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World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2024

Community Event
Each year, the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims honors those who have been killed and injured on roads around the globe—1.35 million people each year worldwide. This year, World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is Sunday, November 17.
A floral memorial for a fatal traffic victim in the medium of a two-way street in front of a crosswalk.
11:00 am
Orange and yellow icon graphics of an adult and child walking, a bicyclist, a person in a wheelchair, a driver, and a candle with text, "World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in the U.S."

Families for Safe Streets together with BikeLoud, Oregon Walks, Portland Bureau of Transportation, elected leaders, and members of the community will gather to honor those who have been violently killed in road traffic on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 11:00 a.m. at Portland City Hall (1221 SW 4th Ave.). 

The heartbreak and loss from road fatalities is both debilitating and widespread. All road fatalities are preventable. 

Please join us to demand safety is prioritized at all levels of government and in all transportation policy.

Why it matters

The urgent calls for action on World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims come as people in the U.S. experienced the highest number of roadway deaths in 16 yearsand the highest number of deaths amongst people walking in 40 years in 2022.

On World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, a record-number of U.S. communities will join in solidarity and urge action to address the nation’s historicand preventableroadway safety crisis. Crash survivors, grieving families, advocates and public agency representatives are organizing events in more than 75 U.S. communities, remembering those killed and injured, and urging specific, life-saving changes at local, state and federal levels. 

What is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims?

The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is a global event held every third Sunday of November to honor those who have lost their lives or been impacted by roadway crashes. This year, on November 17, communities across the globe, including several dozen in the United States, will gather together to demand actions towards improving roadway safety and to uplift proven strategies, including redesigning dangerous roads, reducing speed limits, and improving vehicle design. 

This day also serves as a crucial opportunity for governments and those working in road safety to demonstrate the scale and impact of road-related deaths and injuries and advocate for immediate and concerted action to end this public health crisis.

U.S. traffic fatality statistics

The U.S. failure to protect all road users, especially people walking and biking, makes us unique among other developed nations. While other countries successfully implement proven safety strategies, traffic deaths continue to rise in the U.S.

These figures minimize the pain and impact of the nation’s failed transportation safety policies. On World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, we will remind the world that each “statistic” about roadway safety represents a beloved parent, child, sibling, grandparent, friend or neighbor killed in predictable and preventable traffic crashes.

  • 42,514 people died in 2022
  • 10.5% increase over 2020
  • 7,522 people were killed walking in the U.S.
  • 1,105 people were killed while biking in the U.S.
  • 47 out of 54 in traffic fatality rate (among high-income nations according to the World Health Organization)
  • 23 states projected to increase fatalities

Traffic deaths and serious injuries are preventable

This year’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in the U.S., we lift up the important message that traffic deaths and serious injuries are preventable.

We have the tools and knowledge to prevent traffic deaths and severe injuries. We know what works to advance Vision Zero: safe mobility for all. By investing in safe road and vehicle designs and passing policies to prioritize safety over speed, we can save lives and improve communities.

The time to demand action to prevent traffic violence is now

Where communities lower speed limits, redesign roadways for safety over speed, add traffic calming measures, build great walking and biking spaces, ensure vehicle safety and implement other proven safety countermeasures, we experience safer, healthier and more equitable communities for all.

We know what works to prevent traffic deaths and severe injuries in our communities. Now, let’s make it happen.

Event background

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was founded in 1992 as a project of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration. World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2005, to honor those who have been killed on the world’s roads, and advocate for life-saving change. Families for Safe Streets held the first large-scale U.S. even in 2015 and supported others to hold events as well. FSS now joins the Vision Zero NetworkRoad to Zero Coalition and It Could Be Me to support those interested in holding World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims events in their communities.