The publication is reproduced in full below:
IN RECOGNITION OF WORLD DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR ROAD TRAFFIC VICTIMS
______
HON. RICHARD HUDSON
of north carolina
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Mr. HUDSON. Madam Speaker, I rise, along with my colleague, Congressman Steve Cohen, fellow co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Global Road Safety, to mark the 26th World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (World Day) on Sunday, November 21, 2021.
On this solemn event, families, advocates, and leaders around the world gather to remember the tens of millions of lives impacted by road crashes and the bravery of the first responders and health care workers who work valiantly to save as many lives as possible.
World Day of Remembrance was initiated in 1995 as the European Day of Remembrance and quickly spread around the globe. In 2005 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 60/2, recognizing the third Sunday in November as the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
Every year, the goals of the World Day of Remembrance are to remember all people killed and seriously injured on the roads; acknowledge the crucial work of the emergency services; advocate for better support to road traffic victims and their families; and promote evidence-based actions to prevent and eventually stop further road traffic deaths and injuries.
More than one mill ion people die from road crashes every year, and tens of millions are seriously injured. Road traffic crashes are the number one killer of young people aged 15-29, the third leading killer of Americans abroad, and the eighth leading cause of death among all people worldwide. Despite these figures, our understanding of the full scope of the problem is still lacking, and additional data collection is imperative.
World Day of Remembrance 2021 also focuses on reduction of traffic speeds. Studies have shown unequivocally that lowering speeds has the potential to prevent many deaths and serious injuries, in particular those of pedestrians and all other vulnerable road users like children, people with disabilities, and the elderly.
This year also marks the beginning of the second global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, which has a primary goal of reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by road traffic accidents by at least 50 percent by 2030. Additionally, in October 2021, Congressman Cohen and I officially relaunched the Congressional Caucus on Global Road Safety, working closely with the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT), the leading U.S. nonprofit advocating for safe travel on the world's roads.
Rochelle Sobel founded ASIRT in response to the death of her son Aron, a 22-year-old medical student who was killed in a bus crash in Turkey along with 23 other passengers. ASIRT works to improve the safety of travelers through education and advocacy and was instrumental in encouraging the establishment of the Caucus in 2004.
Looking ahead to what we must accomplish in this second Decade of Action, it is crucial that we collaborate to enact common sense solutions to meaningfully reduce the terrible toll of road crashes. We know how to save lives, now we must muster the will and courage to act with conviction.
As Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Global Road Safety, we implore our colleagues, partners, stakeholders, industry leaders and decision-makers worldwide to heed the message of World Day to
``remember, support, and act'' to improve road safety and prevent avoidable tragedies. We look forward to welcoming more of our colleagues to the Caucus and working in earnest to provide leadership and make tangible advances to reduce road deaths.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 203
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
House Representatives' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
Alerts Sign-up