United Nations decade of action for road safety
The Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership is pledging support for the first ever United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety which is being launched internationally tomorrow (11 May 2011).
The Decade of Action aims to reduce road deaths and injuries across the world. Nearly 1.3 million people die every year on the world’s roads, and up to 50 million are injured, and the United Nations is forecasting an increase in global road deaths. Road traffic injuries are already the number one cause of death for young people worldwide.
In Warwickshire, the number of road deaths and injuries have fallen faster than the national average and government targets. Since 2001, road users killed or seriously injured has fallen from 639 to 301 last year.
Estyn Williams, Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership Chairman said:
“Warwickshire’s roads are the safest they have ever been with serious and fatal casualties more than halving over the last decade. However, road crashes continue to cause a huge amount of pain, misery and harm and we are determined to do all we can to reduce this human suffering even further. Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership supports the aims of the United Nations Global Decade of Action on Road Safety and we will be continuing with our efforts to prevent road collisions."
Mr Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General said:
“I call on member States, international agencies, civic society organisations, businesses and community leaders to ensure that the Decade leads to real improvements.”