With the hashtag #WDoR2023, the saddest of the world days devoted to traffic is being held this year. A day for remembrance, for supporting victims and survivors, and for raising awareness.
“Every 24 seconds a person dies in the world in a road traffic crash” was the headline with which La Vanguardia announced, in 2022, a world day which, painful as it is, must not stop being observed. Quite the opposite. “Life is not a car part” was the motto of the 2019 World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. As living beings, we are irreplaceable, which is why every third Sunday in November we stop to remember all those who lost their lives on the road.
Among these victims are drivers (professional or otherwise) of various vehicles, motorcyclists, pedestrians, tow-truck assistance operators, traffic officers, emergency personnel, cyclists… indeed, more than half of deaths worldwide are among what traffic experts call “vulnerable road users”. The list is grim and, beyond the figures, behind each one there is a name and surname, a face, a life, a story, as victims' associations stress during this emotional day.
Stop road violence: a task for everyone
This year the world day will focus on justice. On the enforcement of traffic laws, thorough investigation after a crash to find out whether an offence has been committed and to prevent it from happening again, criminal trial where appropriate, and civil compensation as redress. Road violence must be fought and prevented in order to eradicate it.
As every third Sunday in November since 2006, on the initiative of the United Nations General Assembly (UN), a day full of activities takes place. Here are the activities scheduled this Sunday by the Stop Accidentes association at its various branches in Andalusia (Granada), Catalonia (Barcelona), Galicia (A Coruña, Pontevedra in Sanxenxo, Vigo, Cangas Do Morrazo), Madrid and Valencia.
Readings of manifestos, minutes of silence, floral tributes, messages and memories naming those lost, activities with schoolchildren, live music, balloon releases, poems and speeches by the authorities… will be some of the activities planned in all these cities and towns.