UN envoy urges action to make roads safe for children

Todt’s strong call to action also herald’s the release of a short film by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), where Todt also serves as President, which is designed to promote children’s road safety across the world. FIA joined forces with renowned filmmaker Luc Besson to produce the hard-hitting film, which is now available online.

“Road traffic crashes are today the number one killer of children aged 15-29. And without urgent action, they will soon be the number one killer of those aged between 5-14,” said Todt.

“We must do everything in our power to halt this scourge and this film can act as a rallying call,” he added.

World Health Organization (WHO) figures show that 500 children are killed each day in road crashes globally. In a bid to raise awareness of this road safety crisis Todt turned to renowned filmmaker Mr. Besson to deliver a potent visual message highlighting the dangers facing children around the world.

The film, Save Kids Lives, shows the risks children face every day, whether through the lack of safe infrastructure in the townships of South Africa or as a result of heavy traffic on a major European city.

The film was released in support of the #SaveKidsLives campaign which was launched during the third UN Road Safety Week from 4-10 May 2015. Through the film, Todt also urges people to sign the petition on ‘Child Declaration for Road Safety’ which aims to reach 1,000,000 signatures.

The International Walk to School Day is an initiative launched to raise awareness of the need to protect some of societies’ most vulnerable road users.

Photo: World Bank/Trevor Samson