Zero Road Deaths and Serious Injuries
Leading a Paradigm Shift to a Safe System
This report describes a paradigm shift in road safety policy, being led by a handful
of countries, according to the principles of a Safe System. A Safe System is based
on the premise that road crashes are both predictable and preventable, and that it
is possible to move towards zero road deaths and serious injuries. This, however,
requires a fundamental rethink of the governance and implementation of road safety
policy.
To stem the road death epidemic, the United Nations have set the target of halving
traffic fatalities by 2020. Every year, 1.25 million people are killed in road crashes
and up to 50 million are seriously injured. Road crashes kill more people than malaria
or tuberculosis and are among the ten leading causes of death. Their economic cost
is estimated at 2-5% of GDP in many countries. Written by a group of international
road safety experts, this report provides leaders in government, administrations,
business and academia with emerging best practices and the starting point to chart
their own journeys towards a Safe System.
Published on October 03, 2016Also available in: Spanish