Few people know that road traffic crashes are the biggest cause of death among young people worldwide. These crashes kill more than 500 children every day and injure tens of thousands more. According to data recently published by the World Health Organization, globally, more than 1.35 million people are killed each year and as many as 50 million are injured. In the US, nearly 40,000 people die every year in road traffic crashes. In addition to the devastating physical and emotional pain resulting from road traffic crashes, these crashes take a heavy toll on economies also, costing as much as 3-5% of a country’s GDP.

With more than 170 thousand vehicles on the world’s roads, road safety is critically important at FedEx. From driver training to vehicle maintenance, FedEx devotes a lot of resources internally to promote safety.

The company also extends its resources to help with road safety initiatives externally. To that end, FedEx takes a three-pronged approach: education and training, infrastructure improvement, and capacity building.

Working with Safe Kids Worldwide, more than 20,000 FedEx volunteers have helped reach more than 17 million children in 10 countries with lifesaving road safety education and training. In collaboration with the International Road Assessment Program (iRAP), FedEx is tackling the need for infrastructure improvements around schools through the development of the iRAP Star Ratings for Schools App, and by helping with the launch of IndiaRAP, a national road safety improvement initiative across India.

In the capacity building area, FedEx works with the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety to help increase the capacity of its more than 200 road safety nonprofit members working in more than 90 countries. The FedEx Road Safety Report provides additional information about initiatives with these and other nonprofit organizations.

FedEx also makes a difference through active involvement in organizations including the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety, the Road to Zero Coalition, and the UN Road Safety Collaboration.

To see this three-pronged approach in action around the world, please watch this brief video.

By strategically focusing on road safety, FedEx fights to reduce the number of lost lives and injured around the world.