Volvo Cars calls on UN delegates for road safety equality

Volvo Cars has called on governments and regulators around the world to address a large inequality in road safety between developed and developing economies.

Despite progress made in recent decades, official data still shows a significant gap in the number of traffic fatalities between both categories of countries.

Each year, an estimated 1.35 million people lose their lives in traffic accidents. That number alone underlines the need for action, but data by the World Health Organisation (WHO) also shows that the risk of road traffic death is more than three times higher in developing countries than in developed countries.

In order to improve global road safety, Volvo Cars believes countries should promote safety belt usage by introducing and enforcing seat-belt laws covering both front and rear seats. Basic road infrastructure that keeps vulnerable road users separate from motorised traffic should be another key focus area.

Volvo Cars' call for action comes as the third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, hosted by Sweden and the WHO, started in Stockholm on 19 February 2020.

"Global data shows that there is a significant inequality in road safety," said Malin Ekholm, Head of the Volvo Cars Safety Centre. "Those safety gaps need to be addressed through technology, but also by creating and enhancing a global safety culture. We need to understand and address the variation in seat belt usage, while infrastructure should focus on improving the safety of vulnerable road users, pedestrians and cyclists."