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The United Nations has renewed its push to dramatically reduce road deaths by 2030, and this time motorcyclists are firmly in the frame.
On 20 July 2026, the UN General Assembly adopted a new Progress Declaration on Improving Global Road Safety, recommitting governments to the target of reducing road traffic deaths and serious injuries by at least 50 per cent by 2030. The declaration was adopted by 162 votes to one, following a high-level meeting in New York designed to accelerate action during the second half of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021 – 2030.
The scale of the challenge remains enormous. According to new World Health Organization figures released alongside the declaration, around 1.16 million people were killed on the world ' s roads in 2025. Although global road deaths have fallen by 21 per cent since 2011, the rate of improvement is nowhere near fast enough to meet the 2030 target. Road crashes also remain the leading cause of death among people aged five to 29. For motorcyclists, the numbers are particularly significant. The WHO estimates that riders of powered two- and three-wheelers account for around 21 per cent of global road fatalities, making them one of
UN ROAD SAFETY PUSH PUTS MOTORCYCLISTS IN THE SPOTLIGHT the largest groups of vulnerable road users. In 2024, WHO also noted that motorcyclists and other powered twoand three-wheeler users make up nearly a quarter of the approximately 1.19 million annual road deaths recorded globally.
The new declaration therefore goes considerably further than simply telling riders to be more careful.
At its heart is the UN ' s " Safe System " approach: the recognition that people will make mistakes, but the road transport system should be designed so those mistakes do not inevitably result in death or serious injury. That means responsibility cannot simply be placed on the individual rider after a crash.
The declaration explicitly calls for governments to address the particular safety challenges associated with powered two- and three-wheelers through a holistic approach. That includes safer infrastructure, lowerspeed environments, quality-certified protective helmets, improved rider protection, education and training, safer vehicles and the promotion of safe and sustainable mobility alternatives.
For governments, the message is straightforward: road safety has to become a properly funded national priority rather than an issue dealt with by individual transport departments or police forces in isolation.
The declaration calls for every country to establish or designate a lead road-safety agency with the authority to coordinate action across government. National strategies should contain measurable targets, timelines, dedicated budgets and accountability mechanisms, while transport, health, police, finance, education and local government are expected to work together rather than operate in silos.
Governments are also being asked to invest in safer roads and roadsides, manage speeds, improve vehicle standards, strengthen enforcement and ensure that new infrastructure projects meet recognised safety standards. The objective is to design danger out of the system wherever possible rather than relying solely on road users to avoid it. That has particular relevance for motorcycles. A road designed primarily around the needs of cars can create hazards for a rider that may not be obvious to the person behind the wheel of a four-wheeled vehicle. Poor surfaces, slippery markings, roadside obstacles, inadequate barriers, blind intersections, high traffic speeds and a lack of separation can all turn a relatively minor mistake into a serious motorcycle crash.
The UN declaration specifically calls for road and transport planning to reduce exposure to fatal and serious-injury risk for vulnerable road users, including powered two- and three-wheelers. It also links road safety more closely with urban planning, transport policy and land-use decisions. Speed is another major target. The Safe System philosophy recognises that a crash is not necessarily the problem; the combination of a crash and an impact speed that the human body cannot survive is. WHO guidance notes that powered two- and threewheelers, like pedestrians and cyclists, have very little physical protection and face dramatically increasing risks as impact speeds rise.
That means the UN ' s approach is not simply about imposing lower speed limits. It is about matching speeds to the environment, designing roads to support those speeds and enforcing the rules when necessary. For organisations, the declaration spreads responsibility even further.
Businesses whose employees ride or drive for work, including delivery companies, logistics operators and mobility providers, are encouraged to put road safety into their core operations. That means responsible vehicle procurement, occupational road-risk management, appropriate training and ensuring that commercial
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