[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 27895-27896]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   WORLD DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR ROAD CRASH VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ROBERT WEXLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 17, 2009

  Mr. WEXLER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in observance of the World 
Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims and their Families, which was 
observed on Sunday, November 15, 2009, as well as to offer my heartfelt 
condolences to all those who have lost loved ones to road crashes.
  The third Sunday in November was designated as World Day of 
Remembrance for Road Crash Victims by the United Nations earlier this 
decade, and in support of this effort, both the House of 
Representatives and Senate unanimously passed concurrent resolutions 
during the 110th Congress. This day allows us all to reflect upon the 
more than 1.3 million people worldwide who die on the world's roads 
each year, as well as the more than 50 million who are injured. An 
estimated 44,000 of those deaths occur in the United States, and the 
global death and injury toll is rising precipitously. At the current 
rate of growth, road crashes will be the fifth leading cause of death 
by the year 2030, rivaling the top global health epidemics.
  Road crashes do not discriminate; they know no bounds of age, class, 
gender, race, nationality, or geography. Globally, more than 40 percent 
of all road traffic deaths occur among individuals under 25 years old, 
and crashes are the leading cause of death for children and young 
adults aged 10-25 years old. Over the next decade, this is estimated to 
become the leading cause of death for children 5 and older worldwide.
  In some African countries, up to half of all hospital surgical beds 
are occupied by road crash victims, while in others the fatalities rank 
second only to HIV/AIDS. Here in the U.S., road crashes are the leading 
cause of death for Hispanics under 34 years of age. The human cost of 
this problem is unfathomable: 1.3 million deaths per year is the 
equivalent of 10 jumbo jets crashing each day.
  Road crashes also come at a great cost to the global economy. It is 
estimated that road crashes cost $518 billion globally each year. In 
developing countries, road crashes have a dramatic impact on their 
fragile economies, costing an estimated $100 billion, often exceeding 
the total amount received by these

[[Page 27896]]

countries in development assistance. Furthermore, road crashes affect 
first responder services, health care services, and health insurance 
services, as many victims require extensive, and expensive, critical 
care, as well as follow-up care and rehabilitation. In countries where 
a primary bread winner is killed or injured, or must care for the 
injured, this can destroy livelihoods and devastate communities.
  Road crashes are predictable and can be prevented, however, and 
America is playing a critical, active role domestically and 
internationally to address this epidemic. Earlier this year, the 
Congressional Caucus on Global Road Safety, which I am privileged to 
co-chair along with Congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and 
Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana, introduced House Concurrent 
Resolution 74, supporting a decade of action for road safety with a 
global target to reduce by 50 percent the predicted increase in global 
road deaths between 2010 and 2020. This resolution also urged the Obama 
Administration to take a leadership role at the First Ministerial 
Conference on Road Safety, to be held in Moscow later this week. The 
House of Representatives heeded the call to action on road safety and 
achieved a significant step toward reversing the increase in road 
deaths and injuries by unanimously passing H. Con. Res. 74 on September 
23 of this year.
  As more Americans travel abroad and more of our college students 
participate in study abroad programs in developing countries, many of 
them will be at risk of injury or death due to hazardous road 
conditions. Now is the time to foster the courageous initiatives 
building around the world to keep our citizens and our loved ones safe, 
and Madam Speaker, as we commemorate World Day of Remembrance for Road 
Crash Victims this year and look forward to the First Global 
Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Moscow later this week, I urge 
my colleagues to work with the Obama Administration toward enacting 
meaningful policy reform, both at home and abroad.

                          ____________________