Next month on the 18th November 2012, the world marks the internationally recognized day of remembrance for road traffic victims; The World Day of Remembrance. The day is marked through a range of activities to remember the victims of fatal road crashes. It also acts as reminder to us all that road safety is ever crucial in the name of these victims and move forward with motivation of reconciliation and road safety action.
‘Now is the time to learn from the past’
This is the topic for this years World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims. The website www.wdor.org will be updated very soon with more information. We kindly ask all youth advocates for road safety to plan a small event to honour those who have lost their lives on the world’s roads. World Health Organization published a very useful guide with ideas and tips/tricks to organize a succesful event: Click here for the guide.
Each day, nearly 3,500 people die on the roads. Tens of thousands more are injured. Families are broken apart. The futures of young people are dashed. Road crashes have become the leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 29. This is an unacceptable price to pay for our mobility.
On this World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, let us mobilize all possible contributions to improving road safety – from city planners to vehicle designers, from policy makers to road users.
Message of Mr Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary General, 2011
Today, on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, we take pause to mourn the nearly 1.3 million people who lost their lives and the millions of others who were injured on the world’s roads this year.
Our thoughts go out to the families whose loved ones began their day like any other, never to return home. We wish them strength and courage as they struggle to come to terms with their loss.
This World Day of Remembrance will be marked in myriad ways around the world.
