerce associated with delays and financial losses. Countries with high road safety standards are also countries with a high competitiveness index.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men…

…are needed to win the battle of degenerating road safety conditions. It is a shared responsibility that requires cooperation among several sectors and several institutions at both national and international levels.

The UN/ECE working parties, particularly the Road Safety Forum (WP.1) and the World Forum (WP.29), will continue to offer a place where representatives of governments, busi-nesses and other international organ-izations, governmental and non-gov-ernmental alike, can openly discuss and share information to support road safety policies and regulations.

On behalf of UN/ECE, I can confirm our commitment to continued cooperation with ISO.

Behind the cold statistics lies the most important fact : the enormous human tragedy caused by road traffic crashes. Behind each of these numbers is a fami-ly with lost hope for a better future, chil-dren that must fight harder to gain access to opportunities because of disabilities, mothers that will need to work two or three jobs because their husbands are dead or disabled, and parents that will never stop weeping for lost children.




report “ Towards Zero : Ambitious Road Safety Targets and the Safe System Approach ”, a three-year study devel-oped by representatives of 22 coun-tries, the World Bank, the WHO, and the FIA Foundation 1), was launched at a “ High Level Road Safety Seminar ” jointly sponsored by the OECD/ ITF Joint Transport Research Centre, in Par-is, France, in September 2008.

The OECD/ITF report considers recent road safety trends in OECD/ITF countries and compares fatality trends across regions of the world. It reviews progress by countries against a published ITF road safety target for 2012 and con-cludes that “ the fact that some countries are on track to meet the target demon-strates that targeted reductions in trauma can be achieved with adequate political will, institutional organization and suf-ficient allocation of resources ”. It then sets out best international road safety practices applicable to the setting and achievement of ambitious targets. 1) The FIA Foundation was established in

2001 by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the non-profit federation of motoring organizations and the governing body of world motor sport.

“ The fact that some countries are on track

to meet the target demonstrates that targeted reductions in trauma can

be achieved.”

The report’s key recommenda-tions include :

• Adopt a highly ambitious vision for road safety

• Set interim targets to move system-atically towards the vision

• Develop a “safe system” approach, considered essential for achieving longer-term targets and thinking

• Exploit proven interventions for ear-ly gains

• Conduct sufficient data collection and analysis to understand crash risks and current performance while guiding improvement

• Strengthen the road safety manage-ment system

• Accelerate knowledge transfer

Main Focus

• Invest in road safety

• Foster commitment at the highest lev-els of government.

The OECD/ITF report acknowl-edges the considerable barriers to be addressed in most countries (for exam-ple, achieving legislative initiatives and tougher police enforcement) to win com-munity and government acceptance of required behavioural changes. These are not minor challenges.

For the longer term, the report con-cludes that a clear vision and strengthened institutional management arrangements are needed, and that all countries should embrace the safe system approach.

The vision to be adopted is the ultimate elimination of death and seri-ous injury on the road.

The safe system approach

The safe system approach is a fundamental shift in road safety think-ing, which is necessary to move towards ultimate elimination of death and serious injury. It reframes the ways in which road safety is viewed and managed.

Its aim is to support develop-ment of a transport system better able to accommodate inevitable human error. This is commonly achieved through bet-ter management of crash energy, so that no individual road user is exposed to crash forces likely to result in death or serious injury.

While extensive efforts are required to achieve alert and compliant road users, a key strategy is road network improvements (referred to as forgiving infrastructure). These upgrades are best undertaken in conjunction with reviews of posted speed limits, which should be set in response to the level of protection offered by the road infrastructure and modern vehicle safety features.

About the author

Eric Howard is an international strategic road safety advisor and is recog-nized as an expert on strengthening road safety management capacity within

governmental institutions, the develop-ment of effective road safety strategies based on a safe system approach and the necessary change management skills required to deliver this.

This follows 25 years experience at sen-ior executive management level within government in Australia, including seven years as general manager, road safety with VicRoads, the lead government road safety agency in Victoria, Australia.

Eric Howard chaired the OECD/ITF JTRC Working Group which prepared the report, “Towards Zero: Ambitious Road Safety Targets and the Safe System Approach”, published in late 2008.

A focus on addressing the interac-tions between system elements – includ-ing roads, vehicles and travel speeds – is essential to making the road transport system fundamentally safer.

The safe system approach recog-nizes that the responsibility for safe oper-ation of the network is shared between many individuals and organizations. This includes agencies and companies that provide roads, set speed limits, make laws, provide vehicles, make land use planning decisions affecting traffic flows and roadside access, use the net-work, enter contracts for transport serv-ices, enforce compliance, employ driv-ers, operate the emergency health sys-tem and more.

This breaks away from a “ blame the road user ” emphasis and is a key fea-ture of a safe system approach.

The OECD/ITF report calls for road authorities to develop a deep-

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TOWARDS

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Road Safety Targets and

the Safe System Approach

TOW

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and the Safe System A

pproach

-:HSTCSC=VUV^Z\:

(77 2008 03 1 P1)

ISBN 978-92-821-0195-7

TOWARDS ZERO

Ambitious Road Safety Targets

and the Safe System Approach

Each year around 1.2 million people are killed

and 50 million are injured on roads around

the world. But crashes are largely preventable

and much can be done to reduce the burden of

pain they cause and their economic impact.

Many countries have set targets to reduce

the number of casualties on their roads.

Are these countries on track to meet their targets?

What can be done in the immediate and longer

term to achieve these targets? Is there a limit to

traditional approaches to road safety?

This report takes stock of recent developments

and initiatives to meet increasingly ambitious

road safety targets. It highlights the management

changes required in many countries to implement

effective interventions. It emphasises a strong

focus on results and examines the economic case

for road safety investment. It challenges

the better performing countries to do more

and strongly recommends the adoption of

a safe system approach with a long-term

vision of no fatalities on the roads.

The report constitutes a major international

review of progress in developing safe system

approaches, now adopted in a small number

of countries. The report should be useful

to transport administrations and to all

stakeholders involved in improving road safety.

www.oecd.org/publishing

www.internationaltransportforum.org




2) Towards Zero: Ambitious Targets and the Safe System Approach, OECD/ITF, (2008).

3) Towards Zero: Ambitious Targets and the Safe System Approach, OECD/ITF, (2008).

er understanding of the relationships between crash rates and levels of pro-tection provided against fatal and seri-ous crash outcomes (including speed limits) on given stretches of road. This requires a sound understanding of key factors involved in crash causation and outcome severity.

The safe system approach seeks to build upon opportunities for improved alignment of road safety policy with oth-er societal goals. For example, impor-tant synergies exist with environmental protection and energy conservation pol-icies, with occupational health and safe-ty policies that target safer work-related driving, and with broader transport and travel policies that seek to improve trav-el cost efficiency.

Approaches that involve all sys-tem designers – motivating them to sup-port improved system safety as well as providing tools to assist in that task – are essential.

Institutional management

Institutional management func-tions are key competencies within gov-ernmental road safety agencies because they impact the capacity to deliver change in the way the network operates, through both governmental and non-governmen-tal actors. They underpin road safety suc-cess in a jurisdiction and offer an expla-nation for much of the observable differ-ences in road safety performance among otherwise similar jurisdictions.

Overcoming the barriers to com-munity and governmental acceptance requires competent government officers, enabling legislation and systems, inter-agency coordination, clarity of the lead agency role, supportive funding, knowl-edge transfer, and research and develop-ment. Practitioners also require suitable tools to be available to guide the devel-opment, implementation and monitoring of necessary interventions.

Then there are the many and var-ied needs of organizations outside the government sector which face many of the same management challenges, and

should be encouraged to play a much greater role.

The safe system approach seeks to consolidate the road safety improve-ments achieved in recent decades and to generate further gains. In doing so, it explicitly adopts a results-focused approach 2), forces reconsideration of the nature of interventions, and relies on a systematic refocusing of institu-tional arrangements to implement those interventions.

to behave safely despite education and information efforts.

Both approaches argue that as long as inappropriate behaviours are likely, system designers must strive to protect all road users from the impact of those behaviours.

A safe system approach is one where the community demands and expects safety improvements. This can be summed up as a “ stronger safety cul-ture ” where the number of traumatic events is constantly dropping.

International trends

Sweden has pioneered and fol-lowed a safe system approach known as Vision Zero since 1997, based on four elements: ethics, responsibility, a phi-losophy of safety, and creating mecha-nisms for change.

Vision Zero recognizes the need for programmes to curb inappropriate user behaviours. Similarly, the innova-tive “sustainable safety” approach of the Netherlands describes the road user as the weakest link in the transport chain, unpredictable and not to be relied upon

The impact of the Swedish and Dutch road safety visions on other coun-tries has been profound : While the esca-lated level of ambition (zero deaths and serious injuries) represents a radical shift within the road sector, these targets can be viewed as consistent with the safety expectations acceptable in other modes of transport (for example the aviation and rail sectors). What was initially seen as radical and unachievable has increas-ingly become the benchmark for accept-able road safety results 3).

The safe system has been adopt-ed by other countries, including Norway

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Main Focus

and the Australian states and territories. It is likely to form the basis for the next Canadian road safety strategy slated to take effect from 2011.

It is being considered for for-mal adoption in other countries and has been actively promoted by members of the OECD/ITF JTRC Working Group in their professional roles, in recent road safety capacity reviews, under the aus-pices of the World Bank Global Road Safety Facility in countries including Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Montene-gro, Serbia, and Ukraine. The WHO, the FIA Foundation, the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) organi-zation and the Global Road Safety Part-nership have also actively promoted the safe system.

ISO’s contributions to road safety

The rationale for the development of the future ISO 39001 for road traffic safety management systems is to provide organizations active in road safety with the means of increasing and promoting their related safety standards. The stand-ard will be set at a level of principles and systems, and will provide an opportunity to integrate safety into commercial and non-commercial decision making.

For governments, ISO 39001 will provide a further opportunity to engage more partners on safety. For public and private organizations, the standard will provide an important opportunity to pro-mote safety systems as a point of differ-ence and excellence.

The standard’s requirements would be generic and intended for application by all organizations regardless of type, size or products and services provided. The categories of companies and organi-zations that have been identified as most relevant are those influencing :

• The design, building and maintenance of roads and streets

• Design and production of cars, lor-ries and other road vehicles includ-ing parts and equipment

• Companies working with the trans-port of goods and people

• Companies generating significant flows of goods and people

• All organizations with personnel work-ing in the road transport system.

“ ISO standards have contributed to road safety

improvement over the decades.”

Potential early adopters were iden-tified as transport and haulage companies, rental car companies and local govern-ments organizing the transport of goods and people. The extent of the applica-tion depends on factors such as the road-traffic safety policy of the organization, the nature of its activities, products and services, its location and the conditions in which it functions. The management system documentation would be tailored to the needs of the organization.

Considerable effort is being applied in the development of the stand-ard to maximize the alignment with the OECD/ITF report principles, particular-ly the important role of the World Bank country road safety management frame-work, endorsed in the report as pivot-al in achieving improved road safety outcomes.

ISO standards have contributed to road safety improvement over the decades. The future ISO 39001 will substantially increase that contribution by providing high-level guidance for all organizations in the community wishing to play a part by directly contributing to the ultimate elimination of death and serious injury on the world’s roads.Ph

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Championing safe, clean and affordable transport

by Tony Bliss, Lead Road Safety Specialist, Sustainable Development Network, World Bank Group

The World Bank Group has champi-oned road safety in low- and mid-dle-income countries for more than

three decades. Unprecedented growth in motorization, and the adverse effects of road crashes are now bringing road safety to the forefront of the develop-ment agenda. As part of the World Bank Group’s transport business strategy for 2008 – 2012, Safe, Clean and Affordable Transport for Development, road safety is becoming mainstreamed in transport investment operations.

