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People who put their lives at risk by using their mobile phone and other distractions whilst driving were targeted last week as part of a national initiative designed to reduce the number of Road Traffic Collisions.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service supported the official launch of the United Nations Decade of Action on road safety on Wednesday May 11 where firefighters and fire service staff visited local supermarkets, petrol stations and large car parks to talk to local people about how they can avoid becoming a statistic, and help reduce the number of deaths and injuries on our roads.

Travel related injuries and deaths affect millions of people around the world and leading road safety experts believe that, with the right action, up to 5 million lives could be saved and 50 million injuries prevented during the Decade of Action - this represents a reduction of about 50% on the predicted global death toll by 2020.

Here are ten reasons to act on road deaths: 

• Nearly 1.3 million people are killed on the world's roads each year
• Up to 50 million people are injured, and many remain disabled for life
• 90% of casualties from road deaths occur in developing countries
• Annual road traffic deaths are forecast to rise to 1.9 million people by 2020
• Road traffic injuries are the number one cause of death for young people worldwide
• By 2015 road traffic injuries will be leading health burden for children over the age of five years in developing countries
• The economic cost to developing countries is at least $100 billion a year
• Road traffic injuries place an immense burden on hospitals and health systems generally
• Road crashes are preventable
• A global action plan includes practical measures which, if implemented, could save millions of lives

UN Decade of Action for Road Safety leaflet 

For more information about the campaign please visit the website http://www.decadeofaction.org/

Last update: 13/06/2011 09:13:57