Global road safety 2010–18: An analysis of Global Status Reports

•We evaluated progress of the United Nations decade of action for road safety 2011–2020 using data from three Global Status Reports on road safety.•Death rates from road traffic injuries increased in many low-income countries, especially the ones in the African region over the last decade.•Countries were slow to adopt the policies and interventions recommended for reducing road traffic injuries.•We call for renewed attention to proven interventions that prevent road traffic injuries during the second decade of action for road safety.