LONDON, September 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Global NCAP is pleased to confirm that it is becoming a partner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Road Safety Program.

In 2010, Bloomberg Philanthropies committed $125 million in funding to 10 countries that represented half of road traffic-related deaths globally (Brazil, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Kenya, Mexico, Russia, Turkey and Vietnam).

In a new commitment of $125 million over five years from 2015, the program will work at both the national level to strengthen road safety legislation and the city level implementing proven road safety interventions.

Global NCAP Secretary General, David Ward, said: "The Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Road Safety Program has already made the largest single contribution to road injury prevention during the current UN Decade of Action for Road Safety. Global NCAP is honored to join with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, his team at Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the other partners in the new phase of their program. This is gives us a vital opportunity to promote safer motor vehicles especially in rapidly motorizing developing countries and cities where the risk of injury in a crash is growing fast".

More than one million people die and 20-50 million people are severely injured from road traffic crashes around the world every year, making road traffic injuries the eighth leading cause of preventable death. About 48% of all road fatalities are vehicle occupants. Unless urgent action is taken, road traffic crashes will become the fifth leading cause of death by 2030.

For more information about the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Road Safety Program announcement see: http://www.bloomberg.org/

About Global NCAP 

Global NCAP is an independent charity registered in the United Kingdom. It serves as a global platform for NCAPs around the world to exchange best practice in consumer orientated motor vehicle safety initiatives. Global NCAP also provides financial and technical assistance to new programmes in the rapidly motorizing countries and regions of Asia and Latin America. Global NCAP receives financial support from the FIA Foundation, from International Consumer Testing and Research, from the Road Safety Fund and the World Bank Global Road Safety Facility. Global NCAP supports the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety and is a member of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration. There are currently nine NCAP programmes or similar active across the world. http://www.globalncap.org

Contact: Global NCAP, +44-20-7747-1684, press@globalncap.org

SOURCE Global NCAP