Ministers from across the globe have called for a decade of action on road safety, after the close of the first global road safety conference last week.
In its closing declaration, the conference - which was attended by ministers from more than 70 countries - called on the UN to declare the decade 2011-2020 as one of "Action for Road Safety", with a goal to reduce the forecast level of road deaths by 2020.
The conference noted that road accidents are the leading global cause of death for those aged 5-29, and that each year accidents kill 1.2 million people in total, while injuring or disabling as many as 50 million. It also expressed concern that more than nine-tenths of the world's fatal crashes occur in low- or middle-income countries, and that, in addition to the human suffering, the $65 billion total annual cost to these countries threatened their development.
UK Transport Minister Paul Clark reminded delegates that during the course of the two-day conference, upwards of 7,000 lives were likely to have been lost on the world's roads.
"This cannot be right. This can and must be prevented," he added.
The conference comes ahead of Road Safety Week in the UK, which this year is focusing on drivers who take to the wheel when impaired through drink or drugs.
Under the "Not a drop, not a drag" slogan, road safety charity Brake is calling on drivers to stay entirely free of alcohol or illegal drugs, and for communities to inform police of any known drunk or drugged drivers.
