AB InBev partners with UN to help China reduce road deaths 
2019-04-30
Belgian brewer AB InBev has pledged to work closer with Chinese traffic authorities, research organizations and stakeholders to enhance road safety by adopting new methods and promoting partnerships.
“The application of digital innovation and technology in managing dangerous road situations and education will also drive further improvement as there’s a growing opportunity to engage with technology companies,” Jan Craps, CEO and president of APAC at AB InBev, told Shanghai Daily. 
“I’m impressed with the progress that has been made and we believe this collaborative approach will continue to improve safety.”
And he told the Road Safety and Digital Innovation Learning Conference in Shanghai at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences last week: 
“As technology evolves, we will be also seeking to apply technology in road safety initiatives to adapt it as well as inviting new partners.
“The Internet of Things also provides better connectivity for vehicles and helps to improve road safety.” 
AB InBev signed a partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research in February last year to boost public awareness, building capacity and developing data-driven solutions to improve road safety. 
Estrella Merlos, associate director of UNITAR CIFAL Global Network, offered high affirmation of AB InBev: “UNITAR has road safety commitments that are consistent with AB InBev. We hope that more socially responsible and forward-thinking companies like AB InBev can join us in efforts to improve road traffic safety and save more lives.”
Similar conferences have since been held in the Dominican Republic, India and South Africa to raise awareness and help bring companies together to reduce the number of accidents in cities. 
More than 80 government representatives, academic leaders and stakeholders from Asia-Pacific countries and regions including China, South Korea, India and the Philippines gathered at the two-day conference in Shanghai and exchanged ideas on topics such as how digital innovation can help do the greater goods and for road safety cause.
In China traffic accidents kill about 260,000 people each year — about 700 a day, or almost 30 every hour.
Director of Publicity Center of Traffic Police Headquarters at Shanghai’s Public Security Bureau Ding Bin said there’s an average of 40,000 traffic violations every day in Shanghai, which is home to 6 million vehicles and 7 million licensed drivers as well as more than 8 million non-motorized vehicles — mainly bicycles and e-bikes.
He shared experiences on how smart traffic lights using artificial intelligence, and the analyzing of road safety big data help reduce traffic violations and enhance the awareness of drivers and pedestrians. 
Sangwon Lee, a road traffic safety instructor from the Education Department of South Korea, said: “This conference can help private and public sectors to pull together each others’ strength and overcome weakness to localized smart road safety solution.”
AB InBev is dedicated to driving road safety and has responsibly helped drive systematic improvements in road safety and promote smart drinking — for drivers, its employees and their families, consumers and the communities. 
The company has been actively interacting with authorities and different sectors for 11 years to advocate no-drink-driving across the country. Last year, it also expanded the “Smart Drinking, Don’t Drink & Drive” awareness campaign to the Tibet Autonomous Region.
A number of global initiatives have been launched by AB InBev to actively respond to the UN’s call to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50 percent by 2020. According to UN Statistics, 1.35 million people die on the world’s roads every year, making road traffic accidents the ninth leading cause of death globally as well as the leading cause of death for economically active citizens aged 15-29. 
AB InBev’s efforts in China dates back to 2015 when it partnered with Shanghai’s Tongji University and other stakeholders to establish the “Together for Safer Roads” coalition to carry out research and improve road safety.
An exemplary multi-stakeholder mechanism, the TSR is covering a range of programs including “analyzing and improving of accident-prone roads” and “behavioral analysis-based commercial driver safety education.”
Six roads in Shanghai were part of a pilot program for assessment and improving road safety. Since the program’s implementation, the total number of accidents in these areas went down 50 percent to 70 percent on average and casualties — deaths and injuries — halved.
