World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

On this day, all those killed and injured in road crashes, their families and  friends all others affected or involved in the aftermath are being remembered.

The day responds to the great need of road crash victims for public recognition of their loss and suffering
Road deaths and injuries are sudden, violent, traumatic events, and their impact is long-lasting, often permanent. Each year, millions of newly bereaved and injured people from every corner of the world are added to the many millions already suffering as the result of a road crash.

The sense of grief and distress of this huge group of people is all the greater because many of the victims are young and because the response to road death and injury is often experienced as inadequate or inappropriate to a loss of life or quality of life.

Victim organisations established this day
Observed for ten years from 1993 by victim organisations under the umbrella of the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims, FEVR, led by RoadPeace in the UK, this Remembrance Day has become a very important day for bereaved and injured victims and all those supporting them. Gradually it has also come to be seen by many others as an important day on which to highlight the huge scale of road deaths and injuries, their impact and cost, and as an opportunity for committing to and for taking action.

WHO and UN are promoting global recognition and observance
From 2003 onwards, the World Health Organisation has been supporting the recognition of this day by the United Nations. UN resolution 60/5, which welcomed the recognition of this day as World Day of Remembrance, was adopted by the General Assembly on 26 October 2005. Since then, the World Day observance has already spread to all continents and is spreading to more countries on each continent with every year.

Giving significance to this Remembrance Day and responding to the UN call for official recognition, will signal how seriously governments treat the issue of road danger and road casualty reduction, therefore their responses will be closely watched by all road victim organisations.