Every year, approximately 1.2 million people are killed due to road traffic accidents and countless others suffer life-changing injuries. With this in mind, the World Health Organization and the United Nations General Assembly collaborated to create a plan called the Decade of Action for Road Safety. The plan seeks to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by at least 50% by 2030.
But lawmakers have their work cut out. Studies cited in a recent New York Times article note that during the pandemic, the number of crashes in the U.S. increased 16%, and road fatalities in 2021 were at their highest in 15 years at over 42,000. And while the scenario varies globally, this reversal in previous road safety improvements in the U.S. unfortunately appears to continue today.