In the time it takes to read this article, as many as 10 people will die somewhere on the world’s roads. Add up the numbers and the toll is staggering. For several decades, the number of annual fatalities on the world’s roads has exceeded 1 million. As many as 50 million more people are injured in road crashes every year. Countless family members and entire communities are left reeling in the aftermath.
Road safety does not receive nearly enough attention. Shockingly, road crashes are the world’s leading killer of children and young people aged 5-29. They disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, which account for over 90% of traffic fatalities. The economic cost is enormous, too.
The biggest tragedy of all is that road crashes are not inexplicable “accidents.” They are preventable. Millions of lives could be saved with interventions that are proven when used as part of a comprehensive approach: designing streets to protect vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists; mandating vehicle safety standards like electronic stability control; and adopting and enforcing strong policies on key risk factors like speeding and drinking and driving.
About the authors
Michael BloombergMikeBloomberg
Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies and was the mayor of New York City from 2002-2013. He serves as the U.N. secretary-general’s special envoy on climate ambition and solutions and as WHO global ambassador for noncommunicable diseases and injuries.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was elected World Health Organization director-general for a five-year term by WHO member states in May 2017. In doing so, he was the first WHO director-general elected from among multiple candidates by the World Health Assembly, and was the first person from the WHO Africa region to head the world’s leading public health agency. Prior to his election as director-general, Tedros held many leadership positions in global health, including as chair of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, chair of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, and co-chair of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Board. Following his studies, Tedros returned to Ethiopia to support the delivery of health services, first working as a field-level malariologist, before heading a regional health service and later serving in Ethiopia’s federal government for over a decade as minister of health and minister of foreign affairs.
