Hyderabad: UN Global Road Safety Week (UNGRSW), observed from May 15-21 every year across the globe, brings together individuals, governments, NGOs, corporations, and other organisations from around the world to raise awareness of road safety and make changes that will reduce the number of road deaths.
The day serves as a valuable opportunity for NGOs and other civil society organisations and individuals to mobilise under the banner of a global campaign, giving them a global identity and mandate for their campaigns – together we have a stronger voice.
Top Countries With Safest Roads
Netherlands: The safest roads in the world can be found in the Netherlands. The country also has one of the highest percentages of seatbelt wearers and the lowest traffic levels, too. The Netherlands is the country with the highest proportion of cyclists in the world, with one bike per person, As a result of the country’s famous cycling culture, there are fewer drivers on the road.
Norway: The Nordic country has the-fewest road deaths per 100,000 people and also has the second-lowest motorway speed limit at just 110 kph. As icey temperatures (particularly in the north of the country) can lead to treacherous conditions on Norwegian roads, the country’s high safety score is an even bigger achievement.
Sweden and Estonia: These two countries excelled in different aspects of safety. Sweden had very few road deaths and a high seatbelt-wearing percentage, whereas Estonia had a low traffic level and a low percentage of road deaths attributed to alcohol.
Japan: Japan roads are also the safest and one of the standout factors for Japan is the incredibly high level of people choosing to put safety first with 98% wearing a seatbelt. The country also had a low death toll of just 4.1 road deaths per 100,000 people, which is impressive given the number of people and vehicles in major cities such as Tokyo, although many choose to take public transport.
Road Accidents Statistics and Prevention in India
The Annual Report on ‘Road Accidents in India-2022” has been published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. This report is based on the data/information received from police departments of States/UTs on calendar year basis in standardized formats as provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) under the Asia Pacific Road Accident Data (APRAD) base project.
As per the report, a total of 4,61,312 road accidents have been reported by States and Union Territories (UTs) during the calendar year 2022, which claimed 1,68,491 lives and caused injuries to 4,43,366 persons. This marks an increase of 11.9% in accidents, 9.4% in fatalities, and 15.3% in injuries compared to the previous year.
Progress in over 140 Countries
The Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023 details the scale of global road traffic deaths, and progress in advancing laws, strategies, and actions to reduce them around the world. The fifth report in a series, it provides an overview of progress between 2010 and 2021 and sets a baseline for the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 target of halving road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.
Among UN Member States, 108 countries reported a drop in road traffic-related deaths between 2010 and 2021. Ten countries Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Denmark, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, the Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela succeeded in reducing road traffic deaths by over 50 per cent, the report said. Another 35 countries made notable progress, reducing the deaths by 30 per cent to 50 per cent, it said.
The report has noted that 28 per cent of the global road traffic deaths occurred in the WHO South- East Asia Region, 25 per cent in the Western Pacific Region, 19 per cent in the African Region, 12 per cent in the Region of the Americas, 11 per cent in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and 5 per cent in the European Region.
