6th UN Global Road Safety Week campaign launched

The 6th United Nations Global Road Safety Week – which will take place from 17-23 May 2021 – #StreetforLife #Love30 campaign is now live.

In line with the UN General Assembly mandate, the WHO and the UN regional commissions have planned and hosted periodic UN Global Road Safety Weeks since 2007. They provide an opportunity to bring together individuals, governments, NGOs, and other organisations from around the world to increase awareness of road safety and stimulate change to reduce the number of road deaths.

Action on reducing speed limits is urgently required. Reducing speed is crucial in order to save lives, to achieve climate goals, and to improve public health by making walking and cycling safer and more accessible, amongst other reasons. Enforcing reduced speed limits is also important for social and racial equity, as it is often lower income and minority communities who are most exposed to high-speed traffic, and the road danger, environmental hazard and social exclusion it causes.

The 6th Week will therefore focus on speed management as a key aspect of ensuring a safe transport system. The Week promotes 30 km/h (20 mph) speed limits as the norm for cities worldwide in places where people mix with traffic. As such, the Week seeks to:

• Garner policy commitments at national and local levels to deliver 30 km/h (20 mph) speed limits in urban areas;
• Generate local support for such low speed measures in order to create safe, healthy, green and liveable cities;
• Build momentum towards the launch of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 and the High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly in 2022.

In August 2020, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 74/299 "Improving global road safety", proclaiming the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 which aims to prevent at least 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030. In cooperation with other partners in the UN Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC), the WHO and the UN regional commissions are currently developing a Plan of Action for the Decade, for consideration by Member States and other stakeholders. The Plan of Action – which is set to be released during the 6th Week – will be aligned with the Stockholm Declaration which emphasizes the importance of a holistic approach to road safety.

The Week also aims to highlight how the implementation of 30 km/h speed limits can help attain a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes achieving SDGs relating to health, education, infrastructure, sustainable cities, climate action and partnerships.

To get involved in the campaign, stakeholders are encouraged to read, sign and send the Open Letter to policy makers, and share on social media using the hashtags #Love30 and #StreetsforLife. For further information on the Week, and to access the Open Letter, please visit the following website:

UN Global Road Safety Week - en - UN Road Safety Week