Traffic Safety

Traffic Safety

Traffic accidents are sudden, random and rare events that occur in the course of observation, propagated by lack of adaptability of the involved party with the environment, which results in the injury or damage of the participants. In the stated environmental conditions, there is a distinct probability that an accident may occur. Approaches to traffic safety systems usually proceed from the assumption that the motorist ought to adapt to the road traffic system. By augmenting the levels of motorization, the tally of road accidents, and the number of people killed in them has risen. Violation of traffic rules is a common problem worldwide and represent the 9th cause of deaths globally in 2004, a rising root cause of death among the young population in the cohort of 15 to 29, with a to become the 5th cause of death globally until 2030 (World Health Organization, 2020.

Recognizing such a fact the United Nations General Assembly in 2010 initiated the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2010 to 2020. This initiative envisions the world to facilitate safe transportation for all road users. The contemporary approach to the traffic safety system acknowledges that the system ought to be adapted to traffic drivers, and pedestrians, especially those that are vulnerable such as the elderly, children, and people with disabilities. It kicks off with the vulnerability of the body and the acceptance of error. In line with this acknowledgment that road accidents cannot be entirely avoided, but severe injuring and death of the participants can be reduced. The major aim of the Decade is to stabilize and significantly cut down on the number of fatalities in road accidents and thus preserve the lives of five million people globally. The Global Plan was crafted as a document that enables the coordination of activities and implantation of principles towards realizing and achieving the goals of the initiative. The plan is necessarily a tool for supporting the development and implementation of national plans and joint coordination of activities, although if offers recommendations for the development of localized action plans. Nationally, countries are required to implement 5 major pillars of activity including safer roads for development, effective management of traffic safety, safety for road users and activities after accidents, and safer vehicles.

An important consideration is the total safety of the elderly as they commute across their communities. The USA has the highest fatality rate of all developed nations worldwide and experiences approximately 2 to 3 times the number of total traffic-related accidents as its peers according to a report by the WHO (WHO, 2004). Beyond the populace-level risk faced by motorists and pedestrians in the USA, the elderly are more likely that individuals in other age groups to die in a traffic accident. Of the approximated 40,000 yearly traffic fatalities reported in the USA every year, elderly people aged 65 and above account for a staggering 17% of them, according to a report by the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (2006), in spite of accounting for only 12% of the total populace, making lesser trips, and commuting for shorter mileage than their young counterparts (Dumbaugh, 2008). Based on estimates of mileage and licensure, Hakamies-Blomqvist estimated that come 2030, more than 24,000 individuals aged 65 and above will die in traffic accidents, which is almost three times the current number of older adults who died of fatalities (Rimmö and Hakamies-Blomqvist, 2002). Thus, governments should look for more ways to reduce traffic-related fatalities in time.

Yet another issue associated with traffic safety is Helmet Legislation. It is important to consider that neither case-control studies nor law evaluations can be considered in isolation. Viewing helmet use in the proper perspective, it is pertinent to consider, understand, and explain experimental data from both sets. The more profound studies on helmet-use law studies are those that are associated with a high increase in a short time, with hospital admission data for traffic-related fatalities, but showing no obvious response to the huge increases in helmet legislation (Robinson, 2007). A lack of response in legislation is usually attributed to the inability of the helmets to prevent acute head injuries associated with admissions in hospitals, reduced safety owing to reduced cycle use, compensation of risk, and other changes in the cycling populace. All the benefits and costs are to be considered, including the reduced enjoyment of bicycle use, the ability of helmets to prevent head injuries, and reduced safety in numbers (Robinson, 2007). These factors must be compared to the cost of extra road safety initiatives to decrease the incidence of motor vehicle/bike collisions that result in severe brain injuries.

Pedestrian road-crossing behaviors are very different. As governments build roads, there should be an authority that manages safety and maintenance with pedestrian crossing behaviors in mind for the improvement of traffic safety. Various models to determine these behaviors have been developed. Some have been tested for feasibility, others scrapped, and others applied successfully. In the traffic safety field, the risk of accident exposure for pedestrians is approximated as a rate of fatality involvement per unit of the period of time spent on the road. One such model for determining the risk exposure to fatalities is one developed by (Lassarre, Papadimitriou Yannis & Golias (2007). The objective of their research was to craft an approach of accident risk based on the idea of risk exposure in environmental epidemiology. The scholars compared the effects of urban transportation models on the safety of pedestrians. The initial step, which is very important, is to define an indicator of exposure of pedestrians to accidents, which is determined on the concentration of vehicles by lane and also takes into account the time spent to cross and the speed of traffic (Lassarre, Papadimitriou, Yannis & Golias, 2007). Governments can utilize exposure models in a majority of urban areas. However, since developing such a model can be difficult, it is proposed that further calibration is necessary. Determining pedestrian interaction is also an interesting concept to help further improve the model for the prevention of further accidents that claim so many lives worldwide every year.

In conclusion, road traffic incidents not only result in suffering and grief but economic losses as well to victims, victim’s families, nations and communities globally. Accidents cost nations an average of 3% of the GNP, and up to five percent in middle and low income countries. Loss of productivity reduced quality of life, loss of vehicles and property, are all indirect costs associated with accidents. All these factors should be included when calculating the actual cost incurred by the society. In every two years, the WHO delivers a Global status update on traffic safety. The report includes information of countries such as profiles and statistical annexes by using a standardized method that helps in making comparisons. It included top-down analyses of how effectively nations are implementing traffic safety measures and if they have employed effective national strategies with goals to reduce traffic injuries and deaths. They also analyze legislation and laws on traffic safety to encourage enforcement and revision when necessary. It is, therefore, important for nations all over the world to develop serious and effective strategies to reduce the prevalence of traffic accidents and the deaths associated with them.

References

Dumbaugh, E. (2008). Designing Communities to Enhance the Safety and Mobility of Older Adults. Journal of Planning Literature, 23(1), pp.17-36.

Rimmö, P. and Hakamies-Blomqvist, L. (2002). Older drivers’ aberrant driving behaviour, impaired activity, and health as reasons for self-imposed driving limitations. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 5(1), pp.47-62.

Robinson, D. (2007). Bicycle helmet legislation: Can we reach a consensus?. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 39(1), pp.86-93.

Fatality Analysis Reporting System. (2006). Data collected and distributed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Retrieved 15 February 2020, from http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/

World Health Organization. 2004. World report on road traffic injury prevention. Geneva.

Lassarre, S., Papadimitriou, E., Yannis, G., & Golias, J. (2007). Measuring accident risk exposure for pedestrians in different micro-environments. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 39(6), 1226-1238. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2007.03.009

World Health Organization. Road traffic injuries. (2020). Retrieved 15 February 2020, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries