A/RES/72/271
Improving global road safety
persons, as well as road safety targets aimed at strengthening resilience and adaptive
capacity vis-à-vis hazards and developing sustainable and resilient infrastructure,
Noting that, as the end of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020
approaches, the overwhelming majority of road traffic deaths and injuries are
preventable and that, despite some improvements in ma ny countries, including in
developing countries, they remain a major public health and development problem
that has broad social and economic consequences which, if unaddressed, may affect
progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goa ls,
Recognizing that human suffering, combined with costs to some countries of up
to 5 per cent of their gross domestic product a year, makes reducing road traffic deaths
and injuries both an economic and a social priority, especially for some countries, and
that investment in road safety has a positive impact on public health and the economy,
Taking into account that road traffic deaths and injuries are also a social equity
issue, as the poor and the vulnerable are most frequently also vulnerable road u sers,
namely, pedestrians, cyclists, users of motorized two- and three-wheeled vehicles and
passengers of unsafe public transport, who are disproportionately affected and
exposed to risks and road traffic crashes, which can lead to a cycle of poverty
exacerbated by income loss, and recalling that the aim of road safety policies should
be to guarantee protection to all users,
Recognizing that road safety requires addressing broader issues of equitable
access to mobility and that the promotion of sustainable modes of transport, in
particular safe public transport and safe walking and cycling, is a key element of road
safety,
Taking into account the importance of strengthening institutional capacity and
continuing international cooperation, including South-South and triangular
cooperation, cooperation between countries that share roads across borders and
cooperation among regional and international organizations, to further support efforts
to improve road safety, particularly in developing countries, and pro viding, as
appropriate, support to meet the goals of the Decade of Action and those of the 2030
Agenda,
Emphasizing that, while each country has primary responsibility for its own
economic and social development and the role of national policies and deve lopment
strategies cannot be overemphasized in the context of reaching the Sustainable
Development Goals, international public finance plays an important role in
complementing the efforts of countries to mobilize public resources domestically,
especially in the poorest and most vulnerable countries with limited domestic
resources,
Expressing its concern that the number of road traffic crashes remains
unacceptably high, and that crashes represent a leading cause of death and injury
around the world, killing more than 1.3 million people and injuring as many as
50 million people a year, with 90 per cent of those casualties occurring in developing
countries, and concerned also that road traffic crashes are the leading cause of death
around the world for children and young people between 15 and 29 years of age,
Expressing its concern also that, at the current rate of progress, target 3.6 of
Sustainable Development Goal 3 will not be met,
Expressing its concern further that the adoption and implementation of road
safety measures remain inadequate in many countries,
Acknowledging the leading role of Oman and the Russian Federation in drawing
the attention of the international community to the global road safety crisis,
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