The Youth and Road Safety report, launched to coincide with UN Road Safety week, stressed that the bulk of crashes are predictable and preventable.

Many involve children playing on the street, young pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, novice drivers and passengers of public transport. Driving under the influence of alcohol was also cited as a problem.

Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director General said: "Road traffic crashes are not 'accidents'. We need to challenge the notion that they are unavoidable and make room for a proactive, preventive approach."

Alongside its report the WHO also hosted a Youth Assembly comprising 14 young ‘ambassadors’ from 12 countries. The ambassadors adopted a road safety declaration during the UN week.

Nellie El Ghossaini from Lebanon and Floor Lieshout from the Netherlands were elected Chairpersons of a working group to develop the declaration, helped by young people from India, China, Kenya, France and Brazil. The declaration is the first ever global document expressing how young people suggest the world's roads can be made safer for them.

Dr Etienne Krug, who leads the WHO’s department for injury and violence prevention said that road safety is key for children.

"It is a big public health issue for kids, and we can do something about it," he said. "It is a very big economic problem, a very big development problem. It kills breadwinners and throws entire families into poverty."

According to the WHO report about 30 per cent of all traffic deaths worldwide – roughly 400,000 each year – are of people younger than 25-years old. Although teenage and young adult drivers are at greatest risk, younger age groups also have high mortality. In 2002, traffic injuries were the third leading cause of death for children ages 5 to 9, behind pneumonia and AIDS. Around 46 percent of traffic deaths in sub-Saharan Africa occurred in that age group that year.