A child living in the U.S. is twice as likely to die in a car crash as a child living in a similarly wealthy nation. | Shutterstock

It?s the safe streets equivalent of withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement Last week, transportation leaders from 140 countries meeting in Stockholm as part of a road safety summit drew up an ambitious global agreement to completely eliminate traffic deaths worldwide by 2050. All the countries in attendance endorsed the declaration?except one: The U.S. delegation refused to sign it.
Over the last half-century, traffic fatalities have morphed into a global epidemic that impacts the most vulnerable street users worldwide. Approximately 1.35 million people die on roadways every year, according to the United Nations? World Health Organization, making it the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5 to 29 years. People who are not using cars?pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists?make up over half of those killed. For the past three years, the Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, an initiative of WHO, has gathered advocates and policymakers in an effort to address the crisis. This year?s agreement, known as the Stockholm Declaration, aims to reduce traffic fatalities by at least 50 percent over the next ten years, with the goal of eradicating roadway deaths and serious injuries by 2050.
?It is an unacceptable price to pay for mobility,? said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the conference...