The World Health Organisation has published its Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015 in the run-up to the 2nd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety taking place in Brasilia in November. The report shows that despite some progress, road casualties remain a critical issue for global health. The report is rich in detail about the burden of road death and injury worldwide, regional patterns and specific country data. The report and useful related documents can be downloaded in different languages here.
The report contains new casualty data and comparisons for 2013. Many EASST partner countries remain among those with very high average fatality rates. Data for ten EASST partner countries (excluding Ukraine, where no data was submitted) showed an average fatality rate of 15.9 people per 100,000 population, compared with just 2.9 in the United Kingdom. Highest casualty rates were to be found in Kazakhstan (24.2 per 100,00) and Kyrgyzstan (22.0).A number of countries showed progress however, and it is hoped that further reductions will be seen in future. There is certainly much work still needed. In Georgia, a country which has seen a drop in casualties from 15.7 to 11.8 per 100,000 since 2010, seat belt legislation still does not apply to back-seat passengers. The report highlights many areas where countries can take action to further reduce road death and injury.
For quick facts about global road safety, take a look here.