The stakes are highDevelopment aims to reduce pov-

erty and promote higher living standards for all, with an emphasis on improved access to infrastructure services, health and education, and on people’s ability to participate in the economy and socie-ty. This inclusiveness is central to coun-try development strategies, which aim to improve aggregate economic perform-ance, and address the priorities of edu-cation and health, as well as social and stakeholder participation. Poverty can be understood as the inability to achieve basic prescribed standards in these pri-orities. In this regard, the sheer scale of the historical and projected health losses from road crashes alone puts road safety on the development agenda.

By 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach nine billion people, from a current population of six billion, with almost all this increase in low- and middle-income countries and predominant-ly urban areas. Unless new measures are taken, higher rates of road traffic injuries and death must be anticipated. Over the

Priority to high-risk countries

In addition to country investment operations, recent World Bank activi-ties include partnering with the World Health Organization (WHO) to publish the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention, supporting the Make Roads Safe campaign of the Commission for Global Road Safety and their proposal for a Decade of Action for Road Safety 2010 – 2020, with a 50 % fatality reduc-tion target.

Among other World Bank activities is the establishment of the Global Road Safety Facility to fund global, regional and country road safety capacity building ini-tiatives, and guidelines to implement the World Report recommendations through the conduct of road safety management

first 30 years of this century, for example, it is estimated that more cars will be pro-duced in the world than during the first hundred years of motorization.

What’s more, road traffic inju-ries will be the second biggest cause of healthy life years lost for men by 2030, and the biggest cause of healthy life years lost for children aged between 5 and 14, from 2015 to 2030. These sombre statis-tics underpin the priority the World Bank Group is now giving to improving road safety performance in low- and middle-income countries.

“ Improved road safety management is the highest priority in low- and middle-

income countries.”



Main Focus

capacity reviews and related specification of lead agency reforms, investment strat-egies and safe system projects.1)

Bold measures are being called for, and the World Bank Group is committed to making a sustained and effective con-tribution. Meeting the 50 % reduction tar-get for the proposed Decade of Action for Road Safety would save an estimated five million lives and avoid 50 million serious injuries, with a social benefit of USD three trillion. From this viewpoint, the success-ful implementation of the proposed Decade of Action for Road Safety would be one of the most significant global public health achievements of the 21st century.

The World Bank Global Road Safe-ty Facility is the first funding mechanism established to address the growing global road safety crisis. It provides significant support to strategic partners such as the WHO, the Global Road Safety Partner-ship, the International Road Assessment Programme, the International Road Fed-eration, the Road Traffic Injuries Research Network, the Global Traffic Safety Police Network (RoadPol) and the Harvard Ini-tiative for Global Health. It is also fund-ing capacity building initiatives at coun-try and regional levels to accelerate and scale up country road safety investment operations.

Over the last 50 years, road safe-ty management systems have evolved in high-income countries. The challenge for

low- and middle-income countries will be to benefit from the lessons learned, to avoid the unnecessary and unacceptably high level of deaths and injuries expe-rienced in high-income counties. This will require a rapid and decisive shift to the safe system approach, which aims to eliminate road deaths and serious inju-ries, rather than chart a fatalistic pathway that accepts these impacts as an inevita-ble price of economic progress.

In comes ISO’s management system standard

The reach and influence of ISO are extensive. ISO plays a vital role in glo-bal development by promoting the adop-tion of harmonized standards which help reduce trade costs, expand trade flows, enhance environmental sustainability, and improve life quality. ISO also con-tributes to improving road safety through its standards for vehicles and transport supply chain management, and with the launch of an ISO road traffic safety man-agement systems standard.

The development of ISO 39001 is very timely. It presents both opportu-nities and challenges. The opportunities relate to the emphasis being given to the systematic management of road safety results. The core elements of a road safe-ty management system are the same for any entity and relate to its goal and the organizational functions and measures delivered to achieve this goal.

Systematic management of road safety requires actions that deliver improved results in a dynamic, iterative process of continuous improvement. The focus on results drives the management system, holds it together and gives it purpose. This sustained level of organization and ambition will be required in the public and private sectors and in civil society if the fatality reduction targets for low- and middle-income countries being proposed for the Decade of Action for Road Safety are to be achieved. ISO 39001 will be a powerful tool to assist this process.

However, the challenges concern the tailoring of the tools to meet the dif-fering levels of organizational complex-ity across the broad road safety partner-ship evident within any particular country. ISO 39001 should provide the impetus for small and large organizational entities to systematically improve their safety per-formance. It should ensure that its func-tionality is user-friendly and adaptable to the different scales of organizational struc-tures and resources encountered.

Over time it could evolve to meet more specialist needs, such as systematic network safety engineering policies and practices and general deterrence road safety policing, as well as covering more familiar procedures for corporate vehicle fleet safety. These opportunities and chal-lenges are currently being addressed, and the World Bank Group and its road safe-ty partners welcome this important ISO initiative and look forward to its speedy and effective implementation.

About the author

Tony Bliss is the Lead Road Safety Special-ist in the Sus-tainable Devel-opment Net-work of the World Bank Group and is responsible for the development

and promotion of multi-sectoral strate-gies to improve road safety results in low- and middle-income countries. He led the design and establishment of the Global Road Safety Facility, which is funding global, regional and country capacity building initiatives, and devel-oping associated policies, tools and pro-cedures.

The future ISO 39001 offers excit-ing potential to support the achievement of improved global road safety outcomes over the coming decade and beyond. For this reason, the World Bank Group and its road safety partners are participating in the development of ISO 39001, and are deeply committed to its sustainable suc-cess. Improved road safety management is the highest priority in low- and mid-dle-income countries, and systematic pro-cedures are called for to address current management capacity weaknesses.

ISO 39001 concerns the manage-ment of safety in a variety of organizational contexts including countries, states, prov-inces and cities, as well as large and small corporations and other business, public and community entities. It is strategical-ly aligned with the World Bank Group’s emphasis on road safety management sys-tems and promotion of the safe system approach which, in terms of its goal and safety design principles, seeks to elimi-nate road deaths and injuries.

“The development of ISO 39001 is very timely.”

1) Bliss T & Breen J (2009). Implementing the Recommendations of the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention. Country Guidelines for the Conduct of Road Safety Management Capacity Reviews and the Specification of Lead Agency Reforms, Investment Strategies and Safe System Projects. The World Bank Global Road Safety Facility, Washington DC.




About the author

Dr. Kash Ram is Director Gen-eral of the Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation Directorate of Transport Cana-da. The Directo-rate is responsi-ble for estab-

lishing safety standards for new and imported motor vehicles, and for enforc-ing these standards. The Directorate also works with road safety partners to advance the goals of Canada’s national plan for road safety.

Dr. Ram has a BASc in chemical engi-neering from the University of Ottawa, an MASc in chemical engineering from the University of Waterloo and a PhD in fuel science and engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Ram has held previous positions at Industry Canada, Environment Canada and National Defence Canada.

Building the world’s safest roads

by Dr. Kash Ram, Director General, Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation, Transport Canada

Traffic collisions are a leading cause of death and long-term disabili-ty, making road safety a signifi-

cant social, health and economic issue. On average, one person is killed eve-ry three hours and one is injured eve-ry 2.6 minutes in Canada. That being said, fatalities have been cut by more than half from their 1973 peak, while the number of registered motor vehi-cles has increased by almost 80 % dur-ing the same period.

Canada has nearly 900 000 kilo-metres of roads – enough to circle the globe 22 times. These roads cover 10 provinces and three territories and range from small rural back roads that are not travelled frequently, to multi-lane high-ways in constant use. In addition, Cana-da’s extreme weather conditions create a wide range of driving challenges. These elements, and multiple levels of govern-ment with complementary jurisdiction over roadways, road users and vehicles, mean that managing an effective and effi-

cient road safety pro-gramme poses a chal-lenging yet profoundly important task.

The partnership approach

Partnership is the key to road safety management in Cana-da. Unlike many other countries, the ability to regulate road safe-ty is a responsibility shared by federal, pro-vincial and municipal levels of government.

A collaborative approach is imperative to improving safety.

At the federal level, Transport Can-ada regulates the manufacture and impor-tation of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment, and regulates the safe oper-ations of interprovincial bus and truck-ing companies. Transport Canada devel-ops safety standards, regulations and test methods to ensure that all vehicles intro-duced into the Canadian market meet com-prehensive safety requirements.

Transport Canada conducts research programmes to continually enhance its regulations and runs a com-pliance programme to ensure that its reg-ulations are being respected by industry. It also maintains a national collision data-base and provides leadership and guid-ance to the provinces and territories in the areas of programme development and evaluation, research, analysis, and knowledge sharing. Through federal, pro-vincial, territorial and municipal infra-structure programmes, the federal gov-ernment contributes to the construction and rehabilitation of roads, and advanc-es the usage of best practices regarding design and road safety within infrastruc-ture projects.

Provincial and territorial govern-ments administer driver and vehicle licens-ing, collect collision and exposure data, conduct research activities, and develop, implement and evaluate their road safety programmes. They enforce traffic safety laws via their police forces. They are also responsible for road design, construction and maintenance, as well as enforcement

of motor carrier regulations. Additional-ly, municipal governments are involved in road maintenance, traffic engineering and integrated safety initiatives with oth-er community groups.

Because of this shared responsi-bility, partnership is not only a core val-ue, but also a basic necessity for road safety delivery in Canada. For example, the collision database that is maintained and operated at the federal level relies on information collected by the provinces, territories and their agencies, including police forces and hospitals.

Much like the development of an ISO standard, many stakeholders have to work together in a participatory and col-laborative manner to serve the best inter-ests of the public. The Canadian Coun-cil of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) is one of the mechanisms for this cooperation, and the information and resource sharing that is needed to make this happen.



• To develop national models of motor vehicle transportation programmes.

The CCMTA is accountable to, and makes recommendations to, the Coun-cils of Deputy Ministers and Ministers responsible for Transportation and High-way Safety. The Council of Ministers has the responsibility for programme/project approval with CCMTA being responsible for carrying out its direction.

CCMTA acts as a forum that helps prioritize initiatives, develop common directions, and mobilize the human, finan-cial and material resources to improve road safety in Canada. It also facilitates the sharing of successes and lessons learned so that efforts are not duplicated. Other committees that report to the Councils of Ministers and of Deputy Ministers include the Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Task Force, Engineering and Research Support Committee and Policy and Planning Sup-port Committee.

Transport Canada encourages and supports uniform national standards and guidelines for roadway design, and works towards this objective with its pro-vincial, territorial and municipal part-ners through the Transportation Associa-tion of Canada (TAC). TAC is a national centre of transportation expertise, which mandate is to provide a neutral forum to gather and exchange relevant ideas and information on technical guidelines and best practices.

Through ongoing research, TAC develops and improves guidelines and best practice documents for use by road engineering practitioners. Its focus is on safe, secure, efficient and environmental-ly and financially sustainable transporta-tion services in support of Canada’s social and economic goals.

In addition to working with oth-er levels of government through CCMTA and TAC, Transport Canada supports a collaborative relationship with its regu-lated bodies, particularly the 5 000 man-ufacturers and importers of motor vehi-cles, tyres, and child restraints and boost-er cushions.

The complexity of the issue, com-bined with competing requirements for resources at all levels of government, requires that we collectively find effec-tive solutions to improve road safety and achieve our vision of having the safest roads in the world.

