The UN General Assembly on Monday adopted a resolution that calls on member states to further increase cooperation on improving road safety.
In the resolution, the 192-member body expressed its concern at the "continued increase in road traffic fatalities and injuries worldwide, in particular in developing countries."
The assembly underscored the "importance of addressing global road safety issues and the need for further strengthening of international cooperation, taking into account the needs of developing countries by building capacities in the field of road safety, and providing financial and technical support for their efforts."
The resolution urges member states to continue to strengthen their commitment to road safety, including by observing the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on the third Sunday in November of every year.
It also welcomed a Russian offer to host the first global high-level conference on road safety to be held in 2009.
The assembly also decided to include in the provisional agenda of its 64thth session the item entitled "Global road safety crisis," and requested UN Chief Ban Ki-moon to report on the progress made in improving global road safety.
Road traffic injuries are a major public health problem and a leading cause of death, injury and disability around the world.
Each year nearly 1.2 million people die and millions more are injured or disabled as a result of road crashes, mostly in the urban areas of developing countries, according to a UN report.
Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death globally for those between 10 and 24 years of age, the report said.