THE poor are disproportionately victims of road crashes, with the number of deaths set to nearly double in two decades, according to the first global assessment of road safety released on Monday.

The World Health Organisation study found that almost half of the estimated 1.27 million people who die each year in road accidents are pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists, and said not enough was being done to ensure their safety.

"More than 90 per cent of the world's road deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries, while these countries only have 48 per cent of the world's vehicles," said Dr Etienne Krug, director of WHO's Department of Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability.

Persons from poor economic settings are disproportionately affected by the 20-50 million road traffic injuries per year, even in high-income countries, the study found.