A platform for collaboration

The CCMTA is a non-profit organ-ization made up of representatives from provincial, territorial and federal gov-ernments. It also has associate mem-bers with expertise and interests in road safety, including representatives from the police, the healthcare community, industry, public safety organizations,

and research and development groups. Its purposes are:

• To share and exchange information

• To promote awareness and education of road safety

• To pursue harmonization of road user, motor carrier and driver and vehicle licensing regulations and policies

Main Focus




An ambitious visionOne of the major achievements

of CCMTA has been the development of a national vision for road safety. Can-ada’s inaugural vision was created in 1996. That vision, which is in essence a combined vision and road safety plan, was subsequently updated in 2001. The current vision, entitled “Road Safe-ty Vision 2010”, addresses the major traffic safety issues affecting Canadian road users: use of seat belts and child restraints, impaired driving, speed and intersection-related collisions, high-speed rural roadways, collisions involv-ing commercial vehicles, high-risk driv-ers, and vulnerable road users.

Its overall goal is a long-term aspiration of having “the safest roads in the world”. The quantitative objective is to achieve a 30 % decrease in fatali-ties and serious injuries due to traffic collisions by 2010. There are also sev-eral sub-targets to address the key road safety issues noted above. This vision has spurred road safety stakeholders across Canada to action. It has led to significant improvements in road safety, and decreases in fatalities and injuries. However, there are still several persist-ent contributing factors to fatalities and serious injury, such as impaired driv-ing, lack of seat belt use and excessive speed. The CCMTA is in the process of developing the successor plan to this vision.

Integrated approach Our vision remains the same, but

how we get there is evolving. Canada is moving towards a holistic approach, which integrates the driver, the vehicle, the road and environmental conditions, to achieve the most effective solutions.

The driver : Awareness is key to implementing change. Transport Canada, in cooperation with others, is embarking on the development of a social market-ing strategy to realize changes in behav-iours and/or related attitudes. Canadi-an provinces and territories have also been involved in developing regula-tions and programmes to address key behaviours.

“A collaborative approach is imperative to

improving safety.”

For example, some provinces now have regulations prohibiting the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. Last year, the Canadian Global Road Safety Committee, which is an organi-zation of road safety advocates, hosted its first annual Day of Remembrance for road crash victims. In 2008, our focus was drinking and driving. This year, the focus of the day is raising awareness of the impact of deaths and injuries result-ing from road collisions.

group promotes research and works with road safety practitioners on a national and international level to encourage con-tinued development of guidelines, best practices and implementation of well-known road safety treatments, such as roundabouts and rumble strips.

Transport Canada is also initi-ating a cultural change within its own organization. We are shifting from an operations-level approach to a system-wide approach, by implementing a safe-ty and security management system (SSMS) as a way to identify and miti-gate risks before they occur.

The contribution of International Standards

In collaboration with the Stand-ards Council of Canada, Transport Can-ada contributes to improving road safe-ty through active participation in the development of International Standards for road vehicles, and in the future, ISO International Standard for road traffic safety management systems. It is our belief that ISO International Stand-ards could contribute to the world-wide advancement of road safety and a decrease in fatalities and injuries result-ing from road collisions.

The vehicle : Regulations have been developed to require additional safety features for new vehicles. For example, a new regulation was tabled this year, which requires that all new vehicles manufactured in or imported to Canada after 1 September 2011 be equipped with electronic stability con-trol (a crash avoidance system).

Infrastructure : Through the Building Canada Fund and other infra-structure programmes, the federal gov-ernment is contributing to the construc-tion and rehabilitation of Canada’s road network. Transport Canada’s Road Safety



One-stop-shop for a smooth ride

Tyres and rims

Capabilities (ISO 10191)

Wet grip (ISO 23671)

Pressure monitoring (ISO 21750)

Intelligent transport systems

Intersection support (ISO/TS 13184*), Cruise control (ISO 15622, ISO 22179)

Collision / traffic warnings (ISO 15623, ISO/TS 15624)

Manoeuvring aids (ISO 17386, ISO 22840*), Lane change aids (ISO 17387),

Low speed following (ISO 22178)

Priority systems for emergency vehicles (ISO 22951)

Safety and emergency calls / notifications (ISO 24978, ISO/TR 25109*, ISO/TR 26682*)

Lights and signalling

(ISO 303)

Protective glazing (ISO 3537, ISO 15082)

Brakes

Quality assurance (ISO 15484) Tests (ISO 6597)

Fuel safety (ISO 15501-1)

Pyrotechnic devices (e.g. for releasing airbags, pretension of seatbelts)

Performance (ISO 19072**)

End of life activation (ISO 26021)

Functional safety (ISO 26262*)

Child restraint

ISOFIX (ISO 13216**)

Reducing misuse risk (ISO 13215**)

Performance evaluation (ISO/ PAS 13396*)

Child seat detection system (ISO/TS 22239**)

Driver risks

Visual demand (ISO 16673)

Suitability of information and control systems (ISO 17287)

Seat belt anchorage (ISO/TR 1417)

Airbag testing (ISO 12097)

Hundreds of ISO standards routinely contribute to reducing injury and death on the world’s roads. Below are just a few examples.



Heavy commercial vehicles

Brakes (ISO 20918, ISO 21069)

Obstacle detection (reversing) (ISO/TR 12155)

Injury prevention

Vehicle impact (ISO 6487), Occupant restraint performance (ISO 6546)

Injury risk assessment (ISO/TR 7861), Traffic accident analysis (ISO 12353**)

Neck injury criteria (ISO/TR 13330*)

Pedestrian protection

Head crash tests (ISO 14513, ISO 16850)

Biofidelity of leg crash tests (ISO/TR 15766)

Motorcycles

Rider crash protection (ISO 13232**) Brakes (ISO 8710) Lights (ISO 11460)

Bicycles

Safety requirements (ISO 4210, ISO 8098) Tyres (ISO 5775**)

Glossary TS – Technical Specification TR – Technical Report PAS – Publicly Available Specification

* under development ** multi-part standard

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Main Focus

An ISO standard for road traffic safety management

Road accidents are one of the most common causes of injury and death. However, even serious

events can be prevented by systematic and evidence-based interventions.

ISO is therefore developing ISO 39001, a management system standard for road traffic safety. The standard tar-gets all organizations wishing to reduce death and serious injury related to road travel. With ISO 39001, these organiza-tions will have to comply with established safety indicators such as speed, vehicle condition and driver awareness.

The standard will support organi-zations involved in designing and oper-ating the road transport system by help-ing them define their own contribution to a safe road transport system, while communicating with other supplier of products and services. Vehicle manufac-turers and suppliers to the automotive industry will be supported by interfaces that the rest of the road transport sys-tem can understand and define.

The standard, which will be ful-ly aligned with other ISO management standards, is being developed by ISO project committee ISO/PC 241, Road traffic safety management system, which met for the first time in June 2008. It is expected that ISO 39001 will be pub-lished within the next four years.

ISO/PC 241 enjoys wide par-ticipation from some 30 country mem-bers and 10 organizations in liaison, including the World Health Organiza-tion, the World Bank, and the Interna-tional Road Federation among other important players.

In the next pages, four contributors from different fields and key organiza-tions give us their views on the value of, and expectations for ISO 39001.




Lithium-ion (LI) battery from the Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid.

(© Daimler Communication

Department)

Gabriel Kardos

Hilton Vorster

Fleet Safety Manager – Europe, Middle East & Africa,

Johnson & Johnson

Chairperson, International Road Federation (IRF) Safer Roads

Working Group

Global road traf-fic safety manage-ment has become a paramount issue affecting the safe-ty and well being of our societies. The emergen t challenge is to move away from

the old axiom that all accidents result from human error and can be solved by educating road users, towards an all-encompassing systematic approach that embraces all aspects of road traf-fic safety management to reduce errors and counteract human mistakes.

A harmonized and collaborative approach is needed. And in today’s glo-balized world, where traffic continu-ously crosses borders, it must address international needs and challenges. In this regard, the future ISO 39001, Road traffic safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use, has the potential to influence organi-zational efforts to prevent injuries and save lives.

The standard will assist organ-izations throughout the world, wheth-er governmental, non-governmental or private sector, to identify opportunity areas for road safety. It will also offer a foundation and framework to help them take the most effective actions that directly address issues or gaps for the betterment of road safety at the glo-bal level. The standard is expected to gradually change organizations behav-iour and approaches towards road safe-ty, with the overall aim of reducing seri-ous injury and fatalities from road traf-fic accidents.

For many employees of Johnson & Johnson, the company vehicle is the workplace. Taking the safety and well-being of their employees very seriously, Johnson & Johnson has implemented a global fleet safety programme known as SAFE Fleet to address and mitigate road safety risks.

The future ISO 39001 standard will be a value-added tool that is sure to benefit existing fleet safety efforts and positively impact the safety of road users worldwide. Its completion and deployment is therefore enthusiasti-cally awaited.

An ISO Interna-tional Standard for road traffic safety management sys-tems would : • Promote the establishment of a lead agency/organization in each country to

advance road safety including : traffic and safety legislation ; vehicle and driv-er standards, road safety communication, education and promotion projects ; infra-structure safety audits, critical offences law enforcement ; training and refresher programmes for traffic personnel ; a traffic information system for traffic records and the collection, analysis and evaluation of road traffic issues ; research on road safe-ty matters ; road safety role-players and stakeholders and public/private partner-

ship agreements for road safety promo-tion and risk and cost sharing

• Promote self-regulation on road safe-ty issues among national, provincial and local governments, organizations and the private sector

• Provide guidelines, directives, for exam-ple, target setting, collection, monitor-ing, evaluation and reporting of achieve-ments and results on the above

• Ensure harmonization and standard-ization of road traffic safety manage-ment and promotion of issues on a glo-bal basis.

Among the contributions that ISO could make is the establishment of uniform definitions and requirements. For example, in South Africa a road fatality is considered to occur with-in six days of a crash, other countries state 10, 21 or 30 days. ISO standards would facilitate international compari-son. It would set clear, comprehensive and detailed road safety performance requirements.

Although ISO should take the lead in developing standards for data collection, evaluation and reporting, IRF and other organizations are already responsible for the collection and pro-vision of global road crash and traffic statistics and related initiatives.



Main Focus

transparency, a holistic and systemat-ic approach, common definitions, and the possibility to exchange experienc-es in the matter of road traffic safety. Its implementation could help compa-nies demonstrate their commitment to this cause. More importantly, its wide-spread adoption could help mold mind-sets from all spheres to be increasing-ly conscious of road safety issues. The benefits are obvious, thus the idea of a management system standard for road traffic was born.

My future expectations are for ISO to promote information and best practice seminaries to help disseminate ISO 39001, and that the standard can be available and accessible to all, every-where in the world.

Dr. Rohit Baluja

Hans Skalin

President, Institute of Road Traffic Education, India

International Strategist, Vectura Consulting AB, Sweden

Road traffic safe-ty management is an integral part of the different com-ponents of traf-fic management which include : driver training and assessment ; development of

road user behaviour through aware-ness and education ; traffic engineer-ing including audit of road safety, traf-fic enforcement and accident investiga-tion ; post-crash management ; standards for traffic control devices, road geomet-rics and vehicles ; and finally, the leg-islation itself.

Developed countries have built their standards based on years of research through which they have developed an inbuilt system of ongoing audit, keeping pace with technology in all the areas of human, road and vehicle development. This is evident from the fact that only 9 % of the world’s road fatalities happen in developed countries, which have 52 % of the globe’s registered vehicles.

On the other hand, in low- and middle-income group countries where rapid development is in progress, espe-cially in road building, traffic manage-ment systems are hardly based on indi-vidual research. Rather, these are built from “ cut and paste ” standards and prac-tices from the developed world, with-out any practical adaptation.

Developing ISO standards on each of the components of traffic man-agement is crucial in order to attain road safety management in low- and middle-income group countries, which account for 90 % of global road fatali-ties. Such standards should be attribut-

ed to systems, tools, equipments, prac-tices and even research in all the areas mentioned above.

