Challenges and Opportunities

Traffic safety is a growing public health challenge, particularly in developing countries. Worldwide, approximately 1.2 million people die each year in traffic accidents. The vast majority of those fatalities – more than 1 million – occur in countries with low- and middle-income economies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that deaths due to road traffic accidents will increase to 2.4 million in 2030, primarily owing to increased motor vehicle ownership and use associated with economic growth in low- and middle-income countries. In addition, road traffic accidents are expected to emerge as the fourth-leading cause of death in 2030 – rising from the ninth-leading cause in 2004.

Road traffic crashes are already the leading cause of death among young people between 15 and 19 years old, according to a new report published by the WHO. The report says that nearly 400,000 young people under the age of 25 are killed in road traffic crashes worldwide every year. Millions more are injured or disabled. The vast majority of these deaths and injuries occur in low- and middle-income countries.

Many of the traffic deaths in developing nations involve pedestrians and/or motorcycles. As mobility increases in developing markets, people initially use two-wheeled motor vehicles, and the incidence of traffic accidents rises. As people migrate to automobiles, traffic accidents and injury levels generally decrease.

During this transition, holistic solutions are required, including infrastructure improvements, the modification of road user behavior and the enforcement of traffic laws. According to the WHO, some of the most cost-effective measures for reducing traffic deaths and injuries include separating pedestrians from motor vehicles on roadways, installing traffic signals, enforcing traffic laws and mandating the use of safety belts.

One critical task is to educate drivers about the most important primary safety feature – safety belts. Continued improvements in vehicle safety are also very important, and we at Ford continue to take seriously our responsibility to build safe vehicles.

In both developed and emerging markets, it is increasingly important for road safety stakeholders to work together using an integrated approach to ensure the maximum benefits are delivered from any given safety initiative. To support this approach, we at Ford seek ways to partner with governments, nongovernmental organizations and other stakeholders to identify the best opportunities to promote safety based on real-world data. We have become more involved in encouraging new and innovative ways to modify road user behavior (for example, through new technologies, driver education efforts and working with government agencies such as the UK Driving Standards Agency) and encouraging infrastructure and enforcement improvements in the communities in which we operate.

This vehicle safety section details our latest efforts and achievements in all of these areas. Our mobility project considers these challenges and offers alternative urban mobility approaches for developed and emerging economies.

Findings of the Materiality Analysis

We analyzed the importance of vehicle safety to our Company and stakeholders as part of the materiality analysis conducted for this report. In that analysis, vehicle safety was identified as one of a small set of material issues for the Company. Customers are showing greater concern for vehicle safety and making it a higher priority in purchase decisions, while other stakeholders, including nongovernmental organizations, tend to focus on particular aspects of safety. There is a trend toward increased regulation of vehicle safety worldwide, and inconsistent regulations can create barriers to trade. An emerging societal and competitive issue for us at Ford is how to respond to the growing consumer interest in in-vehicle communication, navigation and entertainment systems while maintaining or improving vehicle safety (see Materiality Analysis).