UN urges reducing number of people killed by road crashes annually

Although fatalism is being encouraged by use of the word "accidents" for vehicular collisions, people must be made aware that the crashes, now causing 1.2 million deaths per year, can be reduced or prevented, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette said today.

"People hold a fatalistic view of road crashes, often encouraged by the use of the word 'accident' instead of 'crash' or 'collision.' Yet many of the risks involved are entirely within our control. Many crashes can be prevented, while the effects of many others can be reduced," she told the first General Assembly plenary session devoted to road safety.

"We have a lot to do to raise awareness," she said.

For a multi-sectoral problem, the UN system, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, would continue its international role, while national ministries of health, finance, environment, education, justice, police and others would have to work with transport sectors to improve road safety, she said.

Ms. Fréchette urged Member States and civil society to take concerted action on such issues as wider dissemination of safety devices, improved designs of roads and vehicles, and firmer action against those who drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs and against those who speed.

A resolution before the meeting requests the Assembly to appoint WHO as the lead agency in coordinating a worldwide response to the growing problem of traffic problems, noting that while solutions implemented had to be local, developing countries and countries in transition often lacked the resources to reverse the trend.

The plenary session follows up on last year's two UN resolutions on road safety and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's report on the global road safety crisis calling for an urgent international response to a major public health issue.

WHO has calculated that road accidents worldwide cause one death, 43 injuries and a loss of nearly $500,000 every 30 seconds. On World Health Day last week, WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook called for immediate action to prevent a projected 80 per cent increase in traffic fatalities in low- and middle-income countries alone by 2020.

"We must now use every day to act on road safety, and implement effective sustainable action to prevent injury and death on the world's roads," Dr. Lee said today.

Road crashes are the second leading global cause of death among young people aged 5 to 29 and the third leading cause of death among people aged 30 to 44 years, draining from low- and middle- income countries more than the total of $65 billion they receive in official development assistance (ODA), WHO and the World Bank say.

The costs are more than financial and economic, however.

"The social costs are incalculable," said the Acting General Assembly President, Ambassador Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran.

"The loss of breadwinners and the long-term care of people disabled in road accidents drive many families into poverty, or further into poverty, particularly in the developing world. From this perspective, the potential consequences for sustainable development are clear," he said.

Video of Assembly meeting [3hrs 1min]