Care must be taken so that the final International Standards allow sys-tematic adaptation to the needs, cul-ture and prevalent systems of the indi-vidual countries, whether developed or developing.

The idea of an ISO International Standard for road traffic safety can be traced back to a conversation I had in 2006 with Ms. Ziva Patir (former Chair of the ISO Technical Man-

agement Board). Discussing the far-reaching consequences of road traffic safety problems around the globe, which is one of the largest contributors to pov-erty, we considered the potential of a management system standard for tack-ling the problem of lack of road safety in the world.

Clearly, there is currently no global long-term systematic process approach to road safety. Moreover, common definitions are lacking and top management commitment is often absent.

An ISO management standard on road traffic safety would thus con-stitute a valuable asset for saving lives, suffering and a lot of unnecessary cost, through international acceptance and

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The world’s best dummy

by Ken Wiley, Dynamic Research Inc., WorldSID Phase II Project Manager, and the WorldSID Tri-Chair Committee 1)

C rash testing of cars is a critical-ly important step in the design, development, and fabrication

of safer cars and the improvement of road safety. The crash dummy is the most important piece of equipment used in these tests, and no dummy is better than the WorldSID 50 th percen-tile male dummy.

For the last 12 years, engineers and technicians from around the world have diligently worked to design, test and refine the 50 th percentile male World Side Impact Dummy, known as WorldSID. Working under the direction of ISO tech-nical committee ISO/TC 22, Road vehi-cles, subcommittee SC 12, Passive safety crash protection systems, working group WG 5, Anthropomorphic test devices, the WorldSID Task Group produced the first dummy harmonized for world-wide use, and the most technically advanced.

The WorldSID 50 th development process has included four distinct revi-sions of the dummy. The initial proto-type was followed by a pre-production model and a production model, and a revi-sion one model was recently completed. Each version has incorporated improve-ments based on extensive test experience with the dummy. Testing has included nearly 1 500 whole dummy biofidelity, vehicles, and component tests conduct-ed in 16 different test labs in at least 10 different countries, including govern-mental agencies in Australia, Canada, Japan, and the USA.

If a dummy is to provide engineers with information on potential human inju-ries, it must accurately replicate the size, weight, shape, and sitting posture of a typical human (referred to as “ anthro-pometry ”), it must respond to impacts like a human body (“ biofidelity ”), and it must have a means of measuring, col-lecting and recording physical parame-ters, such as impact forces, moments, deflections, rotations, and accelerations — all of which have been shown to be related to human injuries.

Improved anthropometry and biofidelity

Under contract to the US govern-ment, the University of Michigan Trans-portation Research Institute performed an extensive study to quantify the size, weight, shape, and sitting posture of typi-cal human automobile drivers. The results of this study (UMTRI-83-53-1) formed the basis for the WorldSID anthropom-etry design.

As shown in the overlay photo, the WorldSID is a nearly exact match to the average mid-size male driver as determined by UMTRI. The only dif-ferences are in the legs, due to the fact that the WorldSID includes shoes (the UMTRI model does not), which posi-tions the dummy’s feet and legs slight-ly higher than the shoeless model. With a WorldSID seated in a car, research-ers can be confident that the dummy is a proper geometric representation of a human driver.

ISO/TR 9790:1999, Road vehicles – Anthropomorphic side impact dummy – Lateral impact response requirements to assess the biofidelity of the dummy, (see also ISO Focus, July/August 2004 issue) specifies procedures for evaluating side impact dummy biofidelity performance using a series of laboratory tests. Studied in the evaluation are six different body

1) Klaus Bortenschlager, Partnership for Dummy Technology and Biomechanics (PDB) ; Markus Hartlieb, Daimler ; Suzanne Tylko, Transport Canada ; Jack Jensen, General Motors ; Akihiko Akiyama, Honda ; Takeshi Harigae, Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI).

A recently completed multi-year WorldSID test programme conducted by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) involved mul-tiple dummies used in durability, repeata-bility, reproducibility, biofidelity, and full-scale crash tests. Results indicated good durability and improved anthropometry and biofidelity, leading NHTSA to con-clude that in comparison to other dum-mies, “ the WorldSID 50 th male dummy is an improved side impact test dummy.”

“ The WorldSID Task Group produced the first dummy harmonized for worldwide

use, and the most technically advanced.”

WorldSID rib biofidelity pendulum impact test.



Main Focus

regions including the head, neck, shoul-der, thorax, abdomen, and pelvis.

Based on the ISO/TR 9790 rat-ing scale the WorldSID rating is 8.0 (“ Good ” on the 10-point scale). By comparison, other side impact dummies currently in use, USDOT-SID, ES2-re, EuroSID-1, and ES-2, have much lower ratings ranging from 2.3 to 4.6 (biofi-delity details can be found in the 2009 Enhanced Safety of Vehicles article by Scherer et al).

Extensive data recording system

Human injuries are complex events dependent upon a variety of parameters. Head injuries can be caused by linear and rotational accelerations, while chest injuries tend to depend upon rib deflec-tions. Leg bone fractures, on the other hand, are related to forces and moments. The WorldSID Task Group took advan-tage of the latest advances in miniatur-ized electronics to design an extensive electronic data collection and recording system for installation in the WorldSID. The WorldSID data collection system can record these types of potentially injuri-ous loadings using a dispersed array of up to 224 electronic sensors, which are in turn wired to data recorders mounted within the dummy.

With the data system self-con-tained inside the dummy, WorldSID is free to move within the car during a test without the encumbrances of the large electronic umbilical cords required with older systems that utilise external data recorders. More data sensors distribut-ed around different body regions provide researchers with an increased understand-ing of crash dynamics.

Design and performance specifications

Even a technically superior dummy is of little use to the technical community if it is not well documented, easy-to-use and available. To ensure that the World-SID is available to the worldwide research

community, the design details have been documented in ISO 15830:2005, which consists of four parts under the gener-al title, Design and performance speci-fications for a 50 th percentile male side impact dummy (WorldSID).

This documentation, consisting of nearly 500 pages plus 400 fabrication drawings and CAD files, includes all of the design details, material specifications and performance standards required for the fabrication of the WorldSID. ISO 15830 also includes an extensive user manual and detailed step-by-step seat-ing position procedures.

In addition to the technical items discussed above, one should not under-estimate the importance of worldwide dummy harmonization. Humans are physically similar worldwide, so it is logical to have a single crash dummy to test vehicle safety. However, cars sold in different regions of the world currently utilize different safety designs because they are tested with different dummies. The introduction of a single universal dummy for regulatory and consumer testing in all regions enables manufac-turers to focus and coordinate design resources to improve occupant safety rather than engineering different safety designs using different dummies.

Even a dummy can see that.

The WORLDSID’s biofidelity is the best of any side impact crash test dummy to date and far exceeds the performances of others.

1. WorldSID during a full scale car air bag test. 2. WorldSID side impact biofidelity sled test. 3. WorldSID without a suit. 4. WorldSID with test suit. 5. Overlay of the WorldSID geometry and the UMTRI model.

1

3

5

4

2




Spotting the fake – A new kind of driving licence

by Loffie Jordaan, Convenor, and Gerrit Fischer, Project Editor of working group ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17/WG 10, Motor vehicle driver licence and related documents

A driving licence serves as confir-mation of the holder’s ability to operate a vehicle safely in traffic.

It certifies that the holder has been tested by an appropriate authority, was found to be competent, and is authorized to drive the class (size and type) of vehicle per-mitted on the licence under the condi-

tions stated on the licence (e.g. wearing glasses/contact lenses).

Confirmation that the licence was issued to the holder by the author-ity reflected on the licence is a critical requirement for law enforcement and for its recognition by another authority.

Based on the integrity of the licence document, other applications have developed over time. In some countries, the driving licence became the de fac-to identification document for financial transactions and border crossings, just to name a few.

International vs. domestic

The United Nation Conventions on Road Traffic 1) have been drafted and ratified by numerous member states of the United Nations (UN) with the objec-tive of promoting safety in international

road traffic. Their maintenance has been assigned to the UN Economic Commis-sion for Europe (UN/ECE) Transport Division in Geneva, Switzerland.

The conventions make provision for both an international driving per-mit (IDP) and a domestic driving per-mit (DDP). The IDP serves as a means of mutual recognition. Issued by the holder’s home country issuing author-ity, it requests another country, which has ratified the conventions, to allow the holder to operate a motor vehicle as authorized domestically.

The IDP is essentially a transla-tion of the DDP, using a globally recog-nized format and standardized vehicle categories. This facilitates global rec-ognition and acceptance, regardless of the character sets, languages and vehicle category authorizations that appear on the DDPs. According to the convention, a UN member state may disqualify the holder of an IDP from driving in their territory by an appropriate recording in the designated area of the IDP.

1) Geneva (1949) and Vienna (1968).

An example of ISO-compliant driving licence. Above: front (portrait) side. Below: back (non-portrait) side.

The problems and concerns report-ed with the current IDP include :

• Lacks integrity and can be easily cop-ied, altered or simulated, making it difficult for law enforcement authori-ties to detect fraudulent licences from genuine documents

• In many countries, the IDP is issued by non-governmental authorities such as automobile associations, which do not query their respective government motor vehicle agencies to establish if the DDP presented is still valid

• There is no registry or directory of national motor vehicle agency address-es to enable inquiries and exchange of information among the agencies aimed at verifying the validity of a presented IDP

• Does not incorporate the ISO machine-assisted data storage technologies

“ Many countries are using ISO/IEC 18013 in

their licence requirements.”



Main Focus

• Suspension or cancellation of a DDP should result in the automatic sus-pension or cancellation of the IDP, however, current issuing practices do not facilitate this

• The IDP holder may circumvent dis-qualifications entered on their origi-nal IDP by obtaining a new IDP

• Validity of the IDP is currently lim-ited to a maximum of one to three years, depending on the UN Conven-tion followed.

An innovative conceptEnter the ISO/IEC 18013 multi-

part standard on Information technolo-gy – Personal identification – ISO-com-pliant driving licence. Its objective is to allow the issuance of one document which would serve both as an IDP and as a DDP. In addition, the standard facil-itates global harmonization and inter-operability of driving licences.

In practical terms, ISO/IEC 18013 has several benefits. It decreases the pro-duction cost of licences since vendors, who typically serve multiple issuing authorities, can standardize on produc-tion processes. It serves as a common standard underlying the regional and domestic exchange of driving privileg-es. And in today’s world, where drivers regularly cross national borders, ISO/

IEC 18013 serves as a common platform for human-readable information and for machine-assisted storage, retrieval, read-ing and verification of data.

How it worksISO/IEC 18013 consists of four

parts:

• Part 1 : Physical characteristics and basic data set (2005). Specifies a min-imum mandatory data set, a common layout for ease of recognition, and minimum security requirements. It allows for optional supplementary data elements (specific to national, community or regional needs)

• Part 2 : Machine-readable technol-ogies (2008). Prescribes require-ments for the implementation of machine-readable technology on an ISO-compliant driving licence (IDL) Storing IDL data in machine-readable form supports international interchange by speeding up data input and eliminat-ing transcription errors. Consequent-ly, the automation and productivity of

traffic law enforcement and other traf-fic safety processes can be improved This part of ISO/IEC 18013 also allows issuing authorities to customize machine-readable data for domestic use. Apart from international interchange, the use of an IDL as a domestic driving licence allows domestic standardiza-tion. It also creates a domestic infra-structure capable of processing IDLs issued by other issuing authorities

• Part 3 : Access control, authen-tication and integrity validation (2009). Prescribes requirements for implementing mechanisms that con-trol access to data recorded in the machine-readable technology on an IDL, verifying the origin of an IDL, and confirming data integrity. Certain machine-readable technolo-gies are vulnerable to being read with-out the knowledge of the cardholder, and to other means of unauthorized access (by entities other than driving licence or law enforcement authorities). Controlling access to IDL data stored in machine-readable form protects the data on the card from being read remotely by electronic means with-out the knowledge of the cardholder. Identifying falsified driving licenc-es, or alterations to the human-read-able data on authentic driving licenc-es, presents a major problem for law enforcement authorities, both domes-tically and in the context of inter-national interchange. Verifying the authenticity of an IDL and confirm-ing the integrity of the data record-ed allows driving licence and law enforcement authorities to distinguish between authentic IDLs and falsified or altered ones

• Part 4 : Test methods (under devel-opment). When published, will pre-scribe compliance test requirements for the machine-readable data content, as well as for the mechanisms to con-trol access to this data as specified in part 2 and part 3 respectively.

