World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
Every year, the third Sunday of November is the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is held every year on the third Sunday of November.
The next World Day of Remembrance is on Sunday 17th November 2024.
This day focuses on both the overall scale and the individual devastation caused by road deaths and injuries and the impact upon families and communities around the world. Almost 4,000 people are killed and many hundreds of thousands injured on roads throughout the world every day. Many more have to cope with bereavement or the effects of injury and thus become part of the huge group of people affected by road carnage.
World Day of Remembrance 2024 Services
Full details of all of our services to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2024 can be found in the events section of our website.
Planning an activity for World Day of Remembrance
In recent years, many varied events have taken place.
These include:
- A march through the City of Bath
- Open-air gatherings
- A mass cycle through London to the sites where victims were killed
- Remembrance concert with many bands performing
- Special school assemblies with a minute’s silence
In gatherings of all kinds, the reading out of names of those killed and injured, the lighting of candles and offering of flowers or acorns as signs of hope, help the bereaved and injured to find expression for their sorrow and give them the courage to go forward. These meetings and ritual acts bring people together and make them appreciate that they are not alone.
You are encouraged to create acts of remembrance in your own way, whether in a religious service, remembrance ceremony, special concert or other ways that bring together family, friends, schools and local communities
Promoting your involvement in World Day of Remembrance 2024
There are a range of ways that you can promote your support for World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2024:
1. Social media
Please show your support for World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2024 on your social media channels. You may find the following graphics useful:
Please use them alongside the hashtag: #WDoR2024
Please tag in RoadPeace on the following platforms: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram
2. News release – Announcing your support
If you are a stakeholder and would like to announce your support for World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2024 in a news story, you may find the template useful: WDR 2024 – Announcing Support News Release
3. News release – Promoting a service
If you are organising a remembrance service and would like to invite your local media to attend and cover the event, a news release template can be found here: WDR 2024 – Local Service News Release
4. Download our briefing document
Download our briefing document about World Day of Remembrance, its purpose, its history and some key facts and figures.
This will be particularly useful for local groups and stakeholders preparing for media interviews or events: Briefing Document World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
The History of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
World Day of Remembrance was initiated in 1993 by Brigitte Chaudhry, the founder of RoadPeace. It was established in response to the lack of public recognition for road crash victims, who, unlike victims of crime, disaster, or war, had not been offered a designated remembrance day. The day quickly garnered international support and became an essential moment for raising awareness about road danger, bereavement support and the suffering caused by road crashes.
It was also seen as a day to commend the vital work of those involved in the aftermath of a crash – including fire, police and ambulance teams, doctors, nurses and counsellors.
The European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR) then observed this day of remembrance for 10 years along with RoadPeace. This led to the World Day being created. On 26 October 2005, the United Nations General Assembly called on all Member States to adopt and recognise the third Sunday in November of every year as the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. The UN believes this is an appropriate acknowledgement for victims and families of road traffic crashes and also a way to draw attention to the consequences and costs of road crashes and to measures that can be taken to prevent them. Its aim is to remind governments and individual members of society of their responsibility to make roads safer.
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is now observed in countries in every continent of the world.
For more information about international activities visit www.worlddayofremembrance.org a website developed by Brigitte Chaudhry, Founder of RoadPeace and president of the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR).