As governments, UN agencies, civil society and global leaders gathered in New York for the Fourth United Nations High-Level Meeting on Improving Global Road Safety, YOURS – Youth for Road Safety brought one clear message to the table: commitments alone do not save lives, accountability does.
Throughout the meeting, YOURS delegation championed a vision of youth engagement that goes far beyond representation. Young people are not simply beneficiaries of safer roads or participants in global conversations. They are essential partners in helping governments understand whether commitments are reaching real streets, real communities and the people they are meant to protect.
Alongside the adoption of the Progress Declaration on Road Safety, the World Health Organization released new global data showing that the global road traffic death rate has fallen by 21% since 2011, despite more than one billion additional vehicles being added to the world’s roads. The figures demonstrate that evidence-based policies, stronger legislation and sustained investment save lives.
An estimated 1.16 million people still lost their lives on the world’s roads in 2025, and road traffic injuries continue to be the leading cause of death among children and young people aged 5–29. While deaths have fallen by 36% in Europe, progress has stagnated in the Americas and increased by 17% in Africa. Meanwhile, the number of motorcyclists has more than tripled since 2011, and they now account for nearly one in every three road deaths worldwide.
The message emerging from New York was clear: the world already knows what works. The challenge now is ensuring that commitments become measurable action. For YOURS, accountability begins with meaningful youth engagement. Youth participation is not symbolic, it is a structural accountability mechanism. Young people bring lived experience, innovation and community-level insight that help governments stay aligned with the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety. By monitoring progress, identifying implementation gaps and advocating for change, young people help ensure that road safety commitments move beyond conference rooms and into everyday life.
This perspective shaped the participation of Raquel Barrios, Executive Director of YOURS, during the Commitments in Action Roundtable, where discussions focused on what it takes to translate global commitments into real progress.
“YOURS’ experience shows that youth participation becomes powerful when it moves from visibility to accountability. Young people are not just there to ‘represent youth’; they help test whether road safety commitments are reaching real streets and real communities. They see where policy meets pavement: unsafe school zones, unprotected cycling routes, inaccessible transport, and the everyday gaps that still put people at risk.” — Raquel Barrios, Executive Director, YOURS – Youth for Road Safety
Accountability also depends on transparency. National commitments need to be supported by public implementation plans with clear timelines, defined responsibilities and measurable progress indicators. When governments make these plans accessible, communities and young people are better equipped to monitor delivery, support implementation and help keep progress on track.
Just as importantly, accountability requires investment. Scaling proven road safety solutions depends on governments, UN agencies, donors and civil society pooling resources around evidence-based interventions and ensuring that youth-centred programmes have the long-term support they need to create lasting change.
Those ideas were echoed by Sana’ Khasawneh, Senior Advocacy and Public Affairs Manager at YOURS, who represented the youth perspective during the United Nations General Assembly’s official Multi-stakeholder Panel on Road Safety, alongside the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), iRAP and Amazon.
Her intervention highlighted that accountability is a shared responsibility. Governments bring authority, experts bring knowledge, civil society brings scrutiny and funders bring resources, but young people bring something equally essential: proximity to the challenges and a stake in tomorrow’s consequences.
“Accountability is shared. Governments bring authority and experts bring knowledge. Civil society brings scrutiny, and funders bring resources. Young people bring proximity to the problem and a stake in tomorrow’s consequences. Please do not invite youth only to stand beside your commitments. Give them the power to test them, track them, challenge them and help deliver them. Accountability is not measured by how carefully we count the lives we lose. It is measured by how courageously we prevent their loss.” — Sana’ Khasawneh, Senior Advocacy and Public Affairs Manager, YOURS – Youth for Road Safety
Together, these conversations reflected a growing recognition across the High-Level Meeting: meaningful youth engagement is not an optional addition to road safety governance. It is a practical tool for improving implementation, strengthening accountability and accelerating progress towards the 2030 target.
READ THE PROGRESS DECLARATION ON ROAD SAFETY HERE
