Every
day, more than 3000 people die around the world as a direct result of road
traffic injuries.A recent report
produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank estimates
that, without appropriate action, road traffic injuries are expected to become
the third leading contributor to the global burden of disease and injury by
2020.
The
World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention, issued on the occasion of
World Health Day (April 7), which focuses this year on road safety, says that
road traffic crashes are predictable, and therefore preventable.
With
road traffic accidents accounting for 20 – 50 million injuries and
disabilities each year and a $518 billion annual global burden, urgent actions
must be taken by a variety of sectors including government, NGOs, car
manufacturers and individuals.
Some
of the report's significant facts and figures include:
Low-income
and middle-income countries account for about 85% of the deaths and for 90%
of the annual disability-adjusted life years lost because of road traffic
injury.
Of
the four main modes of travel – road, rail, air and marine – travel by
road puts people at the greatest risk of injury per kilometer traveled by
far.Compared with a person in a
car, a person on a motorized two-wheeler is 20 times more likely to be
killed for each kilometer traveled; a person on foot 9 times more likely;
and a person on a bicycle 8 times more likely.A person in a car, however, is 10 times more likely to be killed than
a passenger in a bus or coach and 20 times more likely to be killed than a
passenger in a train.
A
recent study in New Zealand found that the incidence of road crashes could
be reduced by up to 19% if people did not drive: 1) while feeling sleepy, 2)
after sleeping for less than five hours in the previous 24 hours or 3)
between 02:00 and 05:00.
Road
traffic injuries cost low-income and middle-income countries an annual $65
billion, exceeding the total amount of aid received for development
assistance.
