Road Safety

Factsheet

Key Facts

• About 1.25 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes.
• Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among people aged between 15 and 29 years.
• 90% of the world's fatalities on the roads occur in low- and middle-income countries, even though these countries have approximately 54% of the world's vehicles.
• Nearly half of those dying on the world’s roads are “vulnerable road users”: pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
• Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product.
• Without sustained action, road traffic crashes are predicted to become the seventh leading cause of death by 2030.
• The newly adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has set an ambitious target of halving the global number of deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2020.

Every year the lives of approximately 1.25 million people are cut short as a result of a road traffic crash. Between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability as a result of their injury.

Road traffic injuries cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families, and to nations as a whole. These losses arise from the cost of treatment as well as lost productivity for those killed or disabled by their injuries, and for family members who need to take time off work or school to care for the injured. Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product.

Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020

Road traffic injuries constitute a major health and development problem the world over but especially in the African Region. The landmark World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention published in 2004 drew attention to the magnitude, causes and consequences of road traffic injuries. It also made recommendations on what needed to be done to stem the tide of the rising casualties from road traffic injuries. Since then many countries have taken measures to address the problem. The projections show that road traffic injuries will increase except decisive action is taken to tackle the problem.

In November 2009 the first Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held in Moscow, Russian Federation, called on the United Nations to proclaim a Decade of Action for Road Safety. In March 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming 2011-2020 The Decade of Action for Road Safety. This decade will be launched all over the world on the 11 May 2011.

Why a Decade of Action for Road Safety?

The goal of the decade is to stabilize and then reduce the forecasted level of road fatalities around the world. If this ambitious target is achieved, a cumulative total of 5 million lives, 50 million severe injuries and US$5 trillion will be saved.