Message from the Chairman
This Commission has been established to focus political attention on a global road traffic injury epidemic that claims the lives of more than 1.2 million people and seriously injures around 15 million annually.
Road traffic injuries represent nothing less than a public health crisis for developing countries, a global epidemic which is forecast to worsen significantly over the next decade, unless preventative action is taken.
Global road safety barely features on the international political agenda, yet it is a vital missing piece of the sustainable development jigsaw. Dangerous roads have an impact on every other development objective, be it improving health and education, or growing economies and trade, not least through the immense economic and social costs of road crashes.
It is hoped that the recommendations contained in our report, Make Roads Safe: a new priority for sustainable mobility, will help to raise the profile of the issue and set an agenda for practical action to reduce global road traffic injuries.
Rt. Hon. Lord Robertson of Port Ellen KT. GCMG