Russia will implement a comprehensive program to reduce traffic accidents, Deputy Interior Minister Viktor Kiryanov said on Thursday.
“Russia is committed to the collective international efforts to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries,” he told a UN General Assembly session in New York.
In May 2011, the UN launched its "decade for action" on road safety to cut the 1.3 million deaths on the road each year.
Russia has submitted to the General Assembly a draft resolution on road traffic safety in the world, urging all member states to implement specific road safety measures, Kiryanov said.
Russia has one of the highest numbers of road fatalities. In 2009, the number of road fatalities ranged from 184 per million inhabitants in the Russian Federation to 38 in the United Kingdom.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), road traffic accidents kill more people around the world than malaria, and are the leading cause of death for young people aged five to 29 - especially in developing countries. Each year up to 50 million people are injured in traffic accidents globally.
By 2020, the UN hopes to reduce road deaths by 50 percent.
