Published on: 2026-07-21
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Nevertheless, in 2025, 1.16 million people died as a result of road traffic accidents, and injuries sustained on the roads remain the leading cause of death among children and young people aged 5 to 29.
This is evidenced by new data from the World Health Organization (WHO), presented on Monday during a high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on road safety in New York, which takes place on July 20 and 21.
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Over the past one and a half decades, the world has undergone profound changes in road traffic: new types of transport have appeared, and the number of motorcycles has sharply increased.
“This progress shows that change is possible when countries invest in safe road systems. Over the past 15 years, we have achieved real results in reducing road fatalities, despite the rapid growth in the number of vehicles and significant changes in how people move,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. According to him, all road deaths are preventable.
New declaration
On the first day of the session on Monday, UN member states adopted a new political declaration on road safety. It is intended to accelerate the achievement of the global goal – to reduce by 50 percent the number of deaths and serious injuries resulting from road traffic accidents by 2030 compared to the 2021 level.
“[The Declaration] calls for more decisive leadership at the national level in road safety – while maintaining sovereignty, but with the understanding that together we achieve better results. Better – through the joint collection and use of data. Through improved road and vehicle safety, enhanced post-accident response systems, and increased investment in educational efforts in this area,” said UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock.
The UN document includes a comprehensive set of commitments for implementing national road safety strategies with clear targets, timelines, and budgets. Among them are the creation of specialized road safety agencies, improvement of data collection and analysis, development and enforcement of stricter legislation, as well as bringing roads, infrastructure, and vehicles into compliance with key safety standards.
The declaration obliges countries to apply a proven approach that assumes people inevitably make mistakes on the road. It involves creating safer roads, infrastructure, vehicles, speed limits, and regulations that take the human factor into account so that the consequences of accidents remain within survivable limits. The document also calls on governments to show leadership and take additional measures, and on the private sector to make road safety a priority at all stages of the supply chain. The declaration separately highlights the important role of civil society, academia, youth, charitable organizations, and UN bodies in achieving progress.
Safer roads for a safer future
Almost 60 percent of the world’s population now lives in cities, and the growing demand for mobility threatens to overload transportation systems originally designed primarily for private cars. With the spread of taxi and delivery services, the number of motorcycles worldwide has more than tripled from 2011 to 2025. Motorcyclists today account for nearly a third of all road deaths, while using a certified motorcycle helmet reduces the risk of fatality in an accident by more than six times.
New types of mobility – electric scooters, electric bicycles, and autonomous vehicles – create both challenges and new opportunities for transportation planning. WHO is working to close gaps in legislation and regulations, promotes unified safety standards, and brings together leading experts to find new ways to ensure the safety of all new types of transport and technologies.
Uneven progress
“More than half of all road fatalities are people who were not in a vehicle at all: they were walking, cycling, or riding a motorcycle. When roads are designed as if only motorists matter, these people are put at risk,” said Etienne Krug, Director of the Department of Social Determinants of Health, Health Promotion and Injury Prevention at WHO. “We know what works: strict laws and their enforcement, safe infrastructure and vehicles, special attention to reducing speed and combating drunk driving.”
Worldwide, 10 countries reduced road fatalities by 50 percent in the decade leading up to 2021. More than half of the countries recorded a decrease in the number of deaths during this period. However, progress is unevenly distributed: in the WHO European Region, mortality decreased by 36 percent; in the Western Pacific Region, by 15 percent; in the South-East Asia Region, by 2 percent; in the Americas Region, there was no change; and in the African Region, the number of deaths increased by 17 percent.
The declaration emphasizes that strengthening road safety is crucial for healthcare and sustainable development as a whole. Increasing the share of pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport users can reduce road congestion, improve air quality, make cities more comfortable to live in, and contribute to healthier and longer lives for people.
Funding and new initiatives
On the sidelines of the high-level meeting, a fundraising conference was also held for the United Nations Road Safety Fund, attended by governments, UN entities, businesses, and public organizations.
At the conclusion of the forum, the partners announced the allocation of 5.6 million dollars. About three million of this amount consists of direct financial contributions, while another 2.6 million represents other forms of support. Additionally, the participants reported their intention to provide approximately seven million more dollars, which are still in the negotiation stage.
One of the main initiatives of the conference was the launch of the global program “Safe and Affordable Helmets Initiative,” aimed at making certified protective helmets more accessible, primarily for motorcyclists. The initiative has already received support from Honda and Autoliv.
The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, compared the protective helmet to a vaccine: “If road traffic accidents are a pandemic, then a safe helmet is the vaccine. A helmet that meets safety standards and is properly worn on the head is one of the simplest ways to save a life on the road. But today, millions of people still do not have access to protection that can truly save them in the event of an accident.”
During the conference, the establishment of the UN Road Safety Lab, developed by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), was also announced. The new digital platform will utilize artificial intelligence capabilities to analyze data, share knowledge, and support governments in developing road safety solutions.
Safety requires cooperation
Tatiana Molchan, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), reminded that it is UNECE that is the custodian of the UN international conventions on road safety and hosts the UN Fund.
According to Molchan, the EEC is organizing a series of expert dialogues on the future of road safety. Their aim is to help countries put into practice modern solutions in areas such as vehicle safety technologies, technical standards, traffic rules, and road user behavior.
“The UN’s legal mechanisms in the area of road safety can help countries fulfill the commitments they have undertaken by 2030,” she emphasized.
Less than five years remain until the global goal is reached. The UN believes that success will depend not only on new technologies and international agreements but also on the willingness of states to consistently invest in safe roads, modern legislation, quality medical care for the injured, and effective prevention.
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