The World Health Organization (WHO) says over a million persons die from road traffic crashes annually. Also, between 20 and 50 million individuals suffer non-fatal harm, while many eventually become disabled due to injuries.
Road traffic injuries cause economic devastation to victims, their loved ones, and the entire society. The devastation stems from medical bills and loss of productivity for the injured or dead. Similarly, some family members may have to leave their productive endeavors to seek medical treatment or education for their injured loved one. According to the WHO, road traffic accidents cost many countries up to three percent of their gross domestic product (GDP).
Those at Risk
Socioeconomic Status
Even though no country is immune to road traffic crashes, over 90 percent of road traffic fatalities happen in low and middle-income nations. Hence, African countries have the highest death rates of road traffic deaths while Europe has the lowest.
Age
Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of mortality among kids and young adults aged five to 29.
Sex
Males are likelier to be involved in road traffic mishaps than females from a young age. Statistics show that 73 percent of all road traffic mortalities happen among young males below 25 years. They are almost three times as likely to die in a road traffic accident as young females.
Risk Factors to Road Traffic Injuries
Accommodating Human Error Through the Safe System Approach
The safe system approach to road safety intends to provide a safe transport system for every road user. This approach considers people’s vulnerability to severe injuries in road traffic mishaps and understands that the system’s designers should create room for human error.
The guiding principles of this approach include safe speeds, safe road users, safe vehicles, and safe roads and roadsides. The authorities must address all these to deal with deadly accidents and severe injuries decisively.
Speeding
You increase the likelihood of an accident when you move beyond the average speed. The consequences of such crashes are severe. Most pedestrians who are victims of road accidents die cheaply—about five times from 50km/h to 65km/h.
Driving Under the Influence
Those driving under the influence of alcohol or any psychoactive substance can cause serious accidents that may lead to severe injuries or death. Any motorist whose blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is high poses a significant danger to other road users.
Similarly, the kind of psychoactive drug a driver consumes will determine the accident’s severity. Consuming a hard drug can increase the risk of a fatal crash by five times more than those who did not take anything.
Refusal to Use Helmets, Child Restraints, and Seatbelts
Using helmets correctly can reduce the risk of fatal injuries by 42 percent. It also reduces the likelihood of head injuries by 69 percent.
Similarly, wearing a seatbelt protects drivers and front-seat occupants from deaths by 45 to 50 percent. It also reduces the risk of fatality among rear-seat passengers by 25 percent.
Using child restraints reduces the risk of fatality by 60 percent.
Distracted Driving
Distractions cause impaired driving. Mobile phones are the leading cause of distractions on the road. Motorists using mobile phones while driving are four times likelier to be involved in an accident than those not.
Those using phones while driving react slowly to developments on the road and find it challenging to maintain the correct lane. They hardly keep the right following distances.
Unsafe Road Infrastructure
Road designs significantly influence their safety. Road designers should prioritize the safety of every road user. It means they must provide adequate facilities for cyclists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists.
They should proactively provide walkways, safe crossing points, cycling lanes, and other enhanced traffic measures for the appropriate categories of road users.
Inadequate Post-Crash Care
The inability to promptly detect and provide adequate care for road accident crash victims increases injury severity. Caring for accident victims is highly time-sensitive. Minor delays can lead to avoidable death.
Road traffic crash victims should have prompt access to pre-hospital care. Also, authorities should properly train professionals to give prehospital and hospital care to victims.
Unsafe Vehicles
Unsafe vehicles cause avoidable and disastrous crashes. Every vehicle manufacturing and producing country should adhere strictly to the United Nations regulations on vehicle safety. Parts of the regulations include fitting airbags and seatbelts in every vehicle and including electronic stability control to prevent over-steering.
Inadequate Law Enforcement of Traffic Laws
The evident lack of political and strong will to implement traffic laws will not produce the desired outcome. When reckless and negligent road users know they will likely go scot-free, they will never intentionally try to behave well while using the roads. They will not comply with traffic regulations.
The authorities should establish, regularly update, and enforce traffic laws at all levels. The laws should address known and anticipated risk factors. The government should also be definite on the appropriate penalties for each violation.
The Way Forward
“Authorities need to be proactive and decisive to address road safety issues holistically,” says accident attorney Terence Perenich of Perenich Law Injury Attorneys. The governments should involve multi-sectors—healthcare, education, and law enforcement agencies. These sectors should spell out actions that ensure and uphold road safety.
Governments should also intervene responsively by incorporating road safety procedures into land use and transport planning. They should design safer infrastructures and enhance the safety features of vehicles.
