UNB, Dhaka :
Observing that half of all road traffic deaths are among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals that around 21,316 people were killed in road accidents across Bangladesh in 2012 alone.
Almost half of all the deaths on the world’s roads are among those with the least protection – motorcyclists (23 pc), pedestrians (22 pc) and cyclists (4 pc), according to the WHO’s Global status report on road safety 2015 released on Monday.
WHO estimated that 13.6 people are killed in road accidents in every one lakh population of Bangladesh while it sees about 1.6 percent of GDP loss due to road traffic crashes each year, it says.
About the global scenario, the WHO’s road safety reports shows some 1.25 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes, despite improvements in road safety.
“Road traffic fatalities take an unacceptable toll, particularly on poor people in poor countries,” says WHO Director General Dr Margaret Chan. However, the number of road traffic deaths is stabilising even though the number of motor vehicles worldwide has increased rapidly, as has the global population. In the last three years, 79 countries have seen a decrease in the absolute number of fatalities while 68 countries have seen an increase.
Countries that have had the most success in reducing the number of road traffic deaths have achieved this by improving legislation, enforcement, and making roads and vehicles safer, according to a news item released from Geneva on Friday.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” adds Dr Chan. “The report shows that road safety strategies are saving lives. But it also tells us that the pace of change is too slow.”
The WHO report highlights that road users around the world are unequally protected. The risk of dying in a road traffic crash still depends, in great part, on where people live and how they move around.
A big gap still separates high-income countries from low- and middle-income ones where 90 percent of road traffic deaths occur in spite of having just 54 percent of the world’s vehicles.
Observing that half of all road traffic deaths are among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals that around 21,316 people were killed in road accidents across Bangladesh in 2012 alone.
Almost half of all the deaths on the world’s roads are among those with the least protection – motorcyclists (23 pc), pedestrians (22 pc) and cyclists (4 pc), according to the WHO’s Global status report on road safety 2015 released on Monday.
WHO estimated that 13.6 people are killed in road accidents in every one lakh population of Bangladesh while it sees about 1.6 percent of GDP loss due to road traffic crashes each year, it says.
About the global scenario, the WHO’s road safety reports shows some 1.25 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes, despite improvements in road safety.
“Road traffic fatalities take an unacceptable toll, particularly on poor people in poor countries,” says WHO Director General Dr Margaret Chan. However, the number of road traffic deaths is stabilising even though the number of motor vehicles worldwide has increased rapidly, as has the global population. In the last three years, 79 countries have seen a decrease in the absolute number of fatalities while 68 countries have seen an increase.
Countries that have had the most success in reducing the number of road traffic deaths have achieved this by improving legislation, enforcement, and making roads and vehicles safer, according to a news item released from Geneva on Friday.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” adds Dr Chan. “The report shows that road safety strategies are saving lives. But it also tells us that the pace of change is too slow.”
The WHO report highlights that road users around the world are unequally protected. The risk of dying in a road traffic crash still depends, in great part, on where people live and how they move around.
A big gap still separates high-income countries from low- and middle-income ones where 90 percent of road traffic deaths occur in spite of having just 54 percent of the world’s vehicles.
