Traffic-related injuries are a public health problem that is looming large, with an impact on high-risk groups of road users, particularly the most vulnerable sectors of society. Over half the people who died due to traffic accidents were young adults between 15 and 44 years old, and many of them were the principal income earners. Moreover, in low and middle income countries, traffic injuries account for 1% - 2% of their gross domestic product, a percentage which is higher than the overall development aid that they receive.

But traffic crashes and injuries are preventable. Prevention of traffic-related injuries should be an integral part of a wide variety of activities, including, among others, road infrastructure development and management, manufacture of safer vehicles, law enforcement, transport planning, health and hospital service provision, child protection services, and both urban and environmental planning.

As stated by the WHO, it is time for action.  There is no such thing as accidental road safety: it requires both strong political will and the agreed and sustained action of different sectors. In particular, Latin America's road loss experience rates are 10 - 20 higher than those of the industrialized world. Economic losses, which in some countries account for up to 4.5% of the Gross Domestic Product, significantly curb development, in addition to acting as a clear social disintegration factor.
This is such a serious situation that some sources point out that over 110,000 people die every year in both Latin America and The Caribbean. Around 1,200,000 people get injured, and tens of thousands become disabled as a result of crashes or being run over on the street.
Against this background of concern, and thanks to different cooperation programs and clever government decisions, some countries have managed to implement policies which results might be regarded as highly encouraging.

At present, more and more Latin American countries have become aware of the need to introduce measures conducive to improve road safety. In fact, many of them have understood the urgency to undertake legislative reforms that provide for the implementation of universal and coordinated policies to systematically improve road traffic safety.
Within this framework, and aware of the valuable contributions, the Instituto Vial Ibero-Americano (IVIA) [Ibero-American Road Institute] has decided to lead a process to share both experiences and knowledge; a process to bring stances together and to look for agreed solutions which can be implemented in the political sphere and become the foundation for coordinated safety policies in the Ibero-American region.
This philosophy set the framework for the Congreso Ibero-Latinoamericano de Seguridad Vial, CISEV, [Ibero-Latinamerican Road Safety Congress], supported by the Instituto Vial Ibero-Americano (IVIA) [Ibero-American Road Institute], whose first issue was held in San José (Costa Rica) in May, 2008.  On such occasion and within the framework of the Congress deliberations, delegates chose Argentina as the II Ibero-American Road Safety Congress venue in 2010.
This time, the responsibility for the event organization falls on the Agencia Nacional de Seguridad Vial [National Road Safety Agency] of Argentina, the Asociación Argentina de Carreteras [Argentine Road Association], and the Instituto Vial Ibero-Americano [Ibero-American Road Institute].
In this issue, the Congress will address three supplementary aspects geared to getting a broad vision of the road safety problem, and, hopefully, it will provide for an environment capable of generating policies and consensus that contribute to curbing this issue in Ibero-America.

As it has become customary in this type of Congresses, Technical Papers written by professionals, researchers, and institutions showing the technical and scientific progress made in this field will be both welcomed and published in the event reports, and, moreover, the most interesting papers will be presented by their authors in different Congress sessions.
In order to attain the goals set by the organization, Specific Lectures and Special Sessions on the most up-to-date and interesting topics in terms of Road Safety will also be held.  These sessions will be in charge of well-known international specialists, focused on the different solutions related to Road Safety applicable in the Region from a technical, strategic, and political perspective.
This time, a Forum gathering the Top People Responsible for Road Safety from the different Ibero-American countries will be conducted simultaneously with the Congress in order to hold working sessions, set policy coordination standards, prepare a Road Safety good practice manual, and establish objectives and goals to be achieved.
All the above helps us cherish the hope that, given the successful beginning of the I Congreso Ibero-Americano de Seguridad Vial [Ibero-American Road Safety Congress] held in 2008, the second issue would consolidate this Congress as the main discussion forum on Road Safety issues in the region.
Based on the goals set, the Congress success will not only be the result of the exchange of knowledge and experiences, but also of the commitment of the countries to approach a decentralized policy that help implement mid- and long-term plans to reduce the drama of lack of safety on Ibero-American roads.

In this connection, the guidelines are focused on the lines of actions listed below:

1. To promote the involvement of all Ibero-American countries in the rationale for a document about the Road Safety Issue in the Region in order to include it in the Declaration of the Summit of Ibero-American Presidents to be held on November 10 and 11, 2010 in the City of Mar del Plata.  In this sense, the process should enable this Forum to provide for continuity in Ibero-America of the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety “Time for Action,” held on November 19 and 20, 2009 in Moscow.
2. To ensure that the active participation of multilateral credit agencies -the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank- in the organization will help create the relevant synergies required to encourage and fund good practices in the field, with the clear and precise purpose of significantly reducing road loss experience rates in the region.
3. To foster the involvement of the international scientific community, through technical papers that help increase the technical know-how of the subject.
4. To summon the most well-known international specialists in Road Safety to lecture on the most current and interesting topics in the field.
5. To help institutions and firms engaged in infrastructure, consulting, equipment provision, technology, and materials have the proper environment to communicate their organizational policies relative to road safety, and show their most innovative services and/or products within the framework of a Sector Exhibition.

All the above helps us cherish the hope that, given the successful beginning of the I Congreso Ibero-Americano de Seguridad Vial [Ibero-American Road Safety Congress] held in 2008, the second issue would consolidate this Congress as the main discussion forum on Road Safety issues in the region.
Further to all the above, the hosts are pleased to invite you to participate in this important event which will be held between October 20 and 22, 2010 at the Hilton Hotel of this City.