NEW DELHI: The total number of people killed in road crashes across the globe recorded a 5% reduction in 2021 compared to 2011 – from 1.25 million to 1.19 million, as per the Global Status Report on Road Safety released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
While the report released today (Wednesday) there was slight overall reduction in deaths despite the global vehicle fleet more than doubling, road networks significantly expanding, and the global population rising by nearly a billion, India’s record has deteriorated as the total number of fatalities went up from 1.34 lakh in 2010 to 1.54 lakh in 2021 Moreover, India’s share in total road fatalities also increased from 11% to 13%.
The WHO, in its report compiling data from 170 member countries of the United Nations, said that the “slight decline” in road fatalities shows that efforts to improve road safety are working but fall far short of what is needed to meet the target of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 to halve deaths by 2030.
As per the report, road traffic deaths and injuries were the “number one” reason for killer of children and youth aged 5-29 years and 12th leading cause of death when all ages are considered.
The report also highlights the need to focus on vulnerable road users – pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists – which have more than 50% of fatalities across the globe. Occupants of 4-wheel vehicles account for almost one-third of fatalities and micro-mobility modes such as e-scooters account for 3% of deaths. “Nearly 80% of all roads assessed do not meet a minimum 3-star rating for pedestrian safety, and as cyclist fatalities increase, just 0.2% of all roads assessed have cycle lanes,” it said.
Among different categories of countries, people in low- and middle-income countries face the highest risk of death. At least nine in 10 deaths (92%) globally occur in these countries. Globally, 28% of all fatalities occur 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 report said.
However, the report also highlights how countries can bring down deaths. For example, the European region reported the largest drop of 36% in deaths since 2010 where the countries follow a “safe system approach”. The Western Pacific region reported a 16% decline and the South-East Asia region a 2% decline.
“Reductions in the number of deaths were observed in 108 countries, including 10 where the 50% was achieved by 2021. However, in 66 countries there was a rise; 28 of these countries are in the African region, which has seen a 17% rise in the number of deaths since 2010,” the report mentioned.
Ten countries from four different regions — Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Denmark, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela — achieved the target reduction of at least 50% in their fatality numbers.
While the report released today (Wednesday) there was slight overall reduction in deaths despite the global vehicle fleet more than doubling, road networks significantly expanding, and the global population rising by nearly a billion, India’s record has deteriorated as the total number of fatalities went up from 1.34 lakh in 2010 to 1.54 lakh in 2021 Moreover, India’s share in total road fatalities also increased from 11% to 13%.
The WHO, in its report compiling data from 170 member countries of the United Nations, said that the “slight decline” in road fatalities shows that efforts to improve road safety are working but fall far short of what is needed to meet the target of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 to halve deaths by 2030.
As per the report, road traffic deaths and injuries were the “number one” reason for killer of children and youth aged 5-29 years and 12th leading cause of death when all ages are considered.
The report also highlights the need to focus on vulnerable road users – pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists – which have more than 50% of fatalities across the globe. Occupants of 4-wheel vehicles account for almost one-third of fatalities and micro-mobility modes such as e-scooters account for 3% of deaths. “Nearly 80% of all roads assessed do not meet a minimum 3-star rating for pedestrian safety, and as cyclist fatalities increase, just 0.2% of all roads assessed have cycle lanes,” it said.
Among different categories of countries, people in low- and middle-income countries face the highest risk of death. At least nine in 10 deaths (92%) globally occur in these countries. Globally, 28% of all fatalities occur 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 report said.
However, the report also highlights how countries can bring down deaths. For example, the European region reported the largest drop of 36% in deaths since 2010 where the countries follow a “safe system approach”. The Western Pacific region reported a 16% decline and the South-East Asia region a 2% decline.
“Reductions in the number of deaths were observed in 108 countries, including 10 where the 50% was achieved by 2021. However, in 66 countries there was a rise; 28 of these countries are in the African region, which has seen a 17% rise in the number of deaths since 2010,” the report mentioned.
Ten countries from four different regions — Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Denmark, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela — achieved the target reduction of at least 50% in their fatality numbers.
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