Road Accidents or Crashes? Time to Wake Up

Road?crashes have evolved as a major public health concern that requires a diversified strategy to address. In middle and low-income countries like Bangladesh, the rise in crash?injuries and deaths is significant. The incidence of fatal and impairing road crashes is on the rise, posing a serious public health problem for all involved authorities to address. The implementation of relevant laws and legislation?to prevent fatal crashes is frequently ineffectual and unenthusiastic. To avoid this public health disaster, more public awareness, stringent enforcement of road transport laws, and the strengthening of the existing ACT (RTA- 2018) are critical. It is also one of the world's most serious public health and injury prevention issues. The difficulty is made worse by the fact that the victims were in perfect health before the tragedy. One of the most dangerous global risks to human health and life is road crashes.

According to the World Health Organization's Global Status Report on Traffic Safety 2018, an estimated 1.35 million people die and 50 million people are injured on the roads each year. According to the survey, road crashes are the world's eighth biggest cause of mortality; moreover, they are the leading cause of death among people aged 5 to 29. Around 90% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Every day, many individuals are injured or killed in car accidents, even in Bangladesh.??Every year, at least 2,000 people are killed in road accidents in Bangladesh, according to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA); at least 10,000 people are disabled, and 20,000 to 30,000 are seriously injured. According to the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), 12,000 and 20,000 individuals die in road crash?each year, respectively. As per the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of BUET and the Nirapad Sarak Chai (NiSCha) - a movement for safe?roads - each year, over 12,000 people are killed in crashes on the roads. Although the exact number of deaths varies depending on various?organizations’ statistics, road crashes claim the lives of at least 10 to 12 thousand people every year. Even under the COVID-19 condition, vehicle crashes killed 4,996 people and wounded 5,075 in Bangladesh in the year 2020.???

In addition to injuries, disabilities, and deaths, traffic incidents have significant economic and societal consequences. Road crashes cost the global economy 3% of GDP, whereas they cost up to 5% of GDP in low- and middle-income nations. A terrible safety record can discourage private investment, as global firms are concerned about employee safety as well as the product distribution efficiency.??????????

These incidences are sometimes referred to as "accidents." implying unknowingly that they are not preventable or ameliorable. Even the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 3.6) aim to cut global road deaths and injuries in half, referring to them as "accidents." Traffic collisions, on the other hand, are not accidents; they may be prevented.?By referring to preventable road deaths and injuries as "accidents," society as a whole shrugs and concludes that it is not a public health concern. A large body of evidence shows that public health interventions work in this area and that they have had a dramatic effect in reducing fatalities and injuries in most high-income countries, whereas low- and middle-income countries bear the brunt of the burden due to the dizzying array of vehicles that clog the streets, including cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, and even animals. On roadways without lights, there are few, if any, barriers separating traffic. Commuters pile into unstable truck beds, ride several deep on motorcycles, and sit on bicycle handlebars without seatbelts, appropriate child restraint systems, or helmets. Regardless of these concerns, the result should not be regarded as an?"accident." It would be a huge mistake to think of crash deaths in this way. Traffic-related injuries and deaths can be dramatically reduced by improvising laws based on evidence. The importance of human behavior cannot be overstated. The World Health Organization has identified five behavioral risk factors, including excessive speeding, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and inappropriate use of helmets, seat belts, and kid restraints (WHO). Even the?behavioral risks, with the help of regulation and technology, can be mitigated. Laws prohibiting harmful behavior?are beneficial, particularly when they enforce what the World Health Organization refers to as "best practice" legislation.

These public health hazards can be prevented, but only if the government, citizens, and the media all work together to allocate resources, establish legislation, conduct public awareness campaigns, and stretch the technology that has been proven to be beneficial in other countries. To execute that, it is necessary to?acknowledge that these instances are not accidents, but rather the predictable outcome of our collective failure to prioritize road safety.??

Lately, the Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) has begun working on road safety issues and has taken initiatives to sensitize the responsible personnel from the ministry, and the relevant departments to amend the Road Transport Act-2018. In continuation, the ministry of Road Transport and Bridges, Bangladesh is already working on the recommendations for the ACT which DAM has submitted. DAM- Health Sector’s project “Advocacy for Stronger Road Safety Legislation in Bangladesh” has been celebrating different national and international days for the last two years including National Road Safety Day- 2021, World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims-2021, and UN Global Road Safety Week-2021 through different social media campaigns, road decorations, human chains, discussion meetings with road safety-relevant stakeholders, and candlelight ceremonies as well to educate people about the road safety issues as a preventable health concern.

?

Dr. Tasnim Mehbuba Bandhan

Advocacy Officer (Policy)

Health Sector

Dhaka Ahsania Mission

Published on: The Daily Observer, 09 February 2022