Every year more people die on the roads than all Covid deaths ever

According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.3 million people die each year as a result of incidents on our roads. That’s more than all the people who have died of Covid to date (June 2023). Tragically, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years. The victims are mostly pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. These numbers are intolerable and it is up to legislators to take action to reduce these numbers.

There are many reasons why so many people die on the roads. None of them is too complex to resolve.

Speeding, and drink driving are two of the main culprits. Unsafe road design is an exacerbating factor in many accidents. The largest part of the problem is that the most vulnerable road users, cyclists and pedestrians, are last on the list of considerations when planning roads.

We have the technology to prevent drivers from speeding, we have controls which could prevent inebriated drivers from driving their cars. In both cases we have laws which allow repeat offenders to be deprived of their licences and freedom. That these mitigations aren’t more widely used is disgraceful.

What we don’t have is a plan to put people first when designing our transport systems. Be it local suburban transport or inter city travel. Giving private cars priority financially and in terms of road resources is just wrong. 

We can, and should, do better. There are more than a million reasons why we need to.