The Global Road Safety Failure: How Poor Enforcement Turns Roads Into Deadly Spaces

Every 26 seconds, someone in the world is killed on the road. Yet these deaths are still widely described as "accidents," as if they were random and unavoidable. A new technical manual from the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe, developed with the United Nations Police Division and research partners including the Global Road Safety Partnership and the World Bank, argues that this language hides a harsh truth: road deaths are predictable, preventable and largely the result of policy failure.

Globally, road crashes kill about 1.2 million people each year and seriously injure tens of millions more. In the WHO European Region alone, more than 62,000 people die annually. In many countries, the risk of dying on the road is several times higher than the risk of being killed by violent crime. Yet road safety rarely receives the same political urgency, funding or policing attention.

Why roads are so deadly

The report shows that road crashes hit societies where it hurts most. Victims are often young adults, meaning crashes erase decades of productive life. Families lose income earners, medical costs pile up and poverty deepens, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where more than 90% of global road deaths occur.

The economic damage goes far beyond hospitals and ambulances. Lost productivity slows national growth, while inequality widens as poorer families are pushed into debt. Evidence cited in the manual shows that cutting road deaths and injuries could significantly boost long-term economic growth. In simple terms, failing to invest in road safety costs countries far more than effective enforcement ever would.

Why education alone doesn't work

Most drivers already know that speeding, using a phone or driving after drinking is dangerous. Yet many still do it. The manual explains this through basic psychology. People tend to believe crashes happen to others, not themselves. Most drivers think they are better than average. Daily driving quickly becomes a habit, carried out with little thought.

Because of this, education campaigns on their own often fail. In some cases, driver training even increases risk by making people more confident. Fear-based messages about crashes also have a limited impact because people underestimate their personal risk. The report is clear: knowledge alone does not change behaviour.

What actually changes behaviour

What does work is deterrence. When people believe they are likely to be caught and punished quickly and fairly, they change how they drive. This is called general deterrence, the shared belief that enforcement is real and unavoidable.

The manual highlights strong evidence from around the world. Random breath testing, speed cameras and visible police patrols have repeatedly cut deaths and injuries when used at scale. When enforcement levels drop, road deaths rise again. The key is not harsh punishment, but certainty. Drivers respond more to the likelihood of being caught than to the size of the fine.

Policing is only as strong as the system

Enforcement does not work in isolation. The report describes road safety as a chain: clear laws, visible policing, meaningful penalties, fast follow-up by courts and public communication must all work together. If one link fails, if fines are not collected, cases are delayed or corruption undermines trust, the whole system weakens.

Many governments make the mistake of raising penalties without improving detection or follow-up. This looks tough on paper but delivers little change on the road. The manual argues that police must be properly resourced, supported by data and treated as key public health actors, not just traffic managers.

It also stresses that enforcement should support safer roads and vehicles, not replace them. Speed limits, street design, safer cars and rapid emergency care all matter. But until systems are fully safe, strong road policing remains one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to save lives.