Why in news?

• As per the recently released WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023, annual number of road traffic deaths has dropped by 5 per cent to 1.19 million per year.
• India, however, registered a 15% increase in fatalities.

What’s in today’s article?

• Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023
• News Summary

Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023

• The WHO Global status report on road Safety 2023 is the fifth in a series measuring progress in reducing road traffic deaths.
• This report covers progress between 2010 and 2021 and sets a baseline for efforts to meet the United Nations Decade of Action 2021–2030 target to halve road traffic deaths by 2030.
  • The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 in September 2020.
  • The goal is to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030.
• This report was produced with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
  • Since 2007, Bloomberg Philanthropies has committed $500 million to support road safety interventions in low- and middle-income countries and cities across the world.

News Summary: Key highlights of the Global status report on road safety 2023

• Countries succeeding in reducing road traffic deaths by over 50%
  • Ten countries succeeded in reducing road traffic deaths by over 50%.
    • These are - Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Denmark, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
  • Thirty-five more countries made notable progress, reducing road traffic deaths by 30% to 50%.
• Road traffic crashes have been the leading killer for children and young people
  • As of 2019, road traffic crashes have been the leading killer of children and youth aged five to 29 years.
  • These crashes are the 12th leading cause of death when all ages are considered.
• 5% reduction in absolute numbers of road traffic fatalities in last decade
  • This was accompanied with a growth in global population by nearly 14 billion.
  • This translates into the road fatality rate declining from 18 per 1 lakh people in 2010 to 15 per 1 lakh in 2021.
    • This represents a 16% decline in the road traffic death rate since 2010.
• Region wise traffic deaths
• 28% of global road traffic deaths occurred in the WHO’s South-East Asia Region,
• 25% in the Western Pacific Region,
• 19% in the African Region,
• 12% in the Region of the Americas,
• 11% in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and
• 5% in the European Region.
• Situation in low- and middle-income countries
  • Nine in 10 deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, and fatalities in these countries are disproportionately higher (3 times) when set against the number of vehicles and roads they have.
• Countries that meet WHO best practice for all risk factors
  • Just six countries have laws that meet WHO best practice for all risk factors (speeding, drunk–driving, and use of motorcycle helmets, seatbelts, and child restraints).
  • 140 countries (two-thirds of UN Member States) have such laws for at least one of these risk factors.
• India Specific observation
  • 
  • In India, the number of deaths reported due to road crashes in 2018 was 1,50,785 and it rose to 1,53,792 in 2021. The number was 1.3 lakh in 2010.