Road crashes killed 1.16 million people worldwide last year, leaving millions more with debilitating injuries, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a message published on Nov. 4.
Stronger policies and better enforcement are still needed despite a fall in the road traffic death rate, Guterres said. The United Nations published his message under the title “Road Traffic Deaths Preventable with Stronger Policies, Enforcement, Secretary-General Says in World Day of Remembrance Message”.
Road crashes remain the leading cause of death among children and young people aged 5 to 29, Guterres said. More than 90% of road traffic fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries, he said.
Guterres described the deaths and injuries as preventable and called for action on infrastructure, behaviour, support for victims and technology. Those measures could reduce suffering and save lives, he said.
The Decade of Action for Road Safety aims to cut road deaths and injuries by half by 2030, Guterres said. The target covers both the people killed in crashes and those injured on the roads.
The road traffic death rate has fallen by 21% following efforts around the world, Guterres said. He coupled that progress with a call for stronger policies and better enforcement to pursue the road safety target.
The United Nations supports countries working towards that goal through its Road Safety Conventions, the UN Road Safety Fund and the Special Envoy for Road Safety, Guterres said.
Guterres put improvements to infrastructure among the ways to prevent crashes from killing and injuring people. He also called for changes in behaviour as part of the effort to make roads safer.
Support for victims formed another part of his appeal, alongside the use of new technologies. Guterres linked those measures to reducing the suffering caused by crashes, as well as preventing further loss of life.
He called road crashes “a global health and safety crisis hiding in plain sight”. His message addressed both the worldwide death toll and the debilitating injuries suffered by millions of people who survived.
Guterres issued the appeal for World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, which falls on Nov. 15. He called for action to honour those who had died and for a renewed commitment to safe mobility for everyone.
