Preventing Road Accidents And Saving Lives Of Road Accidents' Victims

What is our individual responsibility in preventing road accidents?

Image Credit: MStankie via Wikimedia Commons

Can you recollect someone's name, in and around your social circle, who suffered a road traffic accident and died due to it? Very few chances that you can't recollect somebody. The newspapers are full of such tragic news. Road traffic accidents and deaths due to road traffic accidents are quite common. As a fact, deaths due to road accidents consistently figure among the top 10 causes of death.

1. Why do such fatal road traffic accidents happen?

Human factors contribute to 95% of road traffic accidents. The rapid pace of motorization of the society without the required ecosystem needed for safe transportation result in road accidents whether they are fatal or not. One can equate it with the society paying the price of running faster than it can.

So one may list the causes of such deaths as more vehicles, faster and heavier vehicles, poor road conditions, poor use of personal protective measures like helmets and seat belts, risky behaviors like drunken driving, over speeding, driven by people not fit, sleepy drivers and so on.

2. Who are the people having the highest risk of fatal road traffic accidents?

While everybody on the road is at risk, those having the highest risk are the pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Often it is the young, male who is involved. The lucky victim, who is taken to a trauma care center within the golden hour has a higher chance of survival than those taken late to a healthcare facility or to the wrong facility.

3. What can be done to reduce such deaths due to accidents? How can we save such lives?

The victim of the bad accident should be rescued by trained professionals in an emergency life support ambulance and taken to the nearest specialized trauma center to save a life. In case such ambulance services are not available, A Good Samaritan may save precious human life

Regarding prevention of all accidents while a lot is expected from governments and administration related to making and enforcing laws which are considered as the most effective interventions to save such lives.

4. Where do we come into the picture as individuals in saving such lives? Do we have any role in saving such lives?

As individuals we also have the responsibility of using personal protective gear like helmets, seat belts, etc. and not resorting to unruly behavior like drunken driving, over speeding, and respecting traffic signals and pedestrian crossings.

We may need to rethink on "Anyone driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac" A popular slogan on road safety

About the author: Dr. Naval Asija is a licensed MBBS Physician from India. MBBS is the equivalent of the MD degree offered by international medical schools. He is based in Delhi, India, and works as a medical writer, editor, and consultant. He supports medical researches as an author's editor, medical communication companies involved in medico-marketing activities, and medical technology companies in improving their products. He can be contacted via his LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/navalasija/

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