As experts warned that road traffic crashes have become a silent pandemic and called on the international community to build transport systems that put people first, a text in which Governments around the world committed to improve road safety was put to a vote in the General Assembly today.
By a recorded vote of 162 in favour to 1 against (United States), with no abstentions, the 193-member organ adopted the “Progress declaration of the high-level meeting on improving global road safety” (document A/80/L.95). The two-day high-level meeting, held on 20 and 21 July, is being co-organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and brings together ministers, delegates, civil society, academia and the private sector.
By the terms of the Declaration, which was adopted at the beginning of the meeting, the Assembly reaffirmed the global target of reducing road traffic deaths and injuries by at least 50 per cent by 2030. Further, Governments committed to undertake various actions, such as establishing or designating a national lead agency or equivalent entity to coordinate road safety across government.
Other actions include adopting and implementing funded national road safety strategies, as well as committing towards progressively aligning speed limits, road and land-use design, traffic rules and signage, and vehicle-design technologies. The Declaration also highlighted the need to ensure that public road transport systems, including bus rapid transit and similar systems, are safe, affordable, accessible and inclusive, including for children, older persons and persons with disabilities.
Every Road Fatality Is Preventable Tragedy
Speakers in the opening segment of the meeting underscored that every fatality on a road is a preventable tragedy. The Progress Declaration offers practical recommendations and calls for stronger national leadership on road safety, said Annalena Baerbock (Germany), President of the General Assembly. She pointed out that it is not contentious to want safe roads. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), echoed that, in a turbulent, increasingly divided world, “we can all agree on safe streets”, he said.
However, the representative of the United States, speaking in explanation of his vote, said that text “represents the very type of mandate creep that has eroded the credibility of this institution”. Further, it insists on integrating road safety into climate, environmental and urban policies. “Road safety is a practical matter of engineering, sober driving and personal responsibility,” he said, stressing that “it should not be used as a backdoor vehicle to enforce global climate pacts and top-down environmental restrictions on freedom of mobility”. He urged Member States to focus their efforts on practical, results-driven actions within their own borders, “rather than engaging in symbolic global gestures”.
Several speakers who voted for the text offered clarifications during their explanations of vote. Argentina’s delegate emphasized the sovereign right of nations to implement the Declaration in line with their national legislation priorities and development strategies. His country will also reserve its position regarding the role of WHO, he said. Paraguay’s representative underscored the voluntary nature of the follow-up and review processes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the aspirational and legally non-binding nature of the commitments undertaken.
New Zealand’s speaker, while supporting the broad purposes of the text, said some of its elements do not fully reflect his country’s road safety approach. Wellington’s road safety objectives “do not adopt quantified casualty reduction targets”, he said, adding that its approach is shaped by “principles that place emphasis on the highest contributing factors to fatal and serious crashes” among others.
Road Deaths Still Too High, Costly
Jean Todt, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Road Safety, spoke during the opening segment of the meeting. “Ten years ago, I warned this Assembly that road crashes were one of the great emergencies of our time,” he recalled. In 2016, one person lost their life on the road every 25 seconds, and more than 90 per cent of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries.
While Member States adopted an ambitious plan in response to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50 per cent, he emphasized: “Today, hardly anything has changed.” Road deaths declined by only 5 per cent between 2010 and 2021, and between today and the end of 2026, more than 84,000 children will be killed on the road and the global economy will lose another $1.6 trillion.
Urging that the current pace cannot continue, he said that “business as usual is a business of death” on the world’s roads. Against that backdrop, he offered several suggestions for Governments, including establishing national lead road safety agencies to coordinate action, adopting and enforcing safe speed limits and aligning national legislation with UN road-safety conventions and internationally agreed vehicle safety standards.
As for the private sector, he said that every motorcycle should be sold with two UN-certified helmets, noting that safe helmets can be produced for under $20. Every passenger car — regardless of where it is sold or operates — must meet universal safety standards. “No aircraft manufacturer would consider fitting aircraft with different safety features based on the market they serve,” he observed, stressing: “The same must apply to vehicles worldwide.”
Road Safety Crucial for Sustainable Development
Lok Bahadur Thapa (Nepal), President of the Economic and Social Council, said that road safety is not only about transport, but also about development, public health issue, social justice and climate. While transport may not have its own Sustainable Development Goal, it is an indispensable enabler because it connects people to education, jobs and healthcare, and supports social inclusion and resilient communities, he said.
The UN Decade for the Sustainable Transport for 2026–2035 and the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 should inform a single approach to transport, he added. Placing safety at the heart of sustainable mobility means planning housing, transport and public space together rather than in isolation. “It means investing in safe, affordable and accessible public transport” while reducing congestion and emissions, designing streets that are safe for pedestrians and cyclists, and “building safety into transport planning from the outset rather than trying to correct dangerous systems after tragedy strikes”, he said.
Further, for decades, success has been defined by how efficiently vehicles move, but the true measure of success should instead be “whether people — especially children, older persons, persons with disabilities, pedestrians and cyclists — can move safely, affordably and with dignity”, he added.
Brights Spots of Progress to Improve Road Safety in Every Region
Dr. Ghebreyesus noted progress — “bright spots in every region”. Mexico has made safe mobility a universal right, Zambia has stepped up data collection and analysis, Thailand has strengthened emergency care and Viet Nam has adopted strong laws and regulations. Further, the United Kingdom’s new road-safety strategy strengthens governance and accountability, and the United Arab Emirates is 1 of 10 countries that halved road fatalities in 10 years. Nevertheless, road crashes are still the leading cause of death among children and young people aged 5 to 29.
While acknowledging the complexity of building safe road systems, he said that the rewards for doing so are “immense”. When infrastructure is safe, more people walk or cycle — which, in turn, reduces their risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. And if given the chance, more people would choose public transport, which means cleaner and cooler air, less congestion and more vibrant public spaces.
Over 1.1 Million Deaths in 2025
At the beginning of his statement, he asked those present to stand if they have ever been in a road crash or if someone they loved has been killed or injured in one. “I think almost all of us,” he observed, after delegates obliged his request. More than 1.1 million lost their lives on the world’s roads in 2025 alone, and behind every statistic lies a name, a face, a story. “We owe it to them to act,” he urged.
Ms. Baerbock was among those who remembered a loved one lost to a road accident. Recalling how her own aunt died when she was hit by a tram, she said: “The legacy of that loss lingered”, shaping members of her family. Each road fatality leaves behind “never-ending ripples of devastation” in the victim’s families and communities, she said.
“Whether you came by car, by bike or simply walked” to reach the UN Headquarters today, she told delegates, they were participants in “the complex choreography of New York's traffic system”. And while most such journeys end safely, “far too many do not”, she said.
As to why the United Nations is focused on road safety when there are wars to be addressed, she said that road traffic crashes kill more than 1.2 million people annually and injure another 50 million. “That is more than the number killed in direct conflict,” more than the number of people murdered and more than the number who die from malaria, she said. “Since I began speaking”, she pointed out, at least half a dozen more families have received news that will change their lives forever.