Patterns of Road Traffic Injuries: An Epidemiological Perspective

Abstract

Numerous measures aimed at improving road safety are being implemented in various countries. These include improving the road network, setting speed limits, harmonizing vehicle sizes and configurations to meet new safety requirements, introducing seat belt regulations, and conducting awareness-raising campaigns and developing legislation to improve driver behavior. Of particular importance is the adoption of strict and vigorous measures to identify and prohibit driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. These measures have significantly reduced the number of accidents and injuries. Traffic congestion on roads and routes continues to increase. Particular problems arise in many large cities, where population growth and industrial development lead to congestion due to competition and the struggle for an increasingly limited ""place in the sun."" Addressing these issues will require changes in lifestyles and patterns in urban areas, and in some cases, efforts at the regional planning level will be required. The rapid increase in automobile injuries justifies classifying it as a problem of significant social significance worldwide. While medical science has developed effective measures to combat many diseases, road accidents have reached the proportions and nature of a new ""epidemic,"" requiring public health interventions equivalent to those required for true epidemics. Preventing traffic accidents is in everyone's best interests, but special attention should be paid to motor vehicle drivers, as they can endanger not only their own lives but also the lives of other road users. People must be made aware that driving a motor vehicle is a privilege, not an inalienable right, and that this privilege can and should be revoked in cases where the right to use it poses a threat to others. The development of the problem should, first of all, include statistical reviews made on various grounds. According to global statistics, approximately 300,000 people die and over 8 million are injured on the world's roads every year, which is equivalent in terms of the number of casualties to a permanent state of large-scale war, continuing year after year