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World Health Day

Since 1948, World Health Organization has celebrated World Health Day on April 7 as a way to raise awareness of a specific health issue.
The theme for World Health Day 2004 is Road Safety, with the slogan of "Road Safety is No Accident." This is the first time motor vehicle crashes have been highlighted as a health risk.
Previous themes have included children and the environment (2003), physical activity (2002), and mental health (2001).
The World Health Organization global launch will take place in Paris on April 7, 2004, with the release of the "World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention." AAA will be working with the Pan American Health Organization, the American branch of WHO, on activities in the U.S. and Canada.

Download posters to help us spread the word!

AAA poster
CAA poster (Canada)
Spanish Poster

Worldwide

In 2002, motor vehicle crashes killed an estimated 1.18 million people around the world.
Motor vehicle crashes rank 9th among the leading causes of disease burden worldwide, but will rank 3rd highest by the year 2020.
Globally, traffic injuries cost $520 billion annually.

United States

In 2002, motor vehicle crashes killed nearly 43,000 (42,815) people in the United States and injured at least 2,926,000 (but many injuries go unreported).
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people ages 1-34 in the United States and one of the top ten causes of death for all ages.
Traffic crashes cost the United States $230.6 billion in 2000.

Canada

Motor vehicle crashes in Canada claimed the lives of 2,778 road users and injured another 221,158 in 2001.

Seat belts can reduce the risk of death or injury due to an automobile collision by 45 percent to 60 percent, making it the single most effective means to reduce the risk of death in a crash.
Seat belt use has saved approximately 135,000 lives and prevented 3.8 million injuries in the last 26 years in the United States.
More than 7,000 lives could be saved annually with consistent seat belt use in the United States (previously the estimate was more than 9,000 lives-the new 7,000 estimate is based on new 2003 use rates from NHTSA).
Current seat belt use in the U.S. is estimated at 79 percent although certain high-risk groups (such as teenagers and drinking drivers) may have lower rates.
Seat belt use by Canadians is ranked among the highest in the world, at 90 percent in 2000.
Primary seat belt laws increase seat belt use by 10 percent to 15 percent and decrease fatalities by an average of 8 percent.

Globally, 180,000 children under the age of 15 die every year in motor vehicle crashes.
In the United States in 2002, traffic crashes took the lives of 1,543 child occupants under the age of 15 and injured an additional 263,000 children.
In 2001, 139 Canadian children under the age of 15 died in motor vehicle collisions and 16,830 more were injured.
Minority populations and children of low socioeconomic status use restraints less frequently and suffer from an increased risk of death in motor vehicle collisions.
When used properly, child safety seats are 71 percent effective in reducing the risk for fatal injury among infants (<1 yr), and 54 percent effective for toddlers (1-3 yrs).
Child restraint use is strongly correlated with driver seat belt use. Of the children killed while riding with an unrestrained driver, 68 percent to 91 percent were also unrestrained (percentage increases with age).