Serbia will this year for the first time mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, with a total number of road fatalities in the country reaching 595 at the end of October.

The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims takes place on the third Sunday in November every year to remember all those killed and injured in road crashes, together with their families and all others affected or involved in the aftermath. This year, the event falls on November 20.

It was started by RoadPeace, the national charity for road crash victims in the UK, in 1993. A number of NGOs have added their support over the years, with the number of countries holding relevant events ever increasing. In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly invited all nations to observe the day “as the appropriate acknowledgment of victims of road traffic crashes and their families.”

In Serbia, the initiative to hold the event was launched by the Road Traffic Safety Agency, which was eventually accepted by the Interior Ministry, the Automobile and Motorcycle Association of Serbia (AMSS), the Red Cross and the Traffic-Technical School Zemun, according to releases by the institutions.

According to data from relevant bodies, a total of 35,774 accidents have taken place on Serbian roads in the first 10 months of 2011, with a total of 595 persons killed and as many as 16,267 injured.