(UNI) Latest statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO reveal that 1.35 million people die on the roads each year, while road traffic injuries are now the leading cause of death among young people, according to new statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“What’s killing our young children and adults, is road traffic crashes now,” Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO department that deals with violence and Injury prevention, told UN News.
Increases in average speed; driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs; and inadequate post-crash care, are among various factors making traffic injuries the number one killer of persons aged five to 29, the 2018 Global Status on Road Safety reveals.
Additionally, of the total number of road traffic deaths, 90 percent occur in low and -middle-income countries.
It’s important to notice this is a “real issue of inequalities,” Dr Krug said, citing that only one percent of the vehicles in the world are in poorer countries, and yet 13 percent of all vehicle-related deaths occur there. High-income nations account for 40 percent of the world’s cars, and only seven percent of total traffic fatalities.
