For this blog entry I would like to let you know about the
social cause I have chosen to raise awareness of; a fantastic campaign known as
The United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
“For some reason people have allowed themselves to accept
road accidents as something that is somehow inevitable…” (Michelle Yeoh- Make
Roads Safe global ambassador)
Many people, many nations, and in particular western
nations, seem to be largely complacent when it comes to the issue of road safety.
Despite realising that road deaths are a serious issue we are never quite
willing to do as much as is really necessary to fix the problem. Perhaps it is
that we see road fatalities as ‘inevitable’ or maybe we have simply become
convinced of our own invincibility, that is, we have come to believe that our
roads are ‘safe enough’, our vehicles are ‘safe enough’ and that road accidents
are something that will happen to ‘somebody else’… until one day we, or someone
we know, become the latest victim. In
2010, 33,900 people were killed or injured on Australian roads. That number
alone should be cause for alarm- any single issue that causes that much death
and devastation, much less an issue largely of our societies own creation and
one that is largely avoidable, should have governments and individuals alike up
in arms, demanding that more be done to fix this problem!! But this is an issue
that goes way beyond our borders…
Road safety is something that many seem to perceive as an
issue worthy of address for developed nations but fail to recognise the importance of
addressing this issue beyond the first world. The assumption is often that
there are ‘bigger problems’ to address first before moving onto ‘less critical’
issues like vehicle safety, motorist behaviour and infrastructure. What we fail
to recognise is that the devastation and suffering caused by poor road safety
is tantamount to a global epidemic;
In the next 24 hours 3,500 people will be killed as a result
of road and traffic incidents worldwide! Of these fatalities, one in five will
be children and 90% of these deaths will occur in developing nations.
Every year 1.3 million people are killed on roads and an
additional 20-50 million people are left injured, many severely and
irreversibly. Road and traffic incidents are already the number one cause of
death in 5-25 year olds worldwide and it is estimated that if left unchecked
casualty figures could double by the year 2020 which would place road
casualties in the top 5 leading causes of death for any age group globally.
Road casualties are a HUGE problem in modern society and
‘road safety’ is a global problem! The implications of ongoing death and injury
on roads are wide reaching; beyond causing unimaginable grief and suffering for
the individuals involved these accidents perpetuate the cycle of poverty for
thousands of families and communities throughout the world with many survivors
unable to ever recover enough to continue to provide for their families. For a
child in a developing nation who risks their life crossing a busy highway every
day in order to simply get to school and receive an education, or a mother who
does the same to buy food for her family, road safety is a BIG issue!
Road Safety is a global issue that requires a global
solution. To that end, in 2011 the United Nations in conjunction with the World
Health Organisation, World Bank and many well recognised groups and individuals
including Nelson Mandela and actor Michelle Yeoh, and with the support of over
100 nations worldwide, launched the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
The goal of this campaign is to implement programs and initiatives globally
that are aimed at reducing death and injury and increasing road safety and
awareness of road safety practices- with the ultimate goal of halving the
number of deaths and accidents on roads throughout the world by the year 2020.
The campaign is founded on the notion that the vast majority of road deaths are
preventable. It emphasises that workable and proven solutions do exist and that
if we can make a sincere pledge as a global community to improve the roads and
road user safety, particular for those in developing nations and particularly
for roads used by children who are by far the most vulnerable of road users,
that five million lives will be saved in the next ten years!
As part of my raising awareness campaign I chose to focus on
one of many initiatives that exist as part of the Decade of Action campaign
called the Global Helmet Vaccine Initiative (GHVI) which aims to reduce
fatalities and traumatic brain injuries in eight target countries (Cambodia,
Thailand, Nicaragua, Uganda, Lebanon, The Philippines, Senegal and Vietnam) by
raising money and providing resources to educate people about safe road use and
provide helmets for children. In Vietnam 95% of vehicle owners are motorbike
users. Despite laws that make wearing a helmet mandatory many people either
don’t own or don’t wear helmets. As a result, on average 35 people are killed
in road accidents each day in Vietnam! Road accidents are the leading cause of
death for children aged 4-15 in several countries including Vietnam. For just
$15 this initiative can provide a child in Vietnam with a standards approved
safety helmet which, in an accident, reduces the chance of injury by 69% and
death by 42%. In order to actively support this campaign as part of my
fundraising for YPWB my family has agreed to donate an additional $15 for every
$100 raised which will be donated to GHVI to help provide helmets for children
in Vietnam.
As well as fundraising I recently attended a local high
school to talk to year 11 and 12 students about the Decade of Action and why
road safety is such a relevant and important issue (I also had the opportunity
to talk to them about the YPWB program and how they can get involved!). Using a
PowerPoint (which is attached for you to view), videos and a discussion of what
they thought were some of the biggest ‘global social issues’ that exist today I
was able to give them insight into the impact of road safety- many students
seemed genuinely surprised at how far reaching an issue this is. As well as
talking to students about the global implications of road deaths I made a point
to emphasise that road safety starts at our own front door; Road accidents are
already the leading cause of death worldwide for people under the age of 25…
Pay attention, obey the road rules, don’t drink drive, put down your mobile
phone and wear a seatbelt; the next life saved could be a family member, a
close friend or even you- what better reason do you need to pay attention to
road safety?!
For more information on the Decade of Action and the Global
Helmet Vaccine Initiative watch the attached video documenting the campaign
launch and check out the following websites:
Videos:
Decade of Action launch video- behind the statistics:
The impossible texting while driving test (Worth a look):
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