About the authors

Loffie Jordaan is Convenor of working group WG 10, Motor vehicle driver licence and related docu-ments, within ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,

subcommittee SC 17, Cards and personal identification. After complet-ing a degree in industrial engineering in 1995, Mr. Jordaan became involved in consulting to motor vehicle administra-tions. He has since, in this role, advised clients in Namibia, South Africa and the USA.

Gerrit Fischer is an industrial engineer, who after a short aca-demic career and contracting stint, founded Fischer Consult-ing in 1988. Following numerous con-

sulting appointments by motor vehicle administrations in South Africa and the USA, he is recognized as an expert in the field of driving licences. He currently serves as Project Editor of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 17/WG 10, Motor vehicle driver licence and related documents.

Schematic layout of an IDL (not to scale).

Zone I

Zone III

Zone II

MAX

Dimensions in millimetres

MIN 8.00

MIN

16.0

0M

AX

Min 22.00

Max 35.00

ISO

com

plia

nt C

CYY

Max

40.

00

Min

25.

00

MAX

MIN

Top Reference Edge

“ ISO/IEC 18013 facilitates global

harmonization and interoperability of driving licences.”




Adoption and useISO/IEC 18013 currently plays a

role in various countries’ driving licence programmes. Amongst others, many countries are using ISO/IEC 18013 in their licence requirements including the following:

• The USA and Canada: ISO/IEC 18013-1 forms the basis of the domes-tic USA/Canadian standard for driv-ing licences – the American Associa-tion of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) DL/ID card design stand-ard. Although the AAMVA DL/ID card design standard incorporates unique domestic requirements, it allows issu-ing authorities to issue a card com-pliant with ISO/IEC 18013

• Several African countries use ISO/IEC 18013. The Namibian driving licence fully complies with parts 1 and 2 of ISO/IEC 18013. South Africa has a long history of synchronizing their driving licence with the ISO/IEC requirements. The most recent pro-duction contract requires full com-pliance with ISO/IEC 18013. In its procurement documentation, Kenya required driving licence cards to be compliant with ISO/IEC 18013

• A number of European countries are considering the incorporation of an integrated circuit into their driving licences. The standard according to which data must be stored is still to be specified by the European Com-mission. Leading members of the Association of European Vehicle and Driver Registration Authorities have indicated a preference to implement parts 2 and 3 of ISO/IEC 18013 for this purpose.

Compliance with ISO/IEC stand-ards is voluntary. Use is at the sole dis-cretion of the motor vehicle authority. But adopting ISO/IEC 18013 has demon-strated benefits in administering driving privileges and consequently in improv-ing road safety.

Intelligent solutions – Next generation warning and control systems

by Steven E. Shladover, lead USA expert to ISO/TC 204, WG 14, Vehicle/roadway warning and control systems

Not only can intelligent transport systems (ITS) make travel more reliable and convenient, and reduce

traffic congestion, fuel consumption and carbon emissions, they can also signifi-cantly improve road safety.

ITS refers to the application and integration of information technology to urban and rural surface transpor-tation. By harnessing rapid techno-logical advances, ITS can considera-bly enhance the performance of a road transport system.

International standardization of ITS enables the integration and interop-erability of new technology with exist-ing infrastructure. In this manner, Inter-national Standards are contributing to spreading this technology and know-

how, and facilitating its entry into new markets, resulting in significant social and economic returns.

Detecting unsafe road situations

The technical committee devel-oping standards for ITS is ISO/TC 204, Intelligent transport systems (see box overleaf). Within ISO/TC 204, working group WG 14, Vehicle/roadway warn-ing and control systems, is especially dedicated to improving safety of road transport by detecting and responding to potentially unsafe interactions among vehicles, or between vehicles and the roadway infrastructure.

WG 14’s standardization proc-ess is based on a fundamental technical understanding of road vehicles’ mechan-ical and electrical systems, roadway infrastructure design and operations, remote sensor and wireless communi-cation technologies, and the technical and economic maturity of all relevant subsystems.

However, the capabilities and preferences of drivers are the ultimate determinants of the safety gains that can be realized from use of vehicle/roadway warning and control systems. Therefore WG 14 also has to apply knowledge of the human factor aspects of these systems to determine what attributes



Main Focus

About the author

Steven E. Shladover is lead USA expert to ISO/TC 204, WG 14, Vehicle/roadway warn-ing and control systems. Dr. Shladover is a Research Engi-neer at the Cali-

fornia PATH Program of the Institute of Transportation Studies of the University of California at Berkeley, which he joined in 1989, after 11 years at Systems Control, Inc. and Systems Control Tech-nology, Inc. Dr. Shladover received his degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technolo-gy (MIT), where he began conducting research on vehicle automation in 1973.

On par with technology

ISO/TC 204, Intelligent transport systems, was created in 1993 to develop standards for transport information and control systems (TICS) in the emerging field of intelligent transportation systems (ITS).

ITS employs information technology (electronic sensing, wireless communications, computing and automatic control) to improve the performance of road transportation systems. The new committee would focus on improving the efficiency, capacity, safety and cost effectiveness of road transport operations, while bringing together all stakeholders to achieve international consensus.

One of the earliest working groups created within ISO/TC 204 was WG 14, Vehicle/roadway warning and control systems. WG 14 develops standards for systems that warn drivers about potentially unsafe conditions, and which may also assist them in controlling the motions of their vehicles.

This innovative working group was created at a time when these systems were still in their infancy – not yet commercially available, and the subject of research and development by government, industry and academic teams around the world. Yet another example of standardization on par with technology!

* Preliminary work item (potential areas for future work).

** Draft International Standard.

should be required and/or prohibited by the standards.

Distracted driversIn recent years, there has been

a growing recognition of the important role that driver distraction plays in road vehicle crashes. However, it has been difficult from societal and political per-spectives to prevent drivers, through law enforcement alone, from engaging in distracting activities.

Given that drivers are likely to continue to be distracted (and fatigued or otherwise disabled), the most effec-tive way of preventing crashes is through automatic independent sensor and warn-ing systems that alert them to problems that they will otherwise disregard. With this in mind, WG 14 has been developing standards that define performance require-ments and test procedures for virtually all of the driver warning and control assist-ance systems that have entered the mar-ket or are nearing market entry.

Forewarned, forearmedSome of the key standards devel-

oped (or being developed) by ISO/TC 204/WG 14, which contribute to improv-ing road traffic safety, tackle the fol-lowing areas.

Warning about forward collision hazards :

• Forward vehicle collision warning systems (ISO 15623)

Warning about side collision hazards :

• Lane departure warning systems (ISO 17361)

• Lane change decision aid systems (ISO 17387)

• Curve speed warning systems*

Maintaining proper spacing to preced-ing vehicles, thereby helping to avoid forward collisions :

• Adaptive cruise control (ISO 15622)

• Low-speed following systems (ISO 22178)

• Full-speed range adaptive cruise con-trol (ISO 22179) – see box, page 35

• Forward vehicle collision mitigation systems*

Warning about parking collisions :

• Manoeuvring aids for low-speed oper-ation (ISO 17386)

• Extended range backing aids (ISO/DIS 22840** )

Avoiding side crashes :

• Lane keeping assistance systems*

Wa r n i n g a b o u t t r a f f i c s i g n a l violations :

• Cooperative intersection signal informa-tion and violation warning systems*

For each of these systems, WG 14 has sought and achieved interna-tional consensus regarding the mini-mum necessary requirements and func-tions that ensure their effectiveness and performance.

The International Standards aim to improve safety, while gaining driver acceptance and remaining affordable to the potential purchasers of the systems (technically and economically feasible). The WG has also defined testing pro-cedures for key functions and perform-ance requirements, to verify compliance with the relevant standards.

The standardization work of ISO/TC 204/WG 14 provides a foundation for the development and widespread marketing of vehicle/roadway warning and control systems, which will improve road safety. Technology suppliers can use these standards when offering their products to system integrators and orig-inal equipment manufacturers. The lat-ter can in turn take advantage of these standards when selling the systems to end users through a common terminol-ogy and the meaningful and relevant assurance that ISO standards represent performance and capabilities.



ISO standard for cruise control systems promises safer and more enjoyable driving

by Elizabeth Gasiorowski-Denis, Editor of ISO Focus

Ever driven a long distance using your cruise con-trol and still felt tired and stressed from constantly having to adjust the vehicle speed to match traffic flow ? An ISO International Standard for full speed range adaptive cruise control is expected to reduce driver fatigue and stress on long commutes by automatically maintaining a safe distance from the car ahead regardless of its speed.

Full speed range adaptive cruise control (FSRA) tech-nology improves the function of standard cruise control by adjusting the vehicle speed and distance to the vehicle ahead without any action on the part of the driver. If needed, the system will slow the vehicle down to a standstill. Once the road is clear, the system will re-accelerate the vehicle back to the set speed. The system applies to highway driving, both under free-flowing and congested traffic conditions.

ISO 22179:2009, Intelligent transport systems – Full speed range adaptive cruise control (FSRA) systems – Per-formance requirements and test procedures, will improve safety for all highway users by automatically adjusting vehicle speed and, in so doing, enhance driving comfort and convenience.

“ Conventional cruise control is very useful, but can become a source of irritation when used in moderate or heavy traffic,” said Yoshimi Furukawa, Convenor of the ISO working group that developed the standard. “ Traffic conditions can change quickly from slowing vehicles, or close cut-ins by other vehicles. The FSRA not only takes action when the distance to the vehicle in front changes, it also resumes the speed when the road is clear.”

The new standard covers the following aspects :

• Basic control strategy

• Minimum functionality requirements

• Basic driver interface elements

• Minimum requirements for diagnostics and reaction to failure

• Performance test procedures.

ISO 22179:2009, Intelligent transport systems – Full speed range adaptive cruise control (FSRA) systems – Per-formance requirements and test procedures, was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 204, Intelligent trans-port systems, and is available from ISO national member institutes. It may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat through the ISO Store (www.iso.org/isostore) or by contacting the Marketing, Communication and Information department ([email protected]).



Main Focus

Uncovering eCall’s potential – the European experience

by Bob Williams, former Head of United Kingdom delegation to ISO/TC 204, Intelligent transport systems

Each year 40 000 people die on the roads in Europe, and more than 1.7 million are injured. This cas-

ualty rate compares to that of a major war. European countries have therefore signed an agreement to halve the number of fatalities and injuries over a 10-year period. Among the initiatives to be imple-mented is eCall, an innovative automat-ic crash notification system.

With eCall emergency servic-es can :

• Be immediately alerted

• Automatically receive location and key information about the vehicle

(“112 ” in Europe), provide a standard-ized minimum set of data (and maybe additional useful information) and open a voice link between the rescue serv-ices and the occupants of the vehicle. The benefits of e-Call are clear and sig-nificant, particularly for incidents that take place in remote areas or far from the town centre.

The “golden hour” is the first hour after an accident, where there is a very strong correlation between get-ting treatment quickly and mitigation of deaths and injuries.

With eCall, emergency servic-es will know exactly where the vehicle is located. This information will help victims, disoriented, in shock, not sure of where they are, or injured, to receive help. And in a serious accident, the occupants may not even be conscious. By making this information rapidly and automatically available to emergency services, it will be possible for rescue teams to arrive more quickly and with adequate support.

While waiting for their arrival, the rescue services will be able to talk to the vehicle’s occupants (if they are conscious), reassure them, ascertain the extent of their injuries, give them advice on what to do until help arrives, and indicate how long it will take to get to them.

The eCall system

“ISO 24978 will help make information provided by the vehicle understandable by the emergency and rescue

services.”

• If the vehicle is equipped with detec-tors, learn the number of occupants

• Speak to the occupants of the vehicle.

Immediate emergency action

How does it work? When sen-sors in a vehicle detect that there has been a crash, or if an emergency button is pressed, the vehicle will automati-cally contact the emergency services

Most appropriate public service answering point

(PSAP)

Vehicle in incident

Minimum set of data (MSD)

Minimum set of data (MSD)

Voice (Emergency 112)

Mobile network operator(MNO)




Death and injury on Europe’s roads.

Putting it in motionHowever, establishing and intro-

ducing eCall is a complex and lengthy process.

First, the meta-data for the “ min-imum set of data ” to be sent through eCall must be agreed upon. In Europe, this ”minimum set of data” is speci-fied in the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) technical specification CEN/TS 15722:2009, Road transport and traffic telemat-ics – ESafety – ECall minimum set of data (MSD). CEN 15722, contains information such as the vehicle VIN identification (ISO 3779:1983), location, direction of travel, vehicle motive type (petrol, diesel, gas, hybrid, electric), time of incident, number of passengers, and other data.

Its metadata content, on the other hand, will be housed in reg-istries, such as those conforming to the ISO 24978:2009, Intelligent transport systems – ITS Safety and emergency messages using any available wireless media – Data registry procedures.

“ The benefits of eCall are clear and significant.”

Developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 204, Intelligent transport systems, ISO 24978 will help make information provided by the vehicle understandable at the point of reception by the emergency and res-cue services.

In Europe, it is envisaged that there will be both a pan-European sys-tem based on the use of mobile cell phone telephony and the 112 emer-gency number system, and a third-party support system for vehicles that are already equipped with commer-cial support communication systems – where the third-party service provider may use different means to connect to the vehicle, sense and receive incident information, filter out non-emergency calls, and will connect relevant calls to the emergency services and provide them with the minimum set of data, and establish a voice link between the emergency operator and the occupants

of the vehicle. These commercial serv-ices may use mobile phone networks, satellite phones or other connections. Generally providing a much wider range of support services, on a subscription or charged basis, eCall is just one of the services they support.

About the author

Bob Williams is Group Senior Consultant, CSI (Consultancy Services Inter-national) and has been involved in ITS standardization in ISO, CEN and the Europe-

an Telecommunication Standards Insti-tute for 17 years. He was, until recently, Head of the United Kingdom delegation to ISO/TC 204. He convenes the work-ing group in CEN that is developing eCall standards for Europe. He is the author of Intelligent Transport Systems – Standards, published by Artech House, 2008.

“ The development of International Standards will

help spread the benefits of eCall throughout the

world.”

Identified as one of the major ini-tiatives designed to halve road deaths and injuries over a 10-year period, the European Commission – Directorate General of the Information Society and Media (INFSO) – has been very active in this respect, taking the lead to encourage and bring together emergen-cy services, automotive manufacturers, and mobile network operators, to obtain consensus to implement eCall.

Now that the decisions have been made as to the shape and form of Euro-pean eCall, there is now an implementa-tion platform initiative, lead by DG INF-SO-eSafety, to get voluntary commitment from all parties, so that the Pan European system can be in place by 2012.

Although it will take several years before all cars are eCall equipped, the effort, work and time spent is worth the trouble, as it will result in significantly fewer deaths and injuries on our roads. The development of International Stand-ards in this area will help spread these benefits throughout the world.

Standards are therefore necessary to establish the operating requirements for both the pan-European eCall system and for third-party support. High-level application protocols are also required to make the system work. Standards for these three areas are at an advanced stage of development for Europe. In the future, these may be proposed to ISO as a basis for the development of Interna-

tional Standards on eCall, where it would be necessary to also take into account the different approaches to the network support in other countries.

Furthermore, European standards to provide quality of service categorization and other broad emergency services are

also under development. Again, the intention is to offer these for adapta-tion into the wider international com-munity at a later date.

Building supportThe standards, however, are

only part of the story. While they ensure interoperability, so that eCall can work in any country in Europe and be understood by any emergen-cy services operator, there is also a need to obtain political and admin-istrative support in each of the 27 EU countries.



Developments and InitiativesThe State of Geneva designs a secure Internet voting systemby Sandrine Tranchard, Communication Officer, ISO Central Secretariat

Swiss citizens vote four to five times a year, some-times more. Convenience

and ease of use of the voting procedure are important fea-tures for them. This was a good reason for the Geneva State to introduce an eVoting project in Switzerland which meets the security requirements needed for the organization of democratic ballots and is based on the ISO/IEC 27000 family of standards.

Officially launched in March 2001, with the sup-port of the Federal State, the Geneva eVoting project was backed up by the a n n u a l s tudies conducted by the GfS polling institute and the Bern technical school. The stud-ies show that, year to year, two-thirds of the Swiss population are in favour of this voting procedure which complements the other existing ballot forms, i.e., tra-ditional voting at the polling station and postal voting.

Secure votingThe challenge of an eVoting sys-

tem is to maintain a controlled perim-eter in order not to impair the guaran-tees offered to citizens. The eVoting system developed by the Geneva State

meets the security requirements need-ed for the organization of a democrat-ic ballot.

Michel Chevallier, the Deputy Secretary-General to the Geneva State Chancellery, emphasizes that : “ For our eVoting system, the approach to securi-ty and risk management is specifically based on the ISO/IEC 27000 family of standards on information security man-agement systems, and in particular:

• ISO/IEC 27001 for the implementa-tion of an information security man-

agement system (ISMS), but with-out seeking official certification for the time being; the purpose of this ISMS is to ensure a rea-sonable level of confidence and the transparency of the eVoting process

•ISO/IEC 27002 and ISO/IEC 27005 for risk management (assessment and treatment).

Within the framework of the ISMS, we have

identified and assessed com-pliance of the

system with legal require-

ments, particu-larly regarding

data protection and laws or regulations

on political rights.”

The expression “ elec-tronic voting ” has very different meanings, from country to coun-try. In Switzerland, this expres-sion was adopted to define the

exercise of democratic rights by electron-ic means, i.e., participating in an elec-tion or voting online or signing online initiatives or referendums.

Eleven Internet voting rules have been defined to meet the needs of a sim-ple and quick voting procedure for the user with the highest level of security :

11. The votes can not be intercepted nor modified

12. No one will have access to the votes before the official opening of the eBallot box



13. Only registered voters will have access to the eVoting application

14. Each voter will be able to vote only once, using whatever voting method he or she has chosen

15. The vote secrecy is guaranteed. There can not be a link between a vote and a voter

16. The eVoting site will resist any attack

17. Voters will be protected against any attempt of identity theft

18. The number of cast ballots will be equal to the number of received ballots

19. It could be proven that a given vot-er has cast a ballot

10. The system will not accept any vote outside the voting period

11. It will be possible for legally desig-nated authorities to check the prop-er functioning of the system.

Servers are installed on a specif-ic network within the State’s protected network. Only a few carefully selected operators can access it.

The voting system will undergo further analysis and improvements in order to maintain the security level in line with technological developments and risk development.

eVoting as an extension of postal voting

The introduction of postal vot-ing increased turnout by 20 percent-age points in Geneva between 1995 and 2000. In 2009, some 95 % of the voters vote by mail ; 5 % only still go to poll-ing stations. The message is clear : vot-ers favour convenience. Internet voting relies on new technologies to confirm the progress made by postal voting and constitutes an extension of it.

The main advantages cited by users are quick ballot counting, an increase in turnout and potential sav-ings in the organization of ballots.

Other deciding factors are sim-ple ballot counting, the possibility of avoiding unintentionally spoiled bal-

lots and the impetus resulting from the introduction of this voting procedure for the development of new technolo-gies in Switzerland.

This voting procedure will also enable Swiss citizens living abroad (10 % of Swiss citizens live abroad) and the disabled to exercise their civil rights more easily.

voters of the cantons wishing to do so. In November 2009, Basel Stadt will be the first canton to take advantage of this possibility.

eVoting receives three awards

The Geneva eVoting project was selected :

• As a good practice by the European Union within the framework of the eEurope 2010 initiative

• Among the finalists of the 2007 Unit-ed Nations Public Service Awards

• The Geneva online voting application has again been awarded the Europe-an “ good practice ” label for 2007. This label is awarded by the Euro-pean eGovernment Awards consorti-um. This label is only given to 10 % of the cases published in the www.epractice.eu portal and is assigned to the highest ranked ones, rated with more than 80 points by the ePractice.eu experts.

On 8 February 2009, Geneva cit-izens approved, with a 70 % majority, a new article providing for the insertion of internet voting in the cantonal Con-stitution. Reassured by this support, the canton will offer internet voting to its citizens living abroad from Sep-tember 2009.

Geneva also devised an origi-nal way of extending eVoting to the 680 000 Swiss citizens living abroad ; hosting, on its own system, expatriate

Michel Chevallier, Deputy Secretary-General to the Geneva State Chancellery.

The ISO/IEC 27000 family of standards enable organizations to implement information security management systems within the framework of their risk management strategy and help them understand the fundamentals, principles and useful concepts to ensure a better protection of their wealth of information :

ISO/IEC 27001:2005 – Information technology – Security techniques –Information security management systems – Requirements

ISO/IEC 27005:2008 – Information technology – Security techniques – Information security risk management

ISO/IEC 27002:2005 – Information technology – Security techniques – Code of practice for information security management.



New fan standard for energy efficiencyby Mike Duggan, Secretary, ISO/TC 117, Fans

When the ISO technical man-agement board passed a res-olution this year encouraging

technical committees for energy-inten-sive industries to launch standardization on energy efficiency, the ISO techni-cal committee ISO/TC 117, Fans, was already a year into producing its own standard – ISO 12759, Efficiency clas-sification for fans.

selection of equipment by users and bet-ter design by manufacturers.

Fans of all types are used for ven-tilation and air conditioning, for proc-ess engineering (such as drying, cool-ing and combustion air supply) and for agriculture. Indeed, the energy usage by fans has been calculated to be near-ly 20 % of the total usage of electric-ity in Europe – second only to pumps. This figure is similar in the USA and other developed countries.

In Europe, the Directive on the Eco-design of Energy-using Products (EuP) conducted several preparatory stud-ies to examine different product types. The study for fans – known as “Lot 11” – has looked in detail at the entire fan market for the past three years.

This study, and the raised aware-ness of energy efficiency, inspired the UK fan manufacturers’ trade associa-tion to propose the development of a new ISO standard on energy classifica-tion for fans. And it wasn’t just Europe. There was immediate support for the proposed new standard from the USA, where energy efficiency is also heading industry agendas. Australia and China are also conducting research into improv-ing and classifying efficiency.

A global industryThe fan industry is global, with

a considerable level of exporting and licensing. This makes it highly desir-able that any standards produced can be implemented on a worldwide basis, and that there should be a unique set of recommendations.

The industry believes that there is now a widespread need for recog-

nition of minimum efficiency stand-ards. To encourage their implementa-tion, a classification system was pro-posed which incorporates a number of efficiency bands. It is anticipated that with the passing of time the lower bands could be withdrawn. With improvements in technology, higher efficiency bands may need to be added.

