Youth from around the world call for road safety

NEW YORK: A United Nations-sponsored gathering of young people from around the world has issued a global call to governments, schools, universities and the media to take action to improve road safety for youth who are more likely to be killed in accidents than any other cause.

Some 400 participants at the World Youth Assembly, a two-day event which concluded on Tuesday, issued a declaration urging young people to 'stand up and participate in local, national and international road safety campaigns and programmes'.

They pledged to set their own example for others by taking practical steps, from always wearing seat belts and motorcycle helmets to refraining from speeding or drunk driving.

The youth delegates, who came from at least 100 countries, also called on adults, 'our heroes and our mentors' to create a 'safe environment for us when we are on the road, and to serve as road models for safe traffic behaviour'.

The World Youth Assembly was held as part of the first ever UN Global Road Safety Week and comes in the wake of a report released last week by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that road traffic crashes have become the leading cause of death for people aged between 10 and 24, with nearly 400,000 people in that age bracket killed every year and millions of others permanently disabled or injured.

In an address by video-link, General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa said there was an 'unprecedented' global momentum now on road safety.