WORLD HEALTH DAY: Death on the Road Is No Accident

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Apr 7 2004 (IPS) - Experts in road safety prefer to speak in terms of “crashes” instead of “accidents”, because the latter gives the impression of a random event when traffic-related fatalities and injuries can be prevented.

Experts in road safety prefer to speak in terms of “crashes” instead of “accidents”, because the latter gives the impression of a random event when traffic-related fatalities and injuries can be prevented.

Whatever the word used, road crashes have grown to such a magnitude that they are considered a public health problem, claiming the lives of 1.2 million people worldwide each year, and leaving as many as 50 million injured or permanently disabled.

Most of the world’s traffic crashes occur in developing countries. Ninety percent of the fatalities and injuries occur in the South, even though the developing regions have just 20 percent of the world’s automobiles.

Forecasts are even more alarming, admit experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO). From 2000 to 2020, although deaths caused by vehicle crashes will decline by around 30 percent in the industrialised North, they will increase considerably in the developing world.

Road traffic injuries are the eleventh leading cause of death in the world, but if current trends continue, by 2020, they will be ranked third.

“Thousands of people die on the world’s roads every day. We are not talking about random events or ‘accidents’. We are talking about road crashes. The risks can be understood and therefore can be prevented,” said Lee Jong-wook, WHO director-general.

For these reasons, WHO is dedicating World Health Day 2004, celebrated Apr. 7, to raising public and governmental awareness about the seriousness of the problem, with the slogan “Road Safety Is No Accident”.

In commemoration of the event, the World Bank and WHO are releasing a study Wednesday, “World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention”.

The report says it is “a multisectorial problem that requires a multisectorial response,” said Margie Peden, WHO coordinator for unintentional injury prevention, and executive editor of the text.

The report was drawn up over 18 months with the participation of around 100 experts from 40 countries, and included representatives from the health, transport, police and education sectors, as well as from governmental and non-governmental organisations.

“The main message from the report is that it is a huge public health and development problem, that the majority of these road traffic injuries occur in low and middle income countries,” producing 90 percent of deaths and 85 of disabilities, said Peden.

WHO director-general Lee and World Bank president James Wolfensohn stressed that the problem disproportionately affects the most vulnerable segments of users of public roadways, particularly the poor.

In rich countries, traffic is dominated by automobiles, while in poor countries the majority tends to be pedestrians, bicycles and various types of motorcycles.

Public transportation in the nations of the South is largely passenger vans, minibuses, buses and two- or three-wheeled motorcycles. In many cases, the passengers travel in the vehicles either standing or sitting, often in violation of safety norms.

“Globally, more than half of all victims are between the ages of 15 and 44, the age at which they would be most able to contribute to the livelihood of their families and communities,” said United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his World Health Day message.

Furthermore, every year 180,000 children under age 15 die in road crashes and thousands are left disabled for the rest of their lives. In 2002, of all child fatalities worldwide, 96 percent were from poor and middle-income countries.

While in some countries automobile drivers and passengers represent more than 70 percent of road crash deaths, in others they are the minority, while most victims are pedestrians, motorcycle drivers and passengers, and public transportation passengers.

An estimate in the WHO-World Bank report puts the economic costs of crashes, fatalities and injuries at one percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of poor countries, 1.5 percent GDP in middle-income countries, and two percent GDP in rich countries.

The costs worldwide are estimated at 518 billion dollars annually, of which 65 billion correspond to low and middle-income countries. That figure is more than those nations receive in development aid.

In contrast, expenditures on road safety are compensated with savings in the costs associated with traffic deaths and injuries.

The resources that industrialised countries set aside for highway safety have turned out to be an excellent investment, providing annual financial returns of nine to 22 percent, according to the study.

The WHO-World Bank report suggests that developing countries could improve their situations by better demarcating the roads, improving traffic management and enacting stricter vehicle standards.

The text also calls for stricter laws on maximum traffic speeds, campaigns to encourage seatbelt use, and the application of alcohol consumption limits for drivers.

But Krug noted that road safety is a shared responsibility. The reduction of risk requires a commitment from government, industry, non-governmental organisations and international agencies, he said.

Responsibility also falls to professionals in different disciplines, such as road engineers, vehicle designers, officials in charge of applying traffic laws, and community groups.