Globally, road accidents cause around 1.3 million deaths and 50 million injuries per year – making it leading killer of children and young people around the world[1]. As per estimate of World Health Organization (WHO), road accidents are set to cause 13 million deaths and 500 million road accident-related injuries during this decade. Most of the road accident-related fatalities and injuries take place in LMICs i.e. Low and Middle Income Countries. During 2013 to 2016, no reductions in the number of road traffic deaths were observed in low-income countries, while some reductions were observed in 48 middle- and high-income countries. Overall, the number of deaths increased in 104 countries during this period. It is also evident that road accidents costs around 3% of their gross domestic product for most of the countries[2]. 

It is important to improve road safety for reducing accidents and resulting fatalities and injuries. Various initiatives undertaken globally are mentioned in this section. 

Initiatives to improve Road Safety at Global Level 

Initiatives such as establishing Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention by WHO, development of a five-year strategy for road traffic injury prevention, publication of Global Status Report on Road Safety, and the Moscow Declaration calling for a Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 were taken between 2000 to 2014. 

As per Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.6 in 2015, it was targeted to halve number of road accidents fatalities by 2020. The 2^nd Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety was organized at Brasilia, Brazil in 2015. 2200 international delegates adopted the “Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety” through which they agreed on ways to halve road traffic deaths by the end of this decade. However, the goal as mentioned in the Brasilia Declaration was not achieved. 

In order to move towards the target of reducing road accident deaths and injuries around the globe, governments from around the world vide UN General Assembly Resolution 74/299 again unanimously declared – Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 with the explicit target to reduce road deaths and injuries by at least 50% during that period. This UN’s Global Plan for Decade of Action for Road Safety was officially launched on 28 October 2021 with a global event hosted by the World Health Organization / United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (WHO/UNRSC).

The Global Plan aligns its objectives with the Stockholm Declaration, by emphasizing the adoption of a holistic approach towards road safety and efforts for continuous improvements in the design of roads and vehicles. It also emphasizes on enhancement and enforcement of law and as well as necessary provision of emergency care for the injured in timely manner. 

Global Plan for ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-30’ highlights the need to achieve the target and urges nation to adopt and implement ‘Safe System Approach’ to reduce fatal road accidents. This plan highlights recommendations sourced from proven and effective interventions for reducing fatal road accidents. It provides a comprehensive overview of actions to implement and strengthen Safe Systems. The recommended actions as highlighted in the global plan for adopting safe system approach are: