Some 1.3 million people are killed and another 50 million are injured in road traffic incidents globally each year. One out of every four of these deaths are pedestrians and cyclists—and many are young people. In fact, road traffic incidents are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years around the world.
The
UN Global Road Safety Week, held this year from May 15 to 21, is an initiative to reduce these numbers. It supports an ambitious plan to cut road traffic deaths and injuries by half by 2030. The
Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 encourages countries and communities to take action to ensure safer roads, vehicles, and behaviours, and to improve emergency care.
At Operation Lifesaver, we know that preventing traffic-related deaths and injuries is possible—and that education is the key.
Working together to prevent incidents
Every year, dozens of Canadian drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists are killed or seriously injured in collisions at railway crossings. We try to stop these senseless tragedies from happening through initiatives such as the
“Look. Listen. Live.” Community Safety Partnership Program. It encourages municipalities to install “Look. Listen. Live.” decals on the sidewalks or pavement near select railway crossings. The decals help to alert pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists of the need to exercise caution around railway crossings.
OL’s
Train to Drive virtual-reality (VR) videos are another way we try to prevent collisions at rail crossings. These interactive training videos immerse users in a VR driving environment and ask them to make real-time decisions behind the wheel—testing whether they know how to safely approach railway crossings and avoid vehicle-train collisions.
Doing your part to improve safety
When it comes to improving safety, we all have a part to play. Why not do yours? Check out all the
resources OL has to offer to help make your journey from Point A to Point B a safer one. And Mark the 7
th UN Global Road Safety Week by sharing messages and materials on social media with the hashtags:
- #RethinkMobility
- #StreetsforLife
- #RoadSafety