Road traffic accidents kill around 1.3 million people each year, with nine out of ten deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. This makes the development of safe roads a global goal.
A high-level meeting on improving global ig phone number data safety organised by the United Nations addressed this issue. The meeting proposed the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, which calls for a fundamental change in the way we approach mobility.
The plan outlines four core concepts for making changes. For example, safety must be prioritized, the plan must be approached holistically, it must be a shared responsibility and led by transformative initiatives.
The first concept explains that our current transportation is geared toward efficiency and not safety. A safe system that follows the vision of zero fatalities prioritizes the most vulnerable, such as pedestrians and cyclists.
Countries that have implemented this plan have seen dramatic reductions in deaths. In Sweden, the number of deaths fell by almost 75% from 2000 to 2020.
The second concept recognises that all aspects of road safety must be taken into account. This includes making infrastructure safer, improving vehicle safety standards, and adopting and enforcing laws.
This goal was achieved by the Colombian capital Bogotá, which halved deaths in ten years through a set of integrated actions, including far-reaching technical improvements and regulatory reforms.
The third concept says that working on a safer transportation system is the duty of everyone, not just those in the transportation and health sectors. The contributors are urban planners, engineers, businesses, academics and civil society.
The fourth and final concept illustrates that for this plan to work, commitment and coordination of governments at all levels is needed.