As concerns the future ISO 12759, national differences or priorities have been taken into account. For instance, in Europe the requirement is mostly for motor and fan impeller combinations, whereas in the USA the majority of fans are sold as bare shaft fans with the motor or drive mechanism being supplied sep-arately. The ISO standard sets fan effi-ciency grades (FEG) for both bare shaft fans, and fan-motor efficiency grades (FMEG) for driven fans.

About the author

Mike Duggan is the Secretary of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 117, Fans. He graduated with a first class honours degree in mechanical engineering from Swansea

University in 1978, and since 1990 is the Technical Manager of the Federation of Environmental Trade Associations (FETA), a part of which is the Fan Manufacturers Association.

Development and Initiatives

Example of an axial fan installation.

Time is energyThe last decade has seen not only

an escalation in the price, but also an increasing awareness of the finite life of many fossil fuels. There is also a grow-ing desire to minimize carbon dioxide emissions to restrict global warming. This has led many countries to look closely at their energy usage.

To maintain economic growth, there is therefore a need to promote energy efficiency. This requires better

The classification of fan efficiency grades and fan-motor efficiency grades is based on the fan energy efficiency, commonly referred to as the overall effi-ciency. This is the ratio of the energy the fan delivers to the air, to the ener-gy delivered by the motor.

“ The industry believes that there is now a widespread

need for recognition of minimum efficiency

standards.”



The standard contains several graphs showing efficiency grades against fan diameter for bare shaft fans and effi-ciency grades against input power for driven fans.

Quite early into the standard’s development, the European Commis-sion expressed a keen interest, as they saw that it could offer a good way of showing compliance with their EuP directive. Similarly, both the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and Air Movement and Control Associa-tion (AMCA) International in the USA intend to use the methodology in their standards and regulations.

Transparency and flexibility

So what practical difference will ISO 12759 make? The classification sys-tem of efficiency bands will lead to greater transparency of a fan’s energy efficiency. Future energy labelling requirements com-ing from legislation will further aid that transparency. And with future improve-ments in technology and manufacturing processes, the minimum efficiency grades may be reviewed and increased in time.

Members of ISO/TC 117, Fans, still have some work to do before the standard is published, but they have been pleased with the level of interest the stand-

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ard has prompted so far. For instance, the latest efficiency working group meeting in Madrid, Spain, was the largest of any recent ISO/TC 117 meeting – a testament to how seriously people are taking ener-gy efficiency.

It would appear that this stand-ard is going to benefit just about every-one. Manufacturers will benefit from a standardized methodology to follow. In addition they will benefit from a scale of energy grades to aim for. Users and specifiers of fans will have an easy-to-use system for choosing a fan based on its efficiency. Legislators will be able to refer to the new ISO standard when set-ting energy targets in directives and reg-

Assembly of a 6 megawatt mixed-flow fan.

Example of efficiency grades for motor-driven axial fans.

ulations. And ISO will have a standard which meets their goals.

Nobody believes that energy effi-ciency targets will remain constant. Both users who have to pay for the energy to run the fans and legislators who want to push the boundaries will be looking for incremental increases in efficiency lev-els. The standard, which is expected to be published in 2010, has been developed in such a way as to meet and evolve with industry’s changing needs.

“ Manufacturers will benefit from a standardized

methodology to follow.”



Graphic arts standardization development forum draws impressive turnout in Chinaby Dr. Mary Lou Pelaprat, Technical Programme Manager, ISO Central Secretariat

A forum organized by the Chinese printing industry to promote the use and benefits of ISO Interna-

tional Standards brought together some 300 Chinese participants from 20 prov-inces. The Graphic Arts Standardization Development Forum was held in Sep-tember 2009, in Beijing, China.

China was the first country to invent printing, using the rolling bind-ing method, with its first book dating back to the year 868. Today, printing in China constitutes a business worth approximately 40 billion Euro (EUR) per year. An ever-increasing proportion of this sum is generated through inter-national business relationships.

Ms. Li Dongdong, Vice Minister of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) explained :

“ At present, China has more than 100 000 types of printing enterprises. Up to 2 400 are foreign-invested enter-prises, and private enterprises account for more than 50 000.

“ China uses and applies all kinds of new printing technology and equipment. Some 3.5 million people are involved in printing industry, with a total output of 480 billion Yuan Ren-minbi (EUR 48 billion).

“ The Chinese annual per capita consumption of paper increased from 37 kg in 2003 to 64 kg in 2008. China has built up relationships in printing processing with more than 40 countries, and the out-sourced process revenue amounts to 30 – 40 billion Yuan Ren-minbi (EUR 30-40 billion). These fig-ures show that China has become one of the world’s major printing powers.

“ However, we have clearly real-ized that there is still a big gap in print-ing technology and management between China and the developed countries. We should learn how to improve quality, reduce energy consumption, popularize new technology, innovate techniques,

Ms. Li Dongdong, GAPP’s Vice Minister (first row, third from left) with speakers and participants at the forum.




About the author

Dr. Mary Lou Pelaprat is Technical Programme Manager and Technical Editor at ISO Central Secre-tariat. She is also Secretary of the ISO

3166 Maintenance Agency.

and ensure safety and environmentally friendly production from International Standards and developed countries.

“Printing standardization is impor-tant for the press and publication industry,” emphasized Vice Minister Li Dongdong (photo above), explaining that standards will play a full role in supporting govern-ment supervision, promoting progress in industrial technology progress and meet-ing the needs of service businesses and social development. “ With the develop-ment of computer science and the Inter-net, digital printing technology will be the focus of both China and the world. Only if the printing industry can improve timeliness, meet personalized needs and provide high quality printing products can they satisfy the increasing materi-al, cultural and ideological demand of society and the public.”

Mr. Fang Xiang (photo right), Director of the Standardization Admin-istration of the PRC (SAC), explained that the forum provided an opportunity to emphasize the importance of Inter-national Standards, learn from experi-ences and information on an interna-

tional scale, improve the printing indus-try’s perception of the strategic signifi-cance of standardization, and promote the standards work of China.

Talking about China’s participa-tion in international standardization, Fang Xiang said that “ International Standards proposals made by our country and ini-tiated as an international standardiza-tion project amount to 164. Sixty-four of these have already resulted in pub-lished International Standards.”

“ China holds 31 secretariats for ISO and IEC [International Electrotech-nical Commission] technical commit-tees and subcommittees, 22 chairman-ships and vice-chairmanships. Nearly 1 000 registered experts participate in ISO and IEC international standardiza-tion working groups.”

He also highlighted the role of standards in enhancing China’s compet-itiveness, particularly important since the country’s entry into the World Trade Organization.

Dignitaries from the Chinese Government, the Standards Adminis-tration of China and the Printing Tech-nology Association further emphasized the importance of the country becom-ing an increasingly active member in international standardization.

President of the Printing Technol-ogy Association of China (PTAC), Yu Yongzhan (photo above), spoke on the importance of standards for the indus-try : “ Standards can stabilize product quality and improve the developments of the industry division and trade.

“ Under the new need to respond to an international financial crisis, the PTAC will intensify efforts to encour-age competitive printing enterprises to take part in the establishment of tech-nology standards.”

In fact, in Guandong, the glo-bal financial crisis has brought a 20 % to 30 % general decline in orders for packaging and decoration. “ The print-ing industry creates 846 685 jobs in China ”, said Yang Guangrui (photo on page 44, top centre) Director of Guang-dong Press and Publication Adminis-tration. “ Standardization is the essen-tial element of an industry core com-petitiveness, and an important aspect of enhancing the industry’s innovative



ability. It offers technical support for standardizing the market order, which plays an irreplaceable role in the devel-opment of industry… Standardization of the printing industry in Guangdong serves as the driving force for sustain-able development.”

Mr. Yang Guangrui explained : “ In order to meet customer requirements, and better develop international markets, com-panies participating in international com-petition have a profound understanding of the importance of standardization and an urgent need for advanced standards. They consciously take the initiative to conform to International Standards.

“ In particular, the majority of export-oriented enterprises have estab-lished mechanisms and systems compat-ible with ISO International Standards to cultivate and foster a large number of international talents. Standardization is so beneficial that overseas orders of printing in Guangdong have increased by 10 billion Yuan Renminbi (EUR one bil-lion) annually for the past three years.”

The Chair of ISO/TC 130, Dr. Uwe Bertholdt (photo far right, top) highlighted the achievements of inter-national standardization for graphic arts industries, the network of stand-ards for the graphic arts industries, as well as tools for applying standards in the graphic arts industries.

He emphasized that the advan-tages for the industry were :

• Participation in standardization ena-bles them to be the “early birds” in pushing and fulfilling market needs

• Supplier independence

• Improved technical communication both nationally and internationally

• Defining materials of predictable properties

• Quality security where customer knows technical possibilities/limita-tions whereas printer is guarded against unreasonable quality requests.

“ Application of standards for the graphic arts industries will result in quality improvements, process sta-bility, improved customer relations, reputation and competitiveness,…but ignorance of standards for the graphic arts industries will result in strategic disadvantages.”

“ 2009 represents a significant milestone for the graphic arts indus-try,” said David McDowell (photo just above), Convenor of ISO/TC 130/WG 2, which this year celebrates the 30 th anni-versary since the introduction in Milan, Italy, of the first colour electronic pre-press system (CEPS).

Thirty years ago, a revolution in the graphic arts technology began and made standards mandatory. Ten years




later, in 1989, the need for Internation-al Standards for digital data exchange, printing definition, colour management, metrology, and materials testing and definition was identified, requiring the re-activation of ISO/TC 130 – marking its 20th anniversary in 2009.

Other topics covered in the forum were :

• Process control for print production

• Colour standards for print production

• Safety standards for printing equipment

• Role of paper in standardization for printing

• Exchanging colour information for prints using electronic means

• Standardization in building equipment

• Graphic arts standardization in Hong Kong

• Standardization as driving force for sustainable development.

Mr. Li An, Secretary of SAC/TC 170, the Chinese national mirror committee to ISO/TC 130, and one of the organizers for the Graphic Arts Standardization Development Forum.

The international gathering helped fuel the interest by China’s printing indus-trial leaders to take a more active role in international standardization. Since 2006, when China became a member of ISO/TC 130, the country has taken on an increasingly active role, with the establishment of eight research facili-ties for experimentation and develop-ment of standardization in the fields of printing.

Today, China is particularly inter-ested in postpress (i.e. bookbinding and finishing) standards, and has already expressed its interest in developing this new sector in ISO/TC 130.

The forum was organized by the National Technical Committee on Print-ing of SAC (ISO member for China), GAPP, PTAC, as well as half a doz-en sponsors from the Chinese print-ing industry.

“ Standardization is so beneficial that overseas

orders of printing in Guangdong have increased by 10 billion Yuan Renminbi

(EUR 1 billion) annually for the past 3 years.”




The future International Standard ISO 26000, Guidance on social responsibility, has reached an

important phase in its development with its publication as a Draft International Standard (DIS).

A five-month balloting period (from 14 September 2009 to 14 Febru-ary 2010) has now begun during which the national member bodies of ISO will be able to vote and comment on the text. Participating liaison organizations can also comment. The comments will be discussed at the next meeting of the ISO Working Group on Social Responsibil-ity (ISO/WG SR), which is developing ISO 26000, in May 2010. If the DIS vote is successful, the document, with eventual modifications, will then be cir-culated to the ISO members as a Final Draft International Standard (FDIS). If that vote is positive, ISO 26000 will then be published as an International Standard in late 2010.

ISO 26000 will provide harmo-nized, globally relevant guidance based on international consensus among expert representatives of the main stakeholder groups and so encourage the implemen-tation of best practice in social respon-sibility worldwide.

