Saving millions of lives: Decade of Action for Road Safety

Road traffic crashes take the lives of nearly 1.3 million people every year, and injure 20–50 million more. This makes road traffic injuries the leading cause of death for people aged 15–29 years. Over 90% of road traffic deaths and injuries occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have only 48% of the world’s registered vehicles. Significantly, nearly half (46%) of those dying on the world’s roads are “vulnerable road users”: pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. In addition to the grief and suffering they cause, road traffic crashes result in considerable economic losses to victims, their families, and nations as a whole, costing most countries 1–3% of their gross national product. Without action, road traffic crashes are predicted to result in the deaths of around 1.9 million people annually by 2020. Only 15% of countries have comprehensive laws relating to five key risks: speeding, drinking and driving, and the non-use of helmets, seat-belts and child restraints.

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