The number of deaths in traffic accidents since 2010 has decreased by 5% in all United Nations Member States. This is indicated by the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023, prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) with the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Although this reduction is positive, it is slow and is still far from the objective established in the Vision Zero program, whose goal is that there will be no deaths or serious injuries in accidents in 2050.
In the world, 1.19 million people die annually under these circumstances; This means that every 27 seconds a life is lost on the road. It should be noted that traffic accidents are the main cause of death among children and young people between 5 and 29 years old. 53% of accident deaths correspond to vulnerable road users: pedestrians (23%), drivers of two- and three-wheeled motorized vehicles (21%), cyclists (6%) and people who travel in micromobility vehicles such as electric scooters (3%). Deaths among occupants of cars and other light four-wheeled vehicles fell slightly to 30 percent of global deaths.
“Deaths on our roads are preventable. We call on all countries to put people, not cars, at the center of their transport systems and ensure the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and other users vulnerable on the road,” said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom.
Eight out of ten roads in the world do not meet pedestrian safety standards and only 0.2 percent have cycle lanes, leaving these road users “dangerously exposed”. Only a quarter of countries have policies to promote walking, cycling and public transport.
According to the aforementioned report, carried out based on data provided by UN Member States, 108 countries have registered a reduction in the number of deaths related to traffic accidents between 2010 and 2021. Ten of them managed to reduce deaths by more than 50 percent: Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Denmark, Russia, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Likewise, thirty-five other countries achieved a decrease of between 30 and 50 percent.
28% of deaths occurred in the WHO South-East Asia Region; 25% in the Western Pacific Region; 19% in the African Region; 12% in the Region of the Americas; 11% in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and 5% in the European Region. The study shows that 90% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, being “disproportionately greater” compared to the number of vehicles and roads they have. The risk of dying in a crash is three times higher in low-income countries than in high-income countries, despite having 1 percent of the world’s motor vehicles.
Another aspect for improvement that the report puts on the table is that there is a lack of progress in the legislative section and safety standards. Only six countries have laws that meet WHO best practices for all risk factors (speeding, drunk driving, and use of motorcycle helmets, seat belts, and child restraints), while 140 Countries (two-thirds of United Nations Member States) have such laws for at least one of these risk factors.
The global motor vehicle fleet is forecast to double by 2030. However, only 35 countries (less than a fifth of UN Member States) legislate on all key safety features of vehicles (e.g. advanced braking systems, front and side impact protection, etc.). The report also reveals shortcomings in ensuring safe road infrastructure, with only 51 countries (a quarter of UN Member States) having laws requiring safety inspections covering all road users.
