The United Nations and JCDecaux launch Global Road Safety campaign to address the first cause of mortality for young people aged 5-29

The United Nations and JCDecaux launch Global Road Safety campaign to address the first cause of mortality for young people aged 5-29

Paris, September 20^th, 2023 – The United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety, Mr Jean Todt, and Jean-Charles Decaux, co-CEO of JCDecaux, launched today a new UN Global Road Safety campaign to address road traffic crashes, which are the leading cause of death for people aged 5 to 29 around the world.

Road traffic crashes kill 1.35 million people every year and injure over 50 million, often for life. Developing countries account for 93% of the victims. The most vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists) and the poor are disproportionately affected worldwide.

Over the next two years, the campaign will appear on billboards and in public areas in 80 countries worldwide thanks to a global partnership with JCDecaux. Displayed in about 1,000 cities, the campaign will be translated into 30 languages.

Contributing to the European Mobility Week

The campaign was launched today in Brussels during the European Mobility Week (16-22 September), with the participation of Adina Vălean, European Commissioner for Transport. On this occasion, the campaign is on display in the streets of Brussels and at Brussels Airport, as well as in the streets of Liège, Antwerp and Lier.

The Special Envoy declared: “Road safety is not high enough on the political agenda in most countries. While we know the remedies to road crashes, action is lagging behind. With this campaign, together with the celebrities that are joining us, and our partners JCDecaux and Saatchi & Saatchi, we are trying to revert this and mobilize the political will that is needed to increase actions and financing to save millions of lives, in line with the objectives of the Decade of Action for Road Safety.”

Speaking at the press conference of the launch, EU Commissioner for Transport Adina Vãlean said: “During this year’s European Mobility Week, around 3,000 cities from 50 countries will be encouraging their citizens to try out more sustainable ways of moving around. Walking and cycling are two such options. But sustainability must go hand-in-hand with safety, and sadly vulnerable road users are still over-represented in road fatality statistics: in the EU, pedestrians account for around 18% of fatalities, and cyclists for 9%. I welcome this global campaign to turn this around – to help us learn from each other, raise awareness of how to keep all road-users safe, and – ultimately – to save lives”.