| Road traffic injuries are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with nearly 1.2 million people killed and as many as 50 million people injured each year. Globally, more than 1 of every 4 road traffic deaths occur among pedestrians and cyclists. Regionally, the proportion of pedestrian deaths is highest in Africa (1 in 3 road traffic deaths) and the proportion of cyclist deaths is highest in the Western Pacific (1 in 7 road traffic deaths).
The 8th UN Global Road Safety Week draws attention to the co-benefits of making walking and cycling safe. When safe, these modes should be prioritized whenever possible as they can help make people healthy, cities sustainable and societies equitable. The Week offers an opportunity to spur action at national and local levels to enhance safe walking and cycling, by highlighting concrete and specific interventions that can be taken by governments, international agencies, civil society, businesses and schools. Such actions will help promote and facilitate a shift to safe walking and cycling, the most healthy, green, sustainable and economically advantageous transport modes. This shift will contribute, directly and indirectly, to the attainment of many Sustainable Development Goals.
We invite you to mark the Week by:
Joining our global webinar:
WHO will host a global webinar Streets for Life: Unlocking the Multiple Benefits of Safe Walking and Cycling on 12 May 2025 from 13:00 – 14:30 CET. The global webinar will celebrate the Week and serve as the occasion to launch WHO’s new policy guidance: Promoting Walking and Cycling: A Toolkit of Policy Options. This new guidance outlines evidence-based policy actions to promote safe, inclusive, and accessible environments for more safe walking and cycling. It offers a practical roadmap across sectors-from transport to health to environment-with seven key policy action areas and real-world case studies. The webinar will feature presentation of the new guidance; a panel discussion sharing insights from global experts; and spotlights showcasing how smart policy can unlock co-benefits across health, mobility, environment, and economy.
🗓️ When: Monday, 12 May 2025 | 13:00-14:30 CEST
💻 Where: Zoom – Register here
Various regional webinars are also being planned.
Conducting a Mobility Snapshot:
Mobility Snapshots involve the collection of data at specific intersections from the perspective
of a pedestrian or cyclist. The data collected consider how many people are walking and cycling at this intersection and whether life-saving interventions exist in those locations, such as 30 km/h speed limits, pedestrian crossings and footpaths, and traffic calming. Advocates are invited to select an intersection, conduct the Mobility Snapshot, and upload their information via an online form. An infographic template is made available for sharing results with local decision makers. Cycling-related questions are currently being added to the Mobility Snapshot. Mobility Snapshots – Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety
Using the Walkability App:
The Walkability App, designed to facilitate the development and delivery of targeted and effective walking policies, enables citizens of any age, gender or ability to share their walking experiences. The geo-located data provides an opportunity for city planners and engineers to invest in a programme of works with better safety, comfort and enjoyment outcomes for all. Available in English and Portuguese with other languages forthcoming, the App includes some gamification, communication, and social features to encourage participation and build walking communities.
Walkability – Walk21
Assessing cycling infrastructure
CycleRAP is an easy, affordable and fast method of evaluating road and bicycling infrastructure for safety. It aims to reduce crashes and improve safety specifically for bicyclists and other light mobility users by identifying high risk locations without the need for crash data. It can be used anywhere in the world to improve bicycling-related asset management and maintenance planning; help prioritise investment and planning for bicycle and light mobility modes, and provide safety key performance indicators and track performance over time.
https://irap.org/cyclerap/
Star rating roads around schools
Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) is an evidence-based programme of tools, training and support to measure, manage and communicate the risk children are exposed to on a journey to school. SR4S is informing strategic investment in infrastructure upgrades saving lives and preventing serious injuries every day. It is also empowering global and community advocacy to address the leading killer of young people world-wide – road traffic deaths.
https://starratingforschools.org/
Inspiring others to join the campaign:
The web site for the 8th UN Global Road Safety Week highlights key messages, promotes the local actions described above, and offers links to campaign resources, related publications and external partners. A calendar is also currently being developed to reflect key global and regional events for inclusion on the web site. All road safety, sustainable mobility and physical activity stakeholders are invited to engage with the campaign by sharing the new WHO policy guidance Promoting Walking and Cycling: A Toolkit of Policy Options once released on 12 May 2025; promoting the Week widely across your networks, on social media and in the media; and joining global, regional and local activities.
I look forward to your collaboration as we work together to make walking and cycling safe!
Etienne Krug
Director, WHO Department of Social Determinants of Health
Chair, UN Road Safety Collaboration |