The introduction of the draft standard includes the following key mes-sages, stating that ISO 26000 :

• Provides guidance on the underly-ing principles of social responsibil-ity, the core subjects and issues per-taining to social responsibility and on ways to integrate socially responsible behaviour into existing organization-al strategies, systems, practices and processes

Future ISO 26000 on social responsibility published as Draft International Standard by Roger Frost, Manager, Communication Services, ISO Central Secretariat

• Is intended to be useful to all types of organizations in the private, public and non-profit sectors, whether large or small, and whether operating in developed or developing countries

• Is not a management system stand-ard. It is not intended or appropriate for certification purposes or regula-tory or contractual use

• Is intended for use by those begin-ning to address social responsibility, as well as those more experienced with its implementation.

Ninety-one countries and 42 organizations with liaison status are par-ticipating in the ISO/WG SR under the joint leadership of the ISO members for Brazil (ABNT) and Sweden (SIS). Six main stakeholder groups are represent-ed : industry ; government ; labour; con-

sumers: nongovernmental organizations ; service, support, research and others, as well as a geographical and gender-based balance of participants.

The guidance in ISO 26000 draws on best practice developed by existing public and private sector SR initiatives. It is consistent with and complements relevant declarations and conventions by the United Nations and its constitu-ents, notably the International Labour Organization (ILO), with whom ISO has established a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) to ensure consistency with ILO labour standards. ISO has also signed MoUs with the United Nations Global Compact Office (UNGCO) and with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to enhance their cooperation on the devel-opment of ISO 26000.

• For more information on ISO 26000 and the ISO Working Group on Social Responsibility, see the dedicated Web site : www.iso.org/sr. This Web site includes documents giving the back-ground to ISO’s SR initiative, docu-ments and press releases on the progress of the work and how it is being carried out, the membership and structure of the WG SR, how to participate in the development of ISO 26000, a news-letter, development timeframe, FAQs, contacts and other information. Many are available in several languages.

• Working documents including the DIS can be accessed at : www.iso.org/wgsr.



New on the shelfISO standards collection – ISO 9000 quality managementby Roger Frost, Manager, Communication Services, ISO Central Secretariat

ISO 9001:2008, the latest edition of the world’s most widely used qual-ity management standard, is includ-

ed on a newly launched CD collection of the generic standards in the ISO 9000 family.

The ISO standards collection – ISO 9000 quality management on CD contains 18 standards (including one draft and two technical corrigendums).

The collection includes ISO 9001:2008, the latest edition of the standard that establishes the require-ments for a quality management sys-tem and which can be used for certi-fication by organizations that wish to have their conformity to the standard verified by an independent auditor. At the end of 2007, at least 951 486 certifi-cates of conformity to the previous edi-tion, ISO 9001:2000, had been issued in 175 countries and economies.

Also included on the CD is the Draft International Standard, ISO/DIS 9004, Managing for the sustained suc-cess of an organization – A quality man-agement approach.

These are complemented by the rest of the comprehensive family of generic standards developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 176, Qual-ity management and quality assurance. “Generic” means that the same standard can be applied by any organization, large or small, whatever its product or service, in any sector of activity, and whether it is a business enterprise, a public admin-istration, or a government department. The other standards address :

• Fundamentals and vocabulary

• Performance improvements

• Quality plans

• Projects

• Configuration management

• Measurement processes and measur-ing equipment

• System documentation

• Realizing financial and economic benefits

• Training

• The selection and use of consultants

• Quality and/or environmental man-agement systems auditing

• Complaints handling

• Codes of conduct for customer satisfaction

• Dispute resolution.

The ISO standards collection – ISO 9000 quality management on CD (ISBN 978-92-67-01173-8) includes all the above documents in both Eng-lish and French. It is available from ISO national member institutes and may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat through the ISO Store (www.iso.org/isostore)or by contacting the Marketing, Commu-nication and Information department ([email protected]).

ISO shines new light on sun protection methodsby Elizabeth Gasiorowski-Denis, Editor, ISO Focus

A new ISO technical report which compiles the most commonly used methods for assessing the

protection levels of suncreens will make it easier to evaluate the numerous tests on the market.

ISO/TR 26369:2009, Cosmetics – Sun protection test methods – Review and evaluation of methods to assess the photo protection of sun protection prod-ucts, will contribute to both regulato-ry and private sector objectives, bene-fitting public authorities, industry and consumer associations .

The new ISO report reviews and evaluates the methods used to measure the level of protection of sun protection

ISO 9000Q u a l i t y m a n a g e m e n tManagement de la qualité

ISO Standards collection on CD-ROM

Collection de normes ISO sur CD-ROM

ISO

9000 Qu

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ISO Central Secretariat

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Switzerland

www.iso.org

ISBN 978-92-67-01173-8

© ISO, 2009 All rights reserved / Tous droits réservés

The 12th edition of the ISO 9000 Collection on CD-ROM contains the complete collection of ISO 9000 generic quality management standards in electronic form for easy and rapid access and consultation. It includes ISO 9001:2008, Quality management systems – Requirements, the latest edition of this standard. The collection also includes guidelines for supporting technologies, such as quality management system auditing.

This product is compatible with Microsoft Windows®, Mac OS X® and Linux®

La 12e édition de la Collection ISO 9000 sur CD-ROM contient la collection complète des normes génériques ISO 9000 relatives au management de la qualité en format électronique, pour en faciliter l’accès et la consultation. La collection comprend ISO 9001:2008, Systèmes de management de la qualité – Exigences, dernière édition de cette norme. Elle comprend aussi les lignes directrices pour les technologies de soutien, par exemple pour l’audit des systèmes de management de la qualité.

Ce produit est compatible avec Microsoft Windows®, Mac OS X® et Linux®

Twelfth edition / Douzième édition

Twelfth ed

ition / Douzièm

e édition



In addition, the standard spec-ifies what type of information man-ufacturers should provide to ensure safe operation of the product, includ-ing warnings and markings.

Ken Goodman, Project Editor of ISO 10517:2009 says, “ This new edition of the standard replaces the original ISO 10517:1993, with a fully revised document. The standard now features noise and vibration require-ments, as well as a table listing the most significant risks. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has already adopted the standard as EN ISO 10517.”

“ This new standard will provide up-to-date valuable guidance to man-ufactures and retailers of hedge trim-mers worldwide. Compliance with this standard will protect their customers and reassure them of the safety of their products,” concluded Mr. Goodman.

ISO 10517:2009, Powered hand-held hedge trimmers – Safety, was developed by ISO technical commit-tee ISO/TC 23, Tractors and machin-ery for agriculture and forestry, sub-committee SC 13, Powered law and garden equipment, and is available from ISO national member institutes. It may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat through the ISO Store (www.iso.org/isostore)or by contacting the Marketing, Com-munication and Information department ([email protected]).

products, including tables of their key parameters and elements. It applies to the sun protection factor (SPF) of a sun-screen and the ultraviolet A (UVA) pro-tection. Both in vivo and in vitro meth-ods are included.

“Assessing the efficacy of sun-screen products is recognized as an important public health issue,” says Prof. Philippe Masson, Convener of the working group that developed the report. “ Until now the plethora of methods used to determine the level of protection provided by sun protection products has made comparisons both difficult and time-consuming. Thanks to ISO/TR 26369:2009, users are now able to compare methods quickly and easily, from just one document.”

ISO/TR 26369:2009 will serve as a technical/scientific framework in order to help identify the most suitable methods for standardization. It will be part of a series of standards which will address sun protection test methods.

ISO/TR 26369:2009, was devel-oped by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 217, Cosmetics, and is available from ISO national member institutes. It may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat through the ISO Store (www.iso.org/isostore) or by contacting the Marketing, Communication and Infor-mation department ([email protected]).

New on the shelf

ISO standard to ensure safe operation of hedge trimmersby Maria Lazarte, Assistant Editor, ISO Focus

A new ISO standard will help to eliminate or reduce the safety risks associated with the use of

hedge trimmers. ISO 10517:2009, Powered hand-

held hedge trimmers – Safety, applies to the design and construction of sin-gle operator hand-held hedge trimmers with integrally driven petrol combustion engines. The standard outlines safety requirements and provides guidelines for verifying their correct application, taking into consideration all the sig-nificant hazards, dangerous situations and events that may arise when used as intended.



Main Focus

Developments and Initiatives

Job training and competenciesOur lives are increasingly nomadic.

As globalization progresses, the workforce becomes more mobile. Individuals today are likely to change jobs, organizations, careers and even countries, several times throughout their lifetime.

But although this mobility may bring international expertise and talent, it can also pose problems, since education and training varies from country to coun-try. How then can an organization verify the competence of a potential employee ? How can workers prove that they have the required training ? And how can learning institutions guarantee their students inter-nationally recognized qualifications ?

ISO standards for job training and non-formal education can help. By provid-ing internationally harmonized and rec-ognized requirements, they can be used to establish and assert the competence of individuals and the quality of training, everywhere in the world. These stand-ards are not only useful for workers and employers, they are also important tools helping learning institutions to become internationally competitive.

The November issue of ISO Focus, looks at some of the areas where ISO stand-ards are already making an impact. These include professions as diverse as non-destructive testing and financial planning. ISO has also developed standards for per-sonnel of condition monitoring and diag-nostics of machines, software engineering professionals, crane personnel and auditors competence. Read all about these standards and more, in our next issue of ISO Focus.

And find out the latest developments on the future ISO standard for non-formal educa-tion and training services.

The November issue features an exclusive interview with the Director-Gen-eral of the International Labour Organi-zation (ILO), Juan Somavia, who says “ Improving the quality of training provided is a constant concern of governments. This typically includes increasing accountabil-ity of public funding, improving linkages with employers, expanding opportunities for teacher training, and tracking gradu-ates’ employment. ISO can be a partner in this effort, as it provides measurable benchmarks and agreed procedures for documenting institutions’ performance in these and other critical areas.”

The next issue also looks at the training services offered by the ISO Cen-tral Secretariat, to promote understanding of International Standards, as tools to sup-port development and trade.

ISO 32nd General Assembly“Standards build confidence” was

the key message at the opening of the 32nd ISO General Assembly. “ The financial cri-sis has been felt across business sectors and economies worldwide,” said ISO Pres-ident Alan Morrison. “ A major imperative is the need to restore confidence. Inter-national Standards promote business and help to restore the confidence essential to economic development.”

The first ISO General Assembly to be held on the African continent took place in Cape Town, South Africa in September 2009, and was hosted by the South Afri-can Bureau of Standards (SABS).

The event brought together 363 delegates from 108 ISO member coun-tries, and representatives of ISO’s exten-sive partnership network of more than 700 international, regional, governmental and nongovernmental organizations.

Learn more about the discussions at the General Assembly, as well as the highlights of the open session on “ Energy – why International Standards are vital,” in the November issue of ISO Focus. And find out who are the recipients of the 2009 Lawrence D. Eicher Leadership Award, and the ISO Award for Higher Education in Standardization.

The smiles say it all – ISO received a warm welcome to South Africa. After the formal addresses, the “ top table” participants in the official opening ceremony, from left : Executive, Commercial, SABS, Dr. Geoff Visser ; Executive, Standards, SABS, Mrs. Vanida Lennon ; Chief Executive Officer, SABS, Dr. Bonakele Mehlomakulu ; ISO Secretary-General, Mr. Rob Steele ; Director-General, South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry ; Mr. Tshediso Matona ; ISO President, Dr. Alan Morrison.

Coming up



Tackling climate change through standards

World Standards Day

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Documents

ISO Focus · 2016. 7. 13. · ISO Focus is published 11 times a year (single issue : July-August). It is available in English. Annual subscription 158 Swiss Francs Individual copies