Road Safety Declaration Demands More of Advertisers, Employers
The first World Youth Assembly for Road Safety began yesterday with adoption of a Youth Declaration for Road Safety aimed at media, advertisers, employers, parents, communities, celebrities, and governments. With WHO having reported last week that more than 400,000 young people die in road crashes annually worldwide, this act marked the first UN Global Road Safety Week with young delegates from 100 countries gathered in Geneva, Switzerland.
The declaration demands that governments "acknowledge road traffic injuries as a major public health and development problem and place road safety higher on political agendas." It tells the media to address the problem in the same way and calls on alcohol companies "to increase the promotion of responsible drinking and avoid marketing to the youngest of us." It says celebrities and the entertainment industry should be role models for safe behavior.
It is posted in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, and Chinese at www.who.int/roadsafety/week/activities/global/youth/declaration/en/index.html.