Governments should treat road deaths as a public health issue and improve public transport, road planning and urban design to slash the injuries and fatalities that plague poorer countries, said the authors of a report.
Shifting responsibility for accidents from drivers to city planners and transport authorities was key to reducing the 1.3 million fatalities each year, according to the World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Bank report published on Thursday.
"We should look at road fatalities as not acceptable and strive as a society to eliminate or nearly eliminate them," said Ben Welle, report co-author and WRI senior associate.