Image Credit: Dung Anh, Unsplash
A new report from the Partnership for Active Travel and Health (PATH) has revealed that over a quarter of global road deaths involve pedestrians and cyclists.
Titled ‘Safer Active Travel – Addressing a Global Blind Spot’, the report finds that nearly 22 million walkers and cyclists are killed or injured each year.
Pedestrians make up 23% and cyclists 6% of the annual 1.19 million road traffic deaths around the world. This indicates a 3% and 20% increase in pedestrian and cycling deaths respectively between 2010 to 2021.
Despite these figures, only 15% of countries currently have both walking and cycling safety measures in their national policies.
“Investment in active travel is a vital but too often overlooked solution to many of our shared global challenges,” Sheila Watson, Deputy Director of the FIA Foundation which coordinates PATH, told Zag Daily. “Addressing our needs when we walk and cycle has the potential not only to reduce the devastating impact of road traffic incidents, but also to improve air quality, slow the pace of climate change, and enhance health and equity. It is literally a win-win.”
The report finds that pedestrian and cycling deaths vary considerably across the world. In the South-East Asia region, pedestrian deaths increased by 42% between 2010 and 2021. Cycling deaths increased 50% in the European region and 88% in the Western Pacific Region where cyclists form 15% of fatalities.
Road crashes also remain the leading cause of death for those aged five to 29 years old.
PATH’s report gives six recommendations to reach the global goal of halving road deaths and injuries by 2030.
It calls on governments to adopt tools that enable people to share their walking and cycling experiences to steer policy priorities, investment decisions, and to evaluate the impact of interventions.
The report advocates for the enforcement of 30km/h and 20 mph zones in key catchment areas such as schools, public transport interchanges and retail areas.
It states that active travel should be connected with road safety policies, and calls on governments to set specific targets and indicators for walking and cycling.
PATH urges governments to train relevant stakeholders and particularly those in low and middle income countries, and it calls on officials to commit to action and investment as part of the UN Decade of Action on Sustainable Transport 2026-2035 and the 8th UN Global Road Safety Week campaign on Active Mobility.
Sheila added: “PATH’s latest report highlights the inexplicable policy blind spot in this area. It is a very welcome intervention and I urge those attending the Global Ministerial on Road Safety next week to pay close heed to its call for urgent action.”
