NEW DELHI: Each year, nearly 1.2 million people lose their lives in road traffic crashes globally—that’s over two deaths every minute. More than half of these deaths involve vulnerable road users like pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Globally, road crashes are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years, and the cause of 20-50 million injuries.
Road traffic crashes are a major public health crisis. Yet road deaths are preventable and effective measures to reduce them exist.
Why media reporting matters
How the media reports crashes shapes how road safety is perceived.
Journalists play a vital role in building public understanding of road safety. Their reporting can highlight the human tragedy, the root causes of road traffic fatalities, and responses that save lives.
As part of the Road Safety Reporting to equip journalists with the technical information to produce more impactful stories, a workshop for broadcast, radio, print and online journalists was held in Ha Noi, Viet Nam on3-5 November 2025. Organized by WHO in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development and the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety, the training brought together experts and media professionals from Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia and Viet Nam to strengthen evidence-based reporting on road safety.
/countries/india/over-twenty-journalist-experts-attended-workshop-of-road-safety.jpg?sfvrsn=a58e1cee_3 "Over twenty journalist & experts attended workshop of road safety.")
Over 20 journalists and technical experts attended the road safety workshop in Ha Noi. © WHO / Nguyen Trang Thuy
Dr Nhan Tran, Unit Head, Violence and Injury Prevention at WHO, emphasized that transport systems must evolve with safety at the heart of mobility.
Dr Tashi Tobgay, Regional Advisor for Disability and Injury Prevention, WHO South-East Asia, said, “While
some Regions have made progress reducing deaths, others, especially low-income areas, still face disproportionately higher risks. These tragic events not only claim lives, but also cause serious injuries affecting families, communities, and health systems.”
The training focused on fact-based reporting, exploring underlying causes of crashes, success stories to inspire change, and leveraging AI technologies to analyse trends and conduct in-depth reporting on road safety. Field visits demonstrated impactful collaborations between government, media, schools and communities to solve immediate problems, including safety of children going to schools.
Framing the issue—shifting the focus on solutions
“The way journalists changed how suicide was talked about shows what responsible and informed reporting can achieve,” said Ms Anonna Dutt, Special Correspondent at The Indian Express. “No one says a person ‘committed’ suicide anymore. They say, ‘died by suicide,’ and news reports often include helpline numbers for persons needing support.”
There is a need to move away from framing fatal crashes as unavoidable 'accidents' to terming them as ‘preventable incidents’ with systemic causes and proven solutions. The blame must also shift away from individual road users to focus on the rules of the road that shape how people behave.
Changes in the approach to reporting can have significant impact—including information about systemic causes and preventive measures to help the audience grasp the full scope of the problem. This reframing supports solutions journalism that focuses on what works to improve road safety and why, rather than only highlighting problems.
Mr Shahin Akter, Senior Staff Correspondent at New Age News in Bangladesh, said, “The magnitude of the problem is immense. During the workshop, I learnt about solutions journalism, which will help me to write more effective stories focusing on the complex nature of the issue, including street planning, infrastructure, laws and education. It will help me write human-centered stories that place crashes in a broader road safety context.”
“This is an eye-opener for us journalists. Rather than simply focusing on news, we’re seeking how to fix the problem. It’s constructive journalism that’s the need of the day,” said Mr Amirul Aiman, News Anchor at Malaysia’s Astro Awani News.
Simple changes in language can make a difference –, for example, replacing “accident” with “crash” or “collision” removes the false notion that these tragedies are inevitable. Instead of presenting crashes as unavoidable events, it’s important to highlight that many deaths are preventable, and caused by factors such as unsafe road design, infrastructure, regulatory gaps or lack of protective gear. Human stories in the context of larger issues linked to road safety can motivate safer behaviours, and encourage policy changes in terms of improved road design and infrastructure.
Turning information into action
Rapid urban development and increased mobility do not have to lead to more injuries and deaths. Transportation systems designed with safety at the core saves lives. Viet Nam’s experience in reducing road deaths showcases how improving road safety, including for children and motorcyclists, prevents injury and deaths.
Mr Nguyen Ngoc Quang, Project Officer of Liveable Cities Project, HealthBridge Canada, in Viet Nam said, “There is a need to shift mindsets – we need to build roads for safety and not just mobility.”/countries/india/mr-nguyen-explain-to-child-safety.jpg?sfvrsn=1931486c_3 "Mr Nguyen Ngoc Quang explains how effective partnerships between government, schools and communities lead to child safety.")
Mr Nguyen Ngoc Quang explains how effective partnerships between government, schools and communities lead to
child safety. © WHO / Rina Sinha
/countries/india/real-time-traffic-updates-to-the-public.jpg?sfvrsn=f1b86da_3 "Real time traffic updates to the public in Viet Nam's")
A grid of live camera feeds from the streets of Ha Noi in the offices of Viet Nam’s national public broadcaster helps
bring real-time traffic updates to the public. © WHO India / Rina Sinha
A grid of live camera feeds from Ha Noi streets in the offices of Voice of Viet Nam, the national public radio broadcaster, provides real-time traffic updates to the public. “These cameras are monitored 24-hours and as soon as we see congestion, we let our audiences know. If we see a crash, we alert the emergency services,” said Ms Tang Hai Ha, Deputy Head of Content at Voice of Viet Nam’s National Traffic Radio.
Moving forward on the road to safety
“The media can be a powerful force in making roads safer for everyone. Journalists play a crucial role in raising awareness about key road safety issues and evidence-based solutions, including following speed limits and using personal safety gear like helmets and seatbelts,” says Ms Payden, Acting WHO Representative to India.
WHO serves as the secretariat for the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030, which aims to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by at least 50% by 2030. WHO works closely with Member States and partners to support road safety evaluation, implementation and planning.