November 16, 2024 - The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was initiated in 1993 by Brigitte Chaudhry, the founder of RoadPeace. In 2005, the United Nations endorsed it as a global day to be observed every third Sunday in November each year, as the “appropriate acknowledgement for victims of road traffic injuries and their families”.
Since then the World Day of Remembrance has been observed and promoted worldwide by many governments, international agencies and groups such as the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR), the International Road Victims’ Partnership (IRVP) and Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety and their associated members.
WHO and the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration encourage all road safety stakeholders to commemorate the World Day of Remembrance to pay homage to those who have died on the world’s roads, advocate for better support for victims and bereaved families and promote action to save lives.
Every year, millions more road victims are added to the current toll of over 50 million killed and hundreds of millions injured since the first road death. It is an actual pandemic, affecting primarily our vulnerable and our young, which in addition to the trauma of injury and bereavement has also a devastating economic impact for countries, communities and families. Therefore, during the Decade of Action 2021-2030 the World Day has an important role of helping to achieve the 50% road casualty reduction target.
Key Facts
• Approximately 1.19 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes.
• Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5–29 years.
• 92% of the world’s fatalities on the roads occur in low- and middle-income countries, even though these countries have around 60% of the world’s vehicles.
• More than half of all road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
• Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product.
• The United Nations General Assembly has set an ambitious target of halving the global number of deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2030 (A/RES/74/299).
For more information about international activities visit here a website developed by Brigitte Chaudhry, Founder of RoadPeace and president of the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR).
World Day of Remembrance Ride in Toronto here.
World Day of Remembrance Rides in USA here.
Read more about World Day of Remembrance here and here.
