When, eight years ago, RoadPeace decided to establish a Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, we quite deliberately chose the Sunday after National Remembrance Sunday. We wanted to make it easy for everyone to remember this day, but also to draw attention to this war, the permanent civil war on the roads, with war-like casualties and equally profound consequences for families and society.

The proximity of the days makes it almost inevitable that we look back to the previous Sunday. Last Sunday, besides honouring those who lost their lives fighting in the last century’s wars, the victims of the 11th September New-York-terrorist-attack were remembered during the 2-minute silences throughout the country. The American Ambassador was invited to take part at the remembrance ceremonies in Whitehall and the families were considered.

As it should be, the response to the New York disaster, which is said to have claimed up to 3,000 victims from 50 nations, was, and still, is tremendous.

“Your pain is our pain, Your loss is our loss” and “Justice not vengeance” were the messages in papers and magazines, all of which reported the events over and over again. A mass memorial service, attended by 26,000 people, took place a fortnight later. Impromptu memorials were held all over the city. Walk-in crisis centres were set up by the Red Cross. The Foreign Office set up a helpline and teams of consular staff, British police officers and counsellors were made available for the 200 or so British victims.

I do not need to recount all that the government have done, and are doing since then, to respond to the deaths and to prevent a recurrence.

Why is all this relevant to our Remembrance Day today? Because daily 3,000 people lose their lives needlessly on the world’s roads - a Trade Centre tower virtually going down every single day. Since 11th September, 68 such towers have collapsed, killing 200,000 people of all ages, but mostly the young, needless deaths, which none of the nations concerned can afford to lose, and should not have to lose. According to Prof Ian Roberts, a paediatrician, “this year 300,000 children will die on the world’s roads, with millions seriously injured”. The annual global road death toll is now one million, with 30 million people injured.

So we do have to ask ourselves, why it is that none of the politicians in any of the afflicted countries take any serious action to avert this mass disaster, or even do acknowledge it? Why the media are not keen to cover the issue? Maybe Ian Roberts’ views are relevant here, when he says: “As in most wars, propaganda is an important weapon. It is not in the interest of those who sell road transport, to allow road danger to become a public issue…The idea that governments and the motor industry are responsible is not for public consumption”. He finds that even the health sector ignores the road trauma epidemic, and goes on to say: “As for journalism, although residents’ efforts to improve road safety feature in local papers, it is unusual to encounter a serious analysis of road danger in national news media.” He ends with a warning about the future: “By 2020, road crashes will have moved from ninth to third place in the world disease ranking…If we overlook this carnage, it will be the propaganda coup of the new millennium.”

It is precisely because the scale is increasing, that we must take urgent action. So far it has been largely left to the victims to bring road death and injury onto the agenda, but we are weakened by our tragedies and unsupported financially, so it is a continuous struggle. This is not only unfair, especially when compared with the support and action shown in respect of other disasters, it is also short - sighted as well as irresponsible towards the many potential future victims.

But awareness is slowly growing. While on one hand we had senior officials speak against implementing speed cameras, we have heard the President of the World Bank describe road safety as ‘an issue of immense human proportions, of immense economic and social proportions and an issue of equity’. We have also had the European Parliament pass a resolution this year, unanimously, on wide-ranging proposals to reduce road casualties across the EU. Here is a very encouraging quote from their report:

Various improvements are also gradually being introduced for road traffic victims – Impact statements, Police family liaison, access to some information or evidence, participation in some meetings and consultations. But as long as the law continues to treat the majority of culpable road deaths and injuries as irrelevant, there will not only be no deterrent, but the suffering of road victims will be magnified by the lack of justice. So we are appealing to everyone to support a change of law. (and funding provision for RoadPeace.–should have said!)

We are very glad to have at this service so many local dignitaries, representatives of government, the police, emergency services and related organisations, our patrons, the clergy and many others, who have all given up their Sunday to be here.

We are glad that so many churches are holding special services today. Nationwide, 31 services have taken place, are taking place at this moment or are going to take place later in the day. In London two other services were held this morning – at a Swedish church and a Unitarian church in Islington. Many other places of worship are remembering road victims in their prayers.

For many churches this day is now in their annual diaries and for this we are particularly grateful. We already know that Coventry and Canterbury Cathedrals are going to hold services next year.

Followed by a 2-minute silence, the names of victims will now be read out.

They too, like the victims remembered last Sunday, represent unique and individual lives, that can never be replaced…