WHO has convened a new Global Technical Working Group to develop new legal guidance on three key road safety areas that contribute to the 1.19 million fatalities on the world’s roads each year.
Road crashes are the leading killer of children and young people aged 5–29 years. Distracted driving, unsafe speed management and road infrastructure, together with the rapid rise in the number of motorcycles are leading risk factors that drive fatal road crashes and serious injuries.
The group held its first meeting on 22 June 2026. Its 17 members hail from all six WHO regions, with 11 drawn from low- and middle-income countries. They bring expertise in the proven safe system approach to road safety, transport policy, road safety law, infrastructure, public health and influencing road user behaviours.
“The laws we have are crucial, but we must keep pace with the changing realities on the world’s roads. This new group will help create guidance that is grounded in evidence, shaped by the realities of today’s transport systems and is rooted in approaches that we know save lives,” said Dr Nhan Tran, Head, Violence and Injury Prevention at WHO.
The guidance will cover three high-impact areas:
- distracted driving, including mobile phone use while driving and emerging vehicle technologies;
- speed management and road infrastructure; and
- motorcycle and other powered two- and three-wheeler safety, providing a comprehensive legislative framework spanning infrastructure, vehicle standards, road user behaviour, post-crash response and governance.
The work marks an evolution in WHO’s normative road safety function – moving from standalone legislative criteria toward a safe-system approach, such as addressing vehicle speeds through infrastructure and road design, not just speed limits, and addressing motorcycle safety through system design, not just helmet wearing.
Three parallel workstreams will feed into the final product:
- technical advisory from the working group;
- a 12-month evidence synthesis conducted by the George Institute for Global Health; and
- a large-scale stakeholder consultation with WHO Member States, including at least four in-person regional events.
Drafting of the normative product is expected to begin in mid-2027, with delivery by end of 2027.
The groups first meeting also included an overview of the evidence synthesis methodology, led by the George Institute. Members called for the review to be anchored in safe-system principles, to account for behaviour adaptation in response to legislation, and to address the gap between laws on paper and their enforcement in practice.
The process comes in the lead up to a UN High-Level Meeting on Road Safety, where global leaders will chart a course to deliver a 50% reduction in road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
