A new report by UNICEF has revealed that more than 180,000 children and teenagers under 19 years die in road accidents worldwide every year. This means that around 500 children lose their lives every day due to road crashes.

The report shows that nearly 70% of these deaths happen in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These nations have a higher number of accidents because of poor road safety measures.

According to the report, Africa and Southeast Asia have the highest number of child deaths caused by road crashes. In India alone, around 9,500 children under 18 years lost their lives in road accidents in 2023.

Children in LMICs are at higher risk

The UNICEF report, released at the 4th Ministerial Conference, highlights that children and teenagers in LMICs are three times more likely to die in road crashes than those in high-income countries. The lack of proper roads, traffic lights, and road safety rules increases the risk for young people in these countries.

For example, in the African region, 46% of child road deaths happen when children are walking as pedestrians. On the other hand, in Europe, 50% of child road deaths happen when they are inside a vehicle.

The report also points out that "powered two-wheelers are prominent in South Asia, East Asia, and the Pacific, while they are much less so on the African continent and the Caribbean."

Need for stronger safety measures

The report highlights several issues with road safety rules around the world. It found that only 37.2% of countries check if drivers were drinking alcohol after deadly accidents. Also, only 33.7% of countries have proper rules about how old or tall a child must be to ride on a motorcycle.

To make roads safer, the report suggests making new laws to reduce speed limits near schools to 30 km/h. It also recommends lowering speed limits on city roads to prevent accidents. These changes can help save children's lives and reduce road deaths worldwide.

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