RoSPA backs Global Road Safety Week

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents is delighted to support the first United Nations Global Road Safety Week (April 23-29), which focuses on young road users.

Kevin Clinton, RoSPA Head of Road Safety, said: “RoSPA’s mission is to save lives and reduce injuries, and we believe initiatives such as Global Road Safety Week can play a major role in this.

“It is a much needed and important opportunity to raise awareness of the awful and unnecessary waste of life on roads in all countries around the globe. It will help to improve the safety of the hundreds of millions of young people who travel the world’s roads every day.

”We hope the week’s events will serve as inspiration for new and effective road safety initiatives in the years ahead.

“The UK has a very good road safety record, but we know there are many improvements which can still be made. If the challenges are difficult for us, then they are even tougher for many nations.”

Around the world, road traffic accidents result in nearly 1.2 million fatalities and up to 50 million non-fatal injuries each year. Around 90 per cent of these casualties occur in developing countries. Road accidents are the leading cause of injury-related death in the world.

Research has linked lower socio-economic status with a higher likelihood of being involved in road accidents. If current trends continue, those in low and middle-income countries especially face a public health challenge of epidemic proportions.

In low-income countries most casualties are not motor vehicle occupants; they are pedestrians, cyclists and riders of motorised two-wheelers. These vulnerable road users are especially at risk when the road space is shared between fast-moving vehicles, pedestrians and animals, with no methods of separation.

In many countries safety devices are unaffordable, and/or unavailable, for the vast majority of the population. The amount of labour required of parents to buy child safety devices is considerably more in lower income countries than in middle and higher income countries. According to the World Health Organisation, children from poorer families have higher rates of injury, even in high-income countries.