Road traffic crashes continue to exact a devastating human toll across the world, claiming 1.34 million lives and leaving nearly 51 million people injured in a single year, according to a new global study.
The report, published in The Lancet Public Health and based on findings from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 study, found that road injuries caused 50.9 million injuries and 1.34 million deaths globally in 2023, making them one of the leading causes of premature death and disability.
The findings are particularly significant for countries in Africa and other low-income regions, where mortality rates remain far higher than in wealthier nations despite recording fewer road crashes overall.
Researchers found that more than 90 per cent of all road traffic deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries, with low-income nations recording nearly six times the mortality rate seen in high-income countries.
While global age-standardised rates of road injury incidence and deaths have declined by 38.3 per cent and 32.3 per cent respectively since 1990, the report says progress has been uneven.
High-income countries registered the sharpest reductions in deaths, while low-income countries saw little measurable improvement over the same period.
According to the report, low-income countries recorded the highest road traffic death rate at 43.8 deaths per 100,000 people despite having substantially fewer road injury cases than high-income countries.
In comparison, high-income countries recorded the highest rate of new road injury cases at 858.1 cases per 100,000 people but had the lowest mortality rate at 7.5 deaths per 100,000 population, indicating stronger emergency response systems, safer infrastructure and better road safety measures.
Road injuries were ranked as the world's 11th leading cause of death in 2023 and were responsible for 75.3 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), a measure that combines years lost due to premature death and years lived with disability.
Young people continue to bear the heaviest burden.
The study found that road injuries were the leading cause of death among people aged between 10 and 39 years globally and the second-leading cause of death among children aged five to nine years.
Among men aged between 20 and 24 years, road crashes accounted for more than one in every five deaths.
Across almost every age group, males experienced higher rates of road injuries than females.
Motor vehicle crashes remained the biggest contributor to road injuries worldwide, causing 19.8 million injuries and about 518,000 deaths in 2023.
Pedestrian crashes accounted for nearly one-third of all road traffic deaths, while motorcycle crashes represented only 13 per cent of injury cases but nearly one-quarter of all fatalities.
The report also found that fractures were the most common non-fatal injuries, accounting for more than 38 per cent of all cases.
Head injuries occurred in roughly one in every 10 cases, with motorcyclists recording the highest proportion of traumatic brain injuries, many of them classified as moderate or severe.
Researchers noted that these severe injuries were disproportionately concentrated in low- and middle-income countries.
Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and senior author of the study Liane Ong said road traffic deaths remain largely preventable if governments strengthen road safety systems.
"Road injury outcomes are shaped not only by crashes, but by the systems designed to prevent them and protect people when they occur. Road deaths are largely preventable, but progress requires sustained investment. Reducing them requires safer infrastructure, stronger safety policies, and better emergency care," Ong said.
The report estimates that road injuries will cost the global economy about US$1.8 trillion over the 2015-2030 period through healthcare costs, lost productivity and other economic impacts.
It also notes that expanding trauma care coverage in low- and middle-income countries could save more than 200,000 lives every year.
Affiliate Associate Professor at IHME and Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore Marie Ng said reducing road deaths requires governments to treat road safety as a broader public health challenge rather than solely a transport issue.
"Road safety should be treated as a public health priority, not just a transportation issue. Reducing deaths and injuries requires moving beyond individual driver behaviour and investing in systems that prevent crashes, strengthen trauma care, and implement evidence-based interventions tailored to the needs of each community," Ng said.
The researchers said achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of halving global road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030 will require coordinated action across transport, urban planning, engineering, law enforcement and healthcare, alongside stronger road safety standards, improved emergency care and better surveillance systems.
