ASSE Named Administrator of ISO 'Road Traffic Safety' Standard
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved the American Society of Safety Engineers as the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Administrator for the International Standards Organization/PC 241 "Road Traffic Safety (RTS) Management System" draft standard technical committee. According to ASSE, the current draft standard aims to keep workers safe on the road worldwide by specifying requirements for an RTS management system to enable organizations to develop and implement a policy and objectives that take into account the organizations' legal and other requirements. The standard does not itself state specific RTS performance criteria.
Emphasizing the importance of workplace driving and vehicle fleet safety worldwide, the United Nations General Assembly recently issued Resolution A/62/244, titled "Improving Global Road Safety," sponsored by more than 90 countries and adopted unanimously last March. The resolution encourages organizations in both private and public sectors with vehicle fleets to develop and implement policies and practices that will reduce crash risks for vehicle occupants and other users, among other things. According to the World Health Organization, deaths due to road traffic accidents will increase from 1.3 million in 2004 to 2.4 million in 2030, primarily due to increased motor vehicle ownership and use associated with economic growth in low- and middle-income countries. In addition, WHO notes that road traffic accidents will become the fifth leading cause of death in 2030, up from being the ninth leading cause in 2004.
ASSE is also the U.S. TAG Administrator for two ISO committees, which are for Fall Protection/Arrest and the ISO 31000 Standard for Risk Management. The main task of technical committees is to prepare ISO Standards. Draft international standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 percent of the voting member bodies. For more information on ISO, visit www.iso.org.