The encouraging news is that even as global population and vehicles on the roads are increasing, road traffic fatalities are leveling off.
May 3, 2019
One of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is to halve global road traffic deaths and injuries by 2020. China—the world's most populous country—has a major stake in whether that goal is achieved. In 2017 China accounted for some 21% of road traffic deaths globally,…
April 10, 2019
Elise Mann knows the roads in rural Malawi—and they are about as inhospitable to aid delivery as possible. With Malawi and neighboring countries in Cyclone Idai’s wake facing a Herculean recovery mission, the rough roads highlight another fundamental global health need,…
February 6, 2019
Traffic fatalities in Southeast Asia and Africa surpass the rest of the world, but experts believe the problem may be even bigger than previously known. They estimate 80% of deaths go misclassified or unrecorded. Complex issues contribute to data gaps. Deaths in rural…
December 7, 2018
The latest WHO Global road safety status report documents uneven progress on traffic deaths—which have climbed to 1.35 million a year. The report found progress in 48 middle- and high-income countries thanks to robust road safety initiatives. However, no low-income country…
October 11, 2018
NEW YORK—The commitment of Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the mayor of Accra, Ghana, to make the streets of his city safer is more than a campaign promise. It’s a mission, borne of personal experience. He knows all too well the hazards of road travel in the city of 2 million. In…
October 2, 2018
Had the van that smashed into a truck on a Mexican highway, killing 13 and injuring 8, been manufactured for Canada or the US, the wreck might have been less deadly.
September 18, 2018
Found a great deal on a bike helmet online? Chances are good it’s a fake. Fake helmets cheaply distributed via e-commerce sites can’t protect you from the kinds of catastrophic accidents that lead to skull fracture, brain damage or death. They sometimes appear flimsier but…
August 6, 2018
Tens of thousands of students poured onto in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s streets again on Sunday to demand better road safety after 2 students were killed last week by buses. Police responded with tear gas while pro-government youth groups attacked the protesters and at least 5…
July 17, 2018
About once every 2 weeks in 2015, someone died at the Lapaz intersection of the N1 highway in Accra, Ghana.