Decade of Action on Road Safety

Senator Klobuchar at the Decade of Action on Road Safety D.C. launch.

Today, May 11, 2011, the United Nations officially launched the Decade of Action for Road Safety, an effort to curb road deaths and ensure road safety by 2020. The event is global, and national and local launches took place in every time zone — including Washington, D.C. (see above picture).

The global initiative is an effort to educate the public and prevent the 1.3 million deaths that are a result of a road traffic collision—more than 3,000 deaths each day. According to the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety, of these 1.3 million, more than half of these people are not traveling in a car. Additionally, road traffic injuries are among the three leading causes of death for people between 5 and 44 years of age.

The initiative will hopefully impact developing nations that are especially affected by the lack of road safety provisions. According to United Nations, “Ninety percent of road traffic deaths occur in low-and middle-income countries, which claim less than half the world’s registered vehicle fleet.”

Visit the Decade of Action Web site to get active in the Road Safety initiative and to connect with fellow advocates worldwide.