United Nation Report: 270,000 Pedestrians Killed by Cars Annually

The U.N.’s heath agency says that more than 270,000 pedestrians are killed on roads each year and called for better traffic safety.

The World Health Organization says pedestrian casualties account for 22 percent of the total 1.24 million annual road traffic deaths.

The Geneva-based agency wants new laws to reduce speeding, curb drinking and driving, decrease mobile phone use, improve roadway lighting and build walkways.

WHO’s director of the department of Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability, Etienne Krug, says “More than 5,000 pedestrians are killed on the world’s roads each week. This is because their needs have been neglected for decades, often in favor of motorized transport.”