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Abstract
Road traffic accidents (RTAs) have emerged as an important public health issue which needs to be tackled by a multi-disciplinary approach. The trend in RTA injuries and death is becoming alarming in countries like India. The number of fatal and disabling road accident happening is increasing day by day and is a real public health challenge for all the concerned agencies to prevent it. The approach to implement the rules and regulations available to prevent road accidents is often ineffective and half-hearted. Awareness creation, strict implementation of traffic rules, and scientific engineering measures are the need of the hour to prevent this public health catastrophe. This article is intended to create awareness among the health professionals about the various modalities available to prevent road accidents and also to inculcate a sense of responsibility toward spreading the message of road safety as a good citizen of our country.
Keywords: Road accidents, road safety, preventive measures
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Introduction
Motorization has enhanced the lives of many individuals and societies, but the benefits have come with a price. Although the number of lives lost in road accidents in high-income countries indicate a downward trend in recent decades, for most of the world's population, the burden of road-traffic injury—in terms of societal and economic costs—is rising substantially.[1] Injury and deaths due to road traffic accidents (RTA) are a major public health problem in developing countries where more than 85% of all deaths and 90% of disability-adjusted life years were lost from road traffic injuries.[2]
As a developing country, India is no exception. Not a day passes without RTA happening in the roads in India in which countless number of people are killed or disabled. Often members of the whole family are wiped out. Those who are affected or killed are mostly people in their prime productive age. The highest burden of injuries and fatalities is borne disproportionately by poor people, as they are mostly pedestrians, cyclists, and passengers of buses and minibuses.[2]
The data for fatal accidents presented to the Parliament by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for year 2008 shows that 119,860 people perished in mishaps that year and the national and state highways accounted for nearly half of all road accidents.[3] Deaths due to road accidents in 2009 were reported to be 126,896 and in 2010 it increased to 133,938 which is about 5.5% over and above the previous year's deaths. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan have accounted for 11.5%, 10.5%, 7.1%, and 6.8%, respectively, of total “Road Accident” deaths in the country.[4] The trend is alarming and is leading to a frightening situation day by day.
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India Tops Global List of Fatalities from Road Crashes
More than 1.3 lakh people died on Indian roads, giving India the dubious honor of topping the list of road deaths across the world.
Until 2 years ago, the International Road Federation placed India second behind China.
China has managed to reduce the number of road deaths from over 100,000 to 90,000 or so, and in India the situation has worsened.
With just 1% of the world's vehicles, India manages to account for 10% of its road fatalities, up from 8% at last count.
In India the situation is exacerbated by poor enforcement of traffic laws and myopic policies on the part of our policy makers.
In the United States, which has close to 300 million people and more than 250 million vehicles, the number of deaths per 10,000 vehicles is 1.6, while in India this number, known as the “road fatality rate,” is as high as 14.
In comparison, China has a road fatality rate of about 5 with almost twice as many vehicles. Besides, in China, the fatality rate has seen a downward trend, while in India it is raising