WHO and countries around the world have launched the global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. From New Zealand to Mexico and the Russian Federation to South Africa, governments are committing to take new steps to save lives on their roads. The Decade seeks to prevent road traffic deaths and injuries which experts project will take the lives of 1.9 million people annually by 2020.
Road traffic injuries have become the leading killer of young people aged 15–29 years. Almost 1.3 million people die each year on the world's roads, making this the ninth leading cause of death globally. In addition to these deaths, road crashes cause between 20 million and 50 million non-fatal injuries every year. In many countries, emergency care and other support services for road traffic victims are inadequate. These avoidable injuries overload already stretched health services.
School based road safety education will play a vital role in reducing the number of accidents on the world's roads. Please find below a number of resources highlighting the work that has already been done to instill road safety into school-aged children.
Road Safety Education materials on SchoolsandHealth.org
