Final week, the eighth UN International Street Security Week kicked off all over the world underneath the theme “Make strolling and biking secure”.
For governments to look at per week devoted to secure strolling and biking is of immense want.
In response to information shared by the World Well being Organisation (WHO), every year, practically 1.2 million individuals lose their lives on the roads, greater than 1 / 4 of them whereas strolling or biking.
Within the WHO South-East Asia Area, pedestrian deaths rose by 42%; within the European Area, bike owner deaths surged by 50%; and within the Western Pacific Area, bike owner deaths soared by 88%.
But, the UN well being physique mentioned, solely 0.2% of the roads worldwide are geared up with cycle lanes, and much too many communities lack fundamentals like sidewalks or secure pedestrian crossings— an issue that’s acute for a rustic like India that has nearly zero sidewalks or biking tracks.
And sufficient stress can’t be placed on the optimistic affect of easy actions reminiscent of strolling and biking on bettering general well being.
“Strolling and biking enhance well being and make cities extra sustainable. Each step and each experience assist to chop congestion, air air pollution, and illness,” mentioned Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, in an announcement. “However we should make strolling and biking secure, so extra individuals select these more healthy, greener choices.”
In a 2024 research— Well being advantages of pedestrian and bike owner commuting: proof from the Scottish Longitudinal Examine— revealed in BMJ, authors inferred energetic commuters have been much less more likely to endure from a variety of detrimental bodily and psychological well being outcomes than non-active commuters.
In truth, information confirmed, in contrast with non-active commuting, bike owner commuting was related to decrease all-cause mortality threat, of any hospitalisation, of heart problems (CVD) hospitalisation, of most cancers mortality and most cancers hospitalisation, and decrease threat of getting a prescription for psychological well being issues. As well as, pedestrian commuting was related to decrease threat of any hospitalisation, of CVD hospitalisation, and of a psychological well being prescription.
As an answer, the WHO has launched a brand new toolkit to assist governments promote energetic mobility – by making it safer. It may well work as a steering doc for policymakers, city planners, well being advocates, and civil society usually.
Among the many actions beneficial within the tool-kit embody integrating strolling and biking into transport, well being, environmental and schooling insurance policies; constructing secure infrastructure like sidewalks, crossings and guarded cycle lanes; setting and imposing safer velocity limits aligned with world greatest practices; selling secure street use by way of public consciousness and behavior change campaigns; and utilizing monetary incentives to encourage energetic mobility.
“It’s pressing to make, what needs to be our most pure technique of transport, safer. That is paramount for street security, but in addition well being, fairness and local weather,” mentioned Etienne Krug, director of the WHO division for the social determinants of well being, in an announcement. “We’re calling on all sectors – transport, well being, schooling and past – to make strolling and biking secure and accessible for everybody.”
