Abstract
Leaders of dozens of countries have launched the first global decade of action for road safety and pledged to take steps to save five million lives and prevent 50 million serious injuries over the next 10 years. The World Health Organization says that road traffic injuries have become the leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29 years and that nearly 1.3 million people die each year on the world’s roads, making it the ninth leading cause of death. In addition, road crashes injure 20 to 50 million people a year, leaving many disabled for life, it says. WHO warns that without action traffic crashes are projected to kill 1.9 million people a year by 2020. (Author/publisher)