ROAD TRAFFIC INJURIES: AN UNRECOGNIZED GLOBAL HEALTH PROBLEM
Maryellen Corliss
American Sentinel

ROAD TRAFFIC INJURIES: AN UNRECOGNIZED GLOBAL HEALTH PROBLE Road traffic injuries are a major but neglected global public health problem which requires more public knowledge and concern for their effective and lasting prevention, and a reduction of their consequences. Twenty million people around the world are injured or disabled each year by road-traffic injuries. These now rank ninth on the list of leading causes of disability, but are projected to rise to third place by 2020 as the number of motor vehicles grows (Peden & Hyder, 2002). The epidemic is the worst in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, about 85 percent of all deaths globally are due to traffic accidents and 90 percent of the disabilities caused by them happen in low and middle income countries (World Health Organization [WHO], 2004). The poorest people in those countries are the hardest hit. In the United States, people who die on the road are usually the drivers of automobiles. In the developing world, the most vulnerable, in order, are pedestrians; passengers on minibuses, buses, and trucks; and cyclists. They share the same road at the same time with cars, various motorized two- and three-wheeled rigs, and people riding or driving domestic animals. Traffic safety laws that exist may go unenforced because of a lack of police resources. Drivers’ licenses and road-worthiness inspections of vehicles may have been handled by corrupt officials paid little by the government, so income is enhanced by corruption (WHO, 2004). One reason people die on the road in developing countries is that few call 911 and few ambulances come to the scene. In most of the world, there is no nearby hospital, and if there is one, it may lack the basics of injury treatment —dressings, antiseptics, anesthesia, oxygen. Care of the wounded may not come at all or not come quickly, and delay can be deadly(Road Safety, 2009). Care may be unaffordable. A study in Ghana showed that among patients with severe injuries, only 60 percent of those injured in cities and towns and 38 percent of those in the countryside got hospital care. The explanation most often given by people who did not seek care was that they didn’t have the money for it (Reed, 2002). Currently, 3500 people die every day in traffic related accidents and 50 million are injured every year on the world’s road. A report by the World Health Organization blames the high number of fatalities on transport policies that put vehicles, highways, and speed before people and road safety. The majority of those who die are in developing countries, with 20 countries accounting for 70% of global road fatalities (WHO, 2004). Children and young people are the worst affected, with road traffic injuries the single biggest source of fatality among 10 to 24 year olds worldwide (WHO, 2004). In 2004, the last year that comprehensive data is available, road traffic injuries killed more 5 to 14 year olds than malaria, diarrhea and HIV and Aids (WHO, 2004). Unlike many other health epidemics, there are simple, affordable and tested interventions that are not being used or enforced. This includes the use of crash helmets, seat belts, and drunk driving, and the strengthening of vehicle safety requirements. Kevin Watkins, a research fellow at the Brookings Institute, summed it up well: “The epidemic of road traffic injury is a source of poverty, human suffering and economic waste on a global scale. Over the next two decades, the number of vehicles in the world’s poorest countries will increase at an unprecedented rate. It’s not rocket science, yet progress has been painfully slow” (Reed, 2002, para. 8) What can we do as nurses? Teach the importance of seatbelts, bike helmets, refraining from driving under the influence. Here in the United States, we can make a difference. Will it happen over night? No. But with continued education in our schools, doctor’s offices, and hospitals and in our media, we can help deliver the message that road safety is an important issue, and that the simple task of buckling a seat belt can make all the difference in the world.

References
Peden, M., & Hyder, A. (2002, May 11). Road traffic injuries are a global public health problem. British Medical Journal. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1123102/
Reed, C. (2002, November-December). On the Road with Death. Harvard Magazine. Retrieved from http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/11/on-the-road-with-death.html
Road Safety: Call for Action [Consumer brochure]. (2009). Retrieved from International Red Cross: http://www.ifrc.org/Global/174800-ROADSAFETY-Report-EN.pdf
World Health Organization. (2004). World report on road traffic injury prevention. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/road_traffic/world_report/intro.pdf