Ethiopian Informer
By Habtamu W. Liben
ADDIS ABABA (EI) — Road traffic deaths across the African continent spiked by a concerning 17 percent between 2011 and 2025, bucking a positive global trend of declining fatalities, according to newly released World Health Organization (WHO) data, highlighting a highly disproportionate and troubling reality in international road safety.
Although worldwide traffic deaths fell by 21 percent over the 14-year span despite the influx of over one billion new vehicles, the report revealed that regional success varied notably, with the Americas showing no change and Southeast Asia recording a marginal 2 percent decrease compared to Africa’s sharp rise.
Despite this overall global progress, however, road traffic crashes still claimed 1.16 million lives in 2025, as road traffic injuries remain the primary cause of death among children and young adults aged 5 to 29 years globally, inflicting severe human losses across nations, according to the WHO.
GLOBAL SAFETY UNDER SCRUTINY
With nearly 60 percent of the world’s population living in urban areas, motorcycling has surged dramatically across cities worldwide. Data showed that motorcycle numbers more than tripled between 2011 and 2025, causing rider fatalities to account for nearly a third of overall global road traffic deaths.
“More than half of all road deaths are people who aren’t even in a car — they are walking, cycling or riding a motorcycle. When roads are designed as if only car drivers matter, these people are left dangerously exposed,” the statement quoted WHO Department Director Etienne Krug as saying.
Highlighting that deaths among motorcyclists now account for nearly a third of total global road fatalities, the World Health Organization noted that wearing a quality-certified safe motorcycle helmet significantly mitigates severe danger, reducing the overall risk of death in a crash by more than six times.
Meanwhile, emerging forms of mobility, including e-scooters, e-bikes, and autonomous vehicles, present complex challenges and fresh opportunities for transport planners, underscoring the urgent need to close legal gaps, promote consistent safety standards, and ensure that all new vehicle technologies remain safe for public use.
Across the world, the WHO noted that 10 countries reduced road deaths by 50 percent in the decade to 2021, and more than half of all countries reported falling fatalities. The WHO European Region saw a 36 percent drop, while the Western Pacific Region recorded a 15 percent drop.
“This progress shows that change is possible when countries invest in safe road systems. In the last 15 years we’ve made real progress in reducing road deaths, despite surging vehicle numbers and major shifts in how people move,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
CRISIS ACROSS AFRICAN ROADS
However, the new WHO data emphasized that global progress remains highly uneven. While the WHO Southeast Asian Region achieved a modest 2 percent decline and the Americas registered no change in death rates, the WHO African Region suffered an alarming 17 percent rise in road traffic fatalities during the same period.
This sharp increase in African road traffic fatalities highlights the severe burden borne by developing countries globally. Low- and middle-income countries account for 92 percent of global road fatalities, despite holding only around 60 percent of vehicles, with death rates being highest across Africa, according to the WHO fact-sheet on road traffic injuries.
Beyond tragic losses among youth, two thirds of road traffic fatalities occur among working-age individuals aged 18 to 59 years. Furthermore, males are typically three times more likely to be killed in road crashes than females, disproportionately impacting vulnerable households and family breadwinners.
Road crashes inflict immense economic strain on nations, costing most countries approximately 3 percent of their gross domestic product. These substantial losses stem from medical treatment expenses, lost productivity from death or disability, and the heavy burden placed on family members caring for victims.
Compounding Africa’s road crisis are critical behavioral risk factors such as speeding, drink-driving, and non-use of protective gear. Every 1 percent increase in mean speed produces a 4 percent increase in fatal crash risk, while non-use of quality-certified helmets leaves motorcycle riders extremely vulnerable to brain injuries.
Furthermore, distracted driving, particularly mobile phone usage, quadruples crash risks by slowing driver reaction times. Inadequate law enforcement on speed limits, helmet wearing, and seat-belt usage severely undermines traffic rules in developing regions, leading to low compliance and preventing expected reductions in traffic injuries.
PATHWAYS TO SAFER ROADS
The new WHO data comes as global leaders adopt a new UN General Assembly progress declaration on road safety, aiming to boost global action to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of a 50 percent reduction in road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 compared with the levels in 2021.
“I commend countries for the strong political declaration they are adopting today, which aims to accelerate action to ensure more roads are designed for people first, not motor vehicles, with safety as priority. All road deaths are preventable, and none are acceptable,” said Tedros.
The new UN declaration includes a comprehensive set of commitments to implement national road safety strategies with clear targets, timelines and budgets. These commitments include establishing lead road safety agencies, improving data collection and analysis, developing and enforcing stronger legislation, and ensuring that roads, infrastructure and vehicles meet key safety standards.
“We know what works – strong laws and enforcement, safe infrastructure and vehicles with particular attention to lowering speed and addressing impaired driving. This declaration means we must all go further and faster,” Krug said regarding the newly adopted progress declaration.
Central to these solutions is the ‘safe system’ approach, which accommodates human error and ensures crash impacts remain within survivable levels. This holistic system mandates safe roads, appropriate speed limits, safety-compliant vehicles, and responsible road users, protecting vulnerable individuals from fatal or serious crash injuries.
Under the newly adopted UN declaration, countries committed to establishing empowered lead agencies with dedicated domestic funding, improving data collection, enforcing legislation, and ensuring infrastructure meets minimum safety standards. Governments must also integrate road safety into national development, urban planning, and climate policies.
The Global progress in the Decade of Action for Road Safety emphasized that upgrading vehicle safety regulations is equally critical. Implementing UN standards—including electronic stability control, seat-belts, airbags, and front and side impact regulations—can significantly reduce fatal injuries. Controlling used vehicle imports and deploying advanced driver assistance technologies further strengthen vehicle safety across developing nations globally.
Enhancing post-crash care is another lifesaving priority, as delays in treatment increase injury severity. Establishing timely pre-hospital care, referral transport networks, and integrated emergency operations centers ensures critical medical attention reaches crash victims rapidly, substantially reducing long-term disability and preventing tragic, preventable deaths.
Closing financing gaps requires sustained domestic government budgets alongside international mechanisms like the UN Road Safety Fund. Broad cooperation involving governments, private sector actors, civil society, and youth remains essential to transform transport systems and achieve the 2030 targets of halving global road deaths.
(Cover Photo Credit – ssatp.org)
