The World Health Organization has just released the Global status report on road safety—the first broad assessment that describes the road safety situation in 178 countries, using data drawn from a standardised survey. The results provide a benchmark that countries can use to assess their road safety position relative to other countries, while at the international level these findings can be considered as a “baseline”, against which regional and global level progress can be measured.

The questionnaire used for this survey was developed in consultation with an expert committee of road safety researchers and practitioners. Data collection was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire, the content of which was based on the recommendations of the World report on road traffic injury prevention, developed by WHO, the World Bank and many other partners in 2004. The methodology used involved the identification of a National Data Coordinator in each country who identified up to seven other national road safety experts from multiple sectors who could complete the questionnaire. A consensus meeting was then held involving all …