Deaths Due to Road Accidents | 08 May 2019

According to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report (released during global road safety week), road accidents are the leading cause of death among people in the 5-29 age-group worldwide with more than 1.35 million lives lost each year and 50 million sustaining injuries.

Key Facts

• Road traffic injuries are the 8^th leading cause of deaths and 1^st cause of death among children and young adults aged 5-29 years.
• Reasons include rapid urbanisation, poor safety, lack of proper enforcement of laws, influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding and failure to wear seat-belts or helmets.
• Specific to India: As per the data released by the Indian government, road crashes kill close to 1,50,000 people each year.
• Impact: Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.6 that calls for a 50% reduction in the number of road traffic deaths by 2020, would become difficult.
• Solution: Strong political will and leadership is necessary to address this issue. For instance,
  • Government can ensure adequate funding for road safety by passing required laws.
  • UN and other international agencies can draw attention to the road safety crisis and can also ensure that road safety actions are a part of programmes on child and adolescent health, sustainable mobility etc.
  • Parents, teachers, students, employees and volunteers can highlight specific risks on the road and demand concrete measures to address them.