Road deaths hit 1.35 million a year

Road accidents kill someone every 24 seconds, with 1.35 million traffic deaths around the world each year, the World Health Organization has said, demanding action.

The number of fatalities annually has swollen by around 100,000 in just three years, with road accidents now the leading killer of children and young people between the ages of five and 29, the UN health agency said.

“These deaths are an unacceptable price to pay for mobility,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “There is no excuse for inaction. This is a problem with proven solutions.”

The WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety, based on data from 2016, showed that the situation is worsening.

In its last report, based on data from 2013, the number of road-traffic deaths was estimated at 1.25 million a year. But despite the increase in the overall number of deaths, the rate of death compared to the growing number of people and cars in the world has stabilised in recent years.

“This suggests that existing road-safety efforts in some middle- and high-income countries have mitigated the situation,” WHO said.

This is largely due to better legislation around key risks, including speeding, drinking and driving, and failing to use a seatbelt, child restraints or helmets, the report found.

Safer infrastructure like pavements and dedicated bike lanes and better vehicle standards have also paid off. But while many countries have stepped up efforts to improve the situation, many poorer nations are lagging way behind.

According to the recent report, “not a single low income country has demonstrated a reduction in overall deaths”, adding that the risk of road-traffic death remains three times higher there than in high-income countries.