Julio Urzua

Global Projects Director, iRAP

Between 2004 and 2006, Julio Urzúa was the Executive Secretary of the CHILEAN NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR ROAD SAFETY (CONASET). CONASET is a national commission responsible for inter-ministerial coordination and development of public policies for road safety in Chile. During this time, and after long negotiations with congressmen, new legislation was passed that: made seat belts, child seats, and helmets for cyclists mandatory; banned the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving; and increased penalties for drinking and driving. Between 2004 and 2006 deaths in road crashes were reduced by 7 percent –more than 120 lives were saved. For its exemplary work, in 2005 CONASET was awarded the IRTE Road Safety Award for its contributions to road safety. In January 2006 CONASET also hosted the first Latin American Regional Road Safety planning meeting in conjunction with UNECLAC, the FIA Foundation, the IDB, the World Bank, and PAHO.

Between 2006 and 2009 Julio was Executive Secretary of the LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN TRANSITIONAL COMMISSION FOR ROAD SAFETY. This Commission was created as a project after the Road Safety Stakeholders’ San José meeting in 2006. The Commission was established to coordinate and strengthen road safety public policies in Latin American and Caribbean countries. The Chair of the Commission was Nobel Peace Laureate Oscar Arias, President of Costa Rica.

Between 2009 and 2020 Julio was the Director of Americas and the Caribbean for the INTERNATIONAL ROAD ASSESSMENT PROGRAMME (iRAP), a British-registered global charity dedicated to saving lives through safer roads.

iRAP’s vision is a world free of high-risk roads, to be achieved through: • Inspection of high-risk roads and the development and implementation of star ratings and safer roads investment plans. • Provision of training, technology and support that will build and sustain national, regional and local capacity and capability. • Tracking road safety performance so that funding agencies can assess the benefits of their investment.

Since 2020 Julio acts as Global Projects Director at the INTERNATIONAL ROAD ASSESSMENT PROGRAMME (iRAP), In recent years Julio has participated in road safety projects in several countries such as Colombia, Tanzania, Mexico, South Africa Chile and others He has participated in a large number or international events such as the recent Road Safety High Level Meeting organized in 2022 by United Nations in New York.