The UNECE pioneered road safety activities in the United Nations system with the establishment of an Ad Hoc Working Group on the prevention of road accidents in 1950. In 1988, the Working Party on Road Traffic Safety (WP.1), an intergovernmental body, was established. Today, WP.1 remains the only permanent body in the United Nations system that focuses on improving road safety. Its primary function is to serve as guardian of the United Nations legal instruments aimed at harmonizing traffic rules.