270,000 pedestrians die yearly in accidents – WHO

MANILA, Philippines - More than 270,000 pedestrians die on roads each year, indicating that they are among the most vulnerable road users, according to the World Heath Organization (WHO).

The United Nations  health agency said pedestrian casualties account for 22 percent of the 1.24 million road traffic deaths.

Studies also indicate that males – both children and adults – make up a high proportion of pedestrian deaths and injuries.

In developed countries, older pedestrians are more at risk, while in low-income and middle-income countries, children and young adults are often affected. 

Children and adults with disabilities suffer higher rates of injury as pedestrians compared to their non-disabled peers.

“More than 5,000 pedestrians are killed on the world’s roads each week. This is because their needs have been neglected for decades, often in favor of motorized transport,” said Etienne Krug, WHO director of the department of violence and injury prevention and disability.

“We need to rethink the way we organize our transport systems to make walking safe and save pedestrian lives,” Krug added.

To generate action to protect pedestrians, WHO calls on governments to improve traffic safety.

It also organized the Second UN Global Road Safety Week, which kicks off tomorrow with events in 70 countries.

“The Second United Nations Global Road Safety Week offers an opportunity to highlight the myriad challenges that pedestrians face around the world each and every day,” said Oleg Chestnov, WHO assistant director-general for noncommunicable diseases and mental health.

“We are all pedestrians, and governments should put in place measures to better protect all of us. This will not only save lives, but create the conditions needed to make walking safe. When roads are safe, people will walk more, and this in turn will improve health and protect the environment,” Chestnov added, echoing the theme of Road Safety Week, “Make Walking Safe.”

WHO and its partners also released a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners.

The manual promotes combining enforcement, engineering and education measures such as adopting new laws to reduce speeding, curb drinking and driving, decrease mobile phone use, improve roadway lighting, and establish infrastructure that separates pedestrians from traffic.

Launched in May 2011 by governments across the world, the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 aims to save five million lives and seeks to build road safety management capacity in countries, improve the safety of roads and vehicles, enhance the behavior of all road users, and strengthen post-crash care.