More than 1.2 million people die each year on the world’s roads, making road traffic injuries a leading cause of death globally. Most of these deaths are in low- and middle-income countries where rapid economic growth has been accompanied by increased motorization and road traffic injuries. As well as being a public health problem, road traffic injuries are a development issue: low- and middle-income countries lose approximately 3% of GDP as a result of road traffic crashes. Although road traffic injuries have been a leading cause of mortality for many years, most traffic crashes are both predictable and preventable. There is considerable evidence on interventions that are effective at making roads safer: countries that have successfully implemented these interventions have seen corresponding reductions in road traffic deaths. Rolling out these interventions globally offers huge potential to mitigate future damage and save lives at a global level. In recognition of the scale of this health and development problem — and the possibility to impact positively upon it — the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2010 that led to the establishment of the Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011—2020). The resolution called on Member States to take the necessary steps to make their roads safer, and for WHO to monitor the situation through its Global status report on road safety series. This report, the third in the series, serves as a tool to assess the impact of changes three years into the Decade of Action and to highlight where more action is needed. This report shows that the number of road traffic deaths — 1.25 million in 2013 — has remained fairly constant since 2007, despite the increase in global motorization and population, and the predicted rise in deaths. This suggests that interventions to improve global road safety are preventing increases that otherwise would have occurred. The report highlights that the situation is worst in low-income countries, where rates are more than double those in high-income countries and there are a disproportionate number of deaths relative to the (lower) level of motorization. The African Region continues to have the highest road traffic death rates, while the lowest rates are in the European Region, notably among its high-income countries, many of which have been very successful at achieving and sustaining reductions in death rates despite increasing motorization. Changing road user behaviour is a critical component of the holistic “Safe Systems” approach advocated in this report. Adopting and enforcing good laws is effective in changing of changing road user behaviour on key risk factors for road traffic injuries — speed, drink—driving, and the failure to use helmets, seat-belts and child restraints properly or at all. The report highlights that 17 countries have changed laws to bring their legislation on one or more of these five risk factors into line with best practice in the past three years. This represents 409 million people or 5.7% of the world’s population. The situation is most advanced on seat-belt laws, where 105 countries, representing 67% of the world’s population, now have laws that meet best practice. While the report highlights encouraging examples of countries that have brought their laws into line with best practice on particular risk factors, the potential for appropriate road safety laws to reduce road traffic deaths is largely unmet at a global level. Enforcement of these laws — essential to their success at reducing injuries — is also inadequate across all five behavioural risk factors. The report further highlights the important role of safe infrastructure and safe vehicles in reducing road traffic injuries. Road infrastructure is mainly constructed with the needs of motorists in mind, although the report indicates that 49% of all road traffic deaths occur among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Real, sustained successes at reducing global road traffic deaths will only happen when road design takes into consideration the needs of all road users. Making walking and cycling safer is also important to support other moves to reduce carbon emissions and increase physical activity. While vehicles in high-income countries are increasingly safe, the report provides worrying data showing that less than half of countries implement minimum standards on vehicle safety, and that these standards are notably absent in many of the large middleincome countries that are major car manufacturers. With the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals, road safety is receiving increased international attention, and is included in two of the 17 Goals of this new global agenda. This is welcomed. The evidence on what works to save lives on the roads exists: the international community, national governments and civil society now need to act on it. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting