UN roadsafety debate hears call for post-2015 action

12 April 2014

Global action to combat a growing worldwide epidemic of road deaths and injuries must become part of the UN’s new priorities for development, the UN General Assembly was told on 10th April as it passed a new resolution to address the crisis.

Governments including Brazil, Jamaica and Russia, urged inclusion of road safety in the post-2015 goals due to be agreed next year. Many speakers in the debate, including the US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, pledged support for the Decade of Action. The US co-sponsored the resolution, which was introduced by Russia's Deputy Interior Minister, Victor Kiryanov..

The Resolution also calls further progress to be made in implementing the Decade of Action in a range of key areas. These include:

• additional funding for activities, including contributions to the Road Safety Fund established by the World Health Organization and the FIA Foundation
• further implementation of NCAP crash test programmes as being promoted by the Global New Car Assessment Programme
• encouraging member states to implement national plans on road safety, with emphasis on protecting vulnerable road users and promoting sustainable mobility.

The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 aims to reduce road deaths and injuries across the world with a five pillar Global Plan. More than 1.2 million people die every year on the world's roads, and up to 50 million are injured. The World Health Organization, which reports on the Decade of Action, has shown that while some progress on road safety has been made particularly in high income countries, many low and middle income countries are facing increasing levels of injury and fatality on their roads.