How to reduce road accidents, which cause 1.3 million deaths, injuring 35 million each yr

By Bharat Dogra
Road accidents kill 1.3 million people in a year in the world. While this is a shockingly big loss in itself, the overall burden for society is much higher at several levels, particularly in terms of serious injuries which apart from being very painful can also disrupt the life of a very large number of families.
In fact the number of non-fatal injuries and disabilities caused by road accidents is more than 25 times higher than fatalities. This has been estimated at between 20 to 50 million, or approximately 35 million, by the World Health Organization at the world level for one year.
In other words about 10,000 persons in world either die or else suffer injury or disability on any given day due to rod accidents. Every hour 416 people die or suffer injury or disability due to road accidents.
In addition a very large number of stray animals experience painful injuries and deaths caused by road accidents for which statistics not available.
As each serious injury, death and fatality adversely affects at least one family or an average of five persons, we may say that on average about 185 million people are adversely affected by road accidents in one year, or 1850 million (1.8 billion) in one decade. In other words, over a decade almost one in four persons in world either experiences or is adversely affected by a road accident. If we include rail, boat and other transport accidents, the number would be higher still.
In the middle of this massively distressing scene one good news is that whenever well-planned, many-sided efforts have been made, it has been possible to bring down road accidents significantly in several places. Hence if a very sincere worldwide effort is made, it should be possible to reduce road mishaps by about a half within about five years or so in many places, particularly those places which presently have a very high accident rate. If this happens, then it will be possible to save about 650,000 human lives per year and prevent about 1750,000 injuries and varying levels of disabilities in a year, compared to the present rates of fatal and non-fatal injuries caused by road accidents.
One of the important ways in which distress caused by road accidents can be reduced is by ensuring in various ways that proper speed limits are observed for various stretches of roads and highways.
Secondly, various steps can be taken to minimize the possibilities of anyone driving under the influence of alcohol or psychoactive substances. Alcohol is responsible for many more accidents than is often recognized. Liquor sale close to highways should not be allowed.
Road traffic as well as road-conditions should be improved in significant ways. Road repairs should be taken up more promptly, particularly during the rainy season. Danger points should be clearly identified, and remedial actions taken over a period of time while warning signs should be placed immediately in such stretches.
Vehicles as well as safety gear (including helmets, belts and child restraints) should confirm to safety norms. Protective gear should be used very regularly. Safe driving should be ensured in various ways.
In particular distractions during driving should be discouraged in various ways. According to WHO data base, the likelihood of car crash increases by four times when mobile phone is used by a driver. Experience indicates that when a driver gets disturbing and agitating news suddenly while driving on a mobile phone, chance of an accident increases even more.
Due to multiplicity of causes which increase risks, a well-planned many-sided effort is needed, and if this can succeed in reducing road accidents by about a half within five years, this will be a very significant achievement indeed. In addition the arrangements for providing prompt and proper treatment to road accident victims very soon after any crash should improve significantly. Those who help to rush crash victims to hospital should not be harassed or placed under legal obligations in any way.

---
The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include "Planet in Peril", "A Day in 2071" and "How Millions of Lives can be Saved within a Decade"

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

UP tribal woman human rights defender Sokalo released on bail

By A Representative After almost five months in jail, Adivasi human rights defender and forest worker Sokalo Gond has been finally released on bail.Despite being granted bail on October 4, technical and procedural issues kept Sokalo behind bars until November 1. The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), which are backing Sokalo, called it a "major victory." Sokalo's release follows the earlier releases of Kismatiya and Sukhdev Gond in September. "All three forest workers and human rights defenders were illegally incarcerated under false charges, in what is the State's way of punishing those who are active in their fight for the proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act (2006)", said a CJP statement.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah* A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards .

Search This Blog