International Road Federation
 International Road Federation | |
| Motto | "Better Roads. Better World."[1] |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1948 |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Location |
|
| Website | IRF homepage |
The International Road Federation (IRF) is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization that promotes the development and maintenance of roads, with a focus on safety and sustainability. The organization has two key functions, providing expertise on road issues to governments and financial institutions and serving as a network for its members. The members of the IRF range from national governments to construction firms and environmental groups and are located across six continents.[2] The organization is funded primarily through member fees.
The IRF is perhaps best known as the publisher of World Road Statistics (WRS), the authoritative collection of statistics used by the World Bank.[3] WRS was first published in 1964. World Road Statistics contains detailed country profiles and sections on road networks, traffic, multimodal traffic comparisons, vehicles, road accidents, production, imports, first registrations and exports, road expenditures and energy.[4] The World Bank uses WRS in publishing its own World Development Indicators.
The IRF seeks to promote the benefits of a sustainable road transport infrastructure at all levels of society. It organizes seminars, workshops and events for a broad range of audiences throughout the world. IRF has a number of publications and a transport knowledge library.
History
The IRF was established in 1948 in Washington DC, USA following the end of World War II. Due to massive damage sustained by roads and bridges during the war and an emphasis on a wartime economy, coupled with shortages of gasoline and road-building materials, road networks were neglected and in need of improvement.[5] New road building technologies and more efficient utilization of highway transport had been developed during the war. However, these were understood and applied in only a relatively few countries. IRF took a leading role in the post war reconstruction of road networks.
IRF was granted a special consultative status with the United Nations in 1951 as both an economic and technical expert body in the exchange and application of best practices in road planning and construction. IRF participates in the work of the UNECE, BSEC, EU, World Bank and the European Committee for Standardization.[6]
Activities
IRF has four working groups that each deal with a different aspect of road infrastructure. The working groups are road safety, environment, road financing and intelligent transport systems. These working groups are an international platform that serves to bring together road sector experts around one particular subject. The groups function to disseminate knowledge and best practices.
Main Publications
- World Road Statistics
- World Highways – monthly international road magazine
See also
- Road transport
- Road traffic safety
- Road traffic accident
- Traffic management
- Intelligent transport systems
References
- ↑ IRF Homepage - About. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ↑ IRF Homepage - About Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ↑ World Bank - WRS Retrieved 18 November 2011
- ↑ Transport Business - WRS Retrieved 18 November 2011
- ↑ IRF News - History Retrieved 18 November 2011
- ↑ IRF News - History Retrieved 18 November 2011