The many victims of the world’s roads are a great tragedy that should be commemorated

We know the world cup kicked off in Qatar yesterday.

Few of us know that there was another global event, World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.It is held in the third Sunday of every November.

This might sound like yet another futile attempt to get publicity for yet another supposedly worthy cause.

On the contrary, it is a vital but neglected initiative that needs global thought and reflection and support.

For more than a century there have been cars, at first only in wealthy parts of the planet such as Europe and America. But for decades car ownership has become increasingly widespread even in poor parts of the world.

And while the automobile has greatly enhanced human freedom and quality of life for billions of people, it has come with a few massive downsides.

One is pollution, about which we have heard a lot at the Cop27 climate conference. Another is premature deaths and horrific injuries.

In Northern Ireland, for example, around 3,500 people were killed in the 1968 to 1997 Troubles, but 7,500 people died on the roads.

Think about that. We hear far more about political violence, which was indeed terrible, than we do about the carnage there has been on our highways, which was considerably more deadly.

And yet there is good news. Road deaths have plummeted.

Only decades ago the average death toll in traffic accidents in NI was over 200 per year, since 2010 it has been closer to 50. That is despite increases in traffic.

Many safety measures have worked, from air bags to speeding enforcement to better education. Much of these lessons are being imported to poorer parts of the world, where there is still a terrible record.

When it comes to victims, there is much to mourn. But we can celebrate that there are fewer of them.