TOKYO, Feb 21, 2025 - (JCN Newswire) - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. became the first automobile manufacturer to partner with the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) to contribute to global initiatives to reduce fatalities from traffic collisions, including a previously announced commitment of US$3 million over 5 years. Honda and UNRSF revealed the direction of the joint initiatives of their partnership at the UNRSF High-Level Pledging Forum(1), held on February 17, 2025 in Marrakech, Morocco.

By combining the knowledge and know-how Honda has amassed through its long history of developing safety technologies and promoting safe driving/riding with the global network of the UNRSF, Honda and UNRSF will support traffic collision analysis and the road safety policies of various countries.

Striving to realize a collision-free society for everyone sharing the road, Honda has been committed to pursuing safety initiatives from both hardware and software perspectives, under the Honda global safety slogan of “Safety for Everyone.” Honda is striving to achieve zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles worldwide by 2050, with a milestone to reduce fatalities by 50% by 2030(2).

In this partnership, Honda and UNRSF will focus on two key areas – traffic collision analysis and support for road safety policies – and contribute to the reduction of fatalities from traffic collisions by working together with various countries around the world. Moreover, striving to reduce traffic collision fatalities involving motorcycles in emerging countries, which account for a significant portion of worldwide traffic collision fatalities, Honda and UNRSF have made emerging nations, particularly in Asia, as a focus area.

(1) A concurrent event of the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held from February 18 through 20, 2025 in Marrakech, Morocco.
(2) Reduce traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles per 10,000 units sold by 50% by 2030 compared to 2020.

Focus of Honda-UNRSF Partnership1. Traffic collision analysis in each country

(Understanding the actual situations of traffic collisions and strengthening the monitoring of the effects of road safety measures)

To enhance the effectiveness of initiatives taken to reduce traffic collision fatalities, Honda and UNRSF will strive to establish a system for understanding the actual situations of traffic collisions and monitoring the effectiveness of road safety measures in each country. In emerging countries, there is a lack of data necessary for the analysis of traffic collisions, making it difficult to analyze the causes of such incidents. To address this issue, Honda and UNRSF will clarify the types of data that should be collected and encourage each country to gather such data. Moreover, by leveraging the know-how in traffic collision analysis Honda has amassed over many years, monitoring of the effects of road safety measures will be strengthened to enhance the practical effectiveness of the measures. 

2. Support for road safety policies in each country 

(Supporting the institutionalization of traffic rules, proposing infrastructure improvements, and strengthening road safety awareness activities)

By leveraging the extensive experience of Honda in developing safety technologies and promoting safe driving/riding, Honda and UNRSF will provide support for emerging countries, particularly in Asia. This will include advocating for legislation of appropriate speed limits, mandatory protective gear (helmets, seat belt use) and licensing systems, as well as assisting in strengthening the enforcement of traffic rules, proposing infrastructure improvements, and enhancing road safety awareness activities.

Furthermore, Honda will donate a total of US$3 million to the UNRSF over five years from 2025 to 2030 for the Honda-UNRSF collaboration in road safety initiatives.

Comments by Hideaki Takaishi, General Manager of Safety Planning Division, Corporate Planning Unit, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

“Honda has set a clear safety goal to strive for zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda motorcycles and automobiles worldwide by 2050. Toward this goal, Honda is continuing its initiatives to enhance safety and reduce traffic collision fatalities worldwide. For many years, Honda has been committed to safety initiatives not only from the hardware perspective such as the development of safety technologies, but also from software perspectives including the promotion of traffic safety awareness among everyone sharing the road. Through our partnership with the UNRSF, we will integrate the knowledge, know-how and network of both parties and strengthen outreach and engagement with various countries with an aim to achieve the milestone of halving worldwide traffic collision fatalities by 2030.”

Comments by Nneka Henry, Head of the UN Road Safety Fund

“We welcome Honda as the first vehicle manufacturer to join the UNRSF and its governing body. Their contribution through sharing the knowledge and know-how of a mobility company is one of the largest we have received and will help us direct vital resources to high-impact projects that save lives in developing countries. Honda’s leadership sets an important example for the private sector’s role in tackling the global road safety crisis.”

For reference:Honda Report 2024 (Integrated report):
https://global.honda/en/sustainability/integratedreport/
Honda ESG Data Book 2024:
https://global.honda/en/sustainability/report.html

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