Around 186 300 children under 18 years die from road traffic crashes annually, and rates of road traffic death among children are three times higher in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.
A newly published World Health Organization (WHO) document, 10 strategies for keeping children safe on the road, draws attention to the risks for children on the world's roads and highlights measures to save lives.
Other findings from the report include:
- road traffic injuries are the leading killer of children aged 15–17 years worldwide
- road traffic injury ranks among the top four causes of death for children over the age of five years
- 2 times as many boys as girls die in road traffic crashes
- of children aged 0–19 years killed on the road, 38% are pedestrians, 36% are vehicle occupants, 14% are motorcyclists, and the remainder include drivers, cyclists and others.
Safer roads for all will mean safer roads for children. While no single measure adequately addresses the vast range of risks to children on the road, the 10 strategies below are those which are best known – especially when implemented as a package – to keep children safe on the road.
Related links
10 strategies for keeping children safe on the road
Third UN Global Road Safety Week
Infographic: 10 strategies for keeping children safe on the road