Young people from more than 100 countries gathered today at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, for the first ever World Youth Assembly for Road Safety and to mark the first UN Global Road Safety Week.
In the Youth Declaration for Road Safety agreed by delegates to the Assembly, all 400 young people commit to taking practical measures to improve road safety and call upon other young people to do the same. The delegates pledge to wear seatbelts and motorcycle helmets and to avoid speeding and drink-driving.
The declaration calls on all young people to “stand up and participate in local and national campaigns and programmes” and urges adults to do more: “We call upon you our parents and guardians, our heroes and mentors to serve as role models,” says the introduction to the declaration.
The declaration also calls for more political will at national and community level to tackle road safety. It urges schools and universities to teach young people about safety, bartenders to serve alcohol responsibly, media to report more widely and more responsibly about the lack of road safety, and celebrities and the entertainment industry not to glamourize speed and to wear seatbelts and helmets.