WHO identified five major risk factors of road injuries and interventions to reduce these: speed, alcohol, seat belts, helmets, child restraint seat, and visibility; we added five more risk.
Speed
Speed limit can be called as “the bandmaster of road crash orchestra”: we need to slow down! Speeding initiates deadly accidents – the faster a vehicle travels, the higher the impact. Speed contributes up to one-third of RTIs. Remedial measures include road designing, enforcing speed limits including strategic installation of cameras, traffic calming measures, and regular awareness programme. African researchers reported that speed control bumps can reduce the number of crashes by one-third, fatalities by half, and serious injuries by three-fourth.The Government of India notified in July 1989 in the exercise of Motor Vehicles Act 1988 section 112 subsection; in 2007, it set the national speed limit as 100 km/h for cars and 65 km/h for motorcycles; sincere efforts from enforcement authorities are needed to implement in whole India.
Alcohol
Alcohol within blood as low as 0.04 g/dL increases road crashes significantly by impairing decision-making process in foreseeing danger; 0.05 g/dL results in 1.83 times higher risk; it also causes hindrance in diagnosis, management, recovery, and prognosis from RTIs.Researchers suggested stricter alcohol restriction for young/novice drivers for reduction of RTI in the long run.In India, random breath testing at police checkpoints and both breath and blood testing of all drivers involved in crashes are done following police and hospital emergency reports of alcohol as important cause of RTI. However, due to logistical deficiencies in many situations, the checking is less than expected. Young or beginner drivers under the influence of alcohol are prone to RTI. Thailand, the only country in South-East Asia, declared special Blood Alcohol Concentration limit.We need to enforce alcohol breath testing with “tough on the spot” penalties for offenders with mandatory safety fittings with breath test devices for ignition interlocks.Western literature reported that even after drink, invariably one in four drivers get behind the wheels. This triggered education and advertising strategies with campaign for social support for enforcement and contribution to ongoing road safety policy development, with periodical evaluation. Research groups reported that a majority of respondents (72%) opposed to drink driving, but also found that a quarter of all these would still drive after one drink. Though they also supported imposing drink drive penalties when exceeding the proposed lower blood alcohol limits.Indian researchers, working on road safety, in a recent study, concluded that alcohol-related RTIs are foremost threat to civilization due to premature losses with downstream socioeconomic effects on family and society that must be prevented by holistic approach.
Seat belts
Seat belts strap in – among many other road safety interventions – protect from serious fatal or serious injury by 40%–65%. Although not a cause, failure to wear a safety belt may increase the coincidental thrown out from or smash inside the vehicles, or go through the windshield leading to fatality. Consistent child restraints reduce fatality in two-thirds of infants and half of children. Stringent laws on seat belt and child restraint with strict implementation by health education, reminder alarms, and child restraint learning programs are effective keys to improve road safety. In Korea, a national campaign of police enforcement, a publicity campaign, and an increase in fines have shown huge success. Overall, safe use of belt reduces RTI morbidity and mortality by half. Unfailing routine practice of child restraints has also demonstrated effectiveness in prevention of infant mortality on roads.India has no legislation on the use of child restraints, whereas 96 countries are already enforcing this; unfortunately, seat belt use is far from expected by undermotivated citizen who only use it to save penalty money.
Helmets
United Nations Motorcycle Helmet Study (2016) estimated that motorized two-wheeler riders have 26 times probability of death in road crash than four-wheelers; correct wearing of best available helmets improves survival by 42% and reduces injuries by 69%.[25] Other literatures supported reduction of death by nearly half and fatal injuries by over two-third by right helmet use. However, to effectively reduce traumatic brain injury (TBI), the most common cause of mortality, morbidity, and disability, motorized two-wheeler users have to correctly wear crash-proof helmets consistently even for small distances; socioeconomic status are associated with these unsafe behaviors. Indian study on helmet use of the two-wheeler riders noted that half were using helmet, 45% fastened properly, and 38.5% of ISI quality “Crash proof” safety standards as optimum helmet use affects better outcomes with fewer TBIs.
Visibility
Visibility of drivers can be increased by placing noticeable reflectors on vehicles, wearing yellow or white helmets and light-n-bright colored clothing while riding motorized and nonmotorized two-wheelers particularly on highways especially during night times, and regular use of antiglare safety glasses at night and with daytime running lights. Generally increasing the visibility of the pedestrians by reflective clothing also increases road safety at low-light situations.
Distracted driving
During driving, a range of diversion considerably reduces driving performance in tech-savvy new millennium – text messaging, use of cell phones while driving, or grooming while driving a motor vehicle can impair safety in a number of ways, namely, slower reaction times, not keeping lane driving, deranged split decision, and so on. Yet it has become a hazardous fashion to use cell phones while driving not only noted among professional drivers but also in citizens alike, which has risk four times more likely for crashes even with hands-free devices. Nowadays, audiovisual entertainment gadgets fitted to the vehicles to reduce monotony of long driving lead to distraction to driving. Governments need to be proactive on this issue at the earliest with concrete steps to take actions with stricter implementation of statutory actions, initiating community awareness campaigns, and regularly collecting data on distracted driving.
Exhaustion
RTIs to both the pedestrian and occupant tend to be clustered toward the latter part of the week, and later hours of the weekend prove to be the deadliest. On other days during the week, late afternoon to evening tend to be the riskiest times for driving.
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Nice information friend