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MANILA, Philippines?To curb the shocking 1.3 million deaths from road traffic crashes a year, the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday proclaimed the period from 2011 to 2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety.
According to a news release from the UN office here, the proclamation seeks to spur national and global efforts to halt or reverse the increasing trend in road traffic deaths and injuries around the world.
In the adopted resolution, the 192-member body also requested the World Health Organization (WHO), in cooperation with other partners, to prepare a plan of action to guide efforts during the decade, which was called for during the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, held in Moscow last year.
Dr. Etienne Krug, director of WHO?s Department of Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability, said half of the 1.3 million people who die from road traffic crashes are pedestrians, bicyclists, and people on motorcycles??vulnerable road users or people who very often are not even able to afford a car but are the victims of car crashes.?
?This Decade is long overdue,? Krug told reporters in New York ahead of the Assembly?s action.
Aside from the 1.3 million deaths annually, between 20 and 50 million people sustain non-fatal injuries every year from road traffic accidents, and road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people aged between 15 and 44.
According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety, released last June, road traffic injuries remain an important public health problem, particularly for low-income and middle-income countries.
Krug noted that the report also found that only 15 percent of countries have the right legislation in place to address some of the key risk factors, which include drunk driving, excessive speed, and the non-use of seatbelts and motorcycle helmets.
Veronica Uy
