Easy road safety fixes can prevent 5 lakh deaths a year: Lancet study

More than 5 lakh deaths can be averted worldwide every year if governments, especially in low and middle-income economies, adopt evidence-based interventions which target the four key reasons responsible for road-related injuries and deaths – drunk driving, speeding and non-use of helmets and seat belts – according to a new series published in The Lancet magazine.

The series has been published ahead of the United Nations’ high-level meeting on road safety.

According to the authors, adopting proven interventions, targeting the four key risk factors for road injuries in 185 countries would not only save lives but also improve the health and development of individuals and the nations.

Considering that around 1.35 million people are killed in road accidents every year, with a whopping 90 per cent of the deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) alone, the authors said the findings of the series would be helpful in formulating evidence-based road safety rules across the globe.

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The series says that despite global efforts to prioritise road safety and the presence of evidence-based interventions, several LMICs are yet to wake up to the cause and allocate adequate funds for road safety measures.

Keeping this concern in mind, the study calls for increased political and financial commitments and for the inclusion of road safety in mainstream development policies – a must to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Example in rich nations

It, however, says that the implementation of evidence-based interventions has brought down the rate of fatalities in high-income countries.

“Most road traffic deaths are preventable, but sadly the number of fatalities continue to rise in low-income countries while progress in high-income countries has slowed over the past decade,” series coordinator Professor Adnan Hyder from The George Washington University of the US said in a statement.

“With the second United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety (2020-2030) underway, our work for this Series clearly shows that proven road safety measures can save lives in all countries, rich and poor alike. For one of the first times, we provide decision-makers and donors with evidence in one place on the value of implementing specific interventions in every country worldwide,” Hyder said.

Findings of the series

The series analysed data from 74 studies conducted in 185 countries. It found that 25-40 per cent of all fatal road injuries could be prevented if governments focus on four responsible factors that cause road injuries and deaths – speeding, drunk driving, non-use of helmets and non-use of seatbelts.

It said that an intervention such as making infrastructure changes to thwart speeding or implementing electronic speed control, could save 3,47,258 lives every year worldwide. Steps like implementation of stringent rules against drunk driving could save 16,304 lives. As many as 1,21,083 and 51,698 lives could also be saved if stringent rules are enforced to wear seatbelts and helmets while driving.

The degree of benefits would vary from one country to another. An increased use of seatbelts, for instance, would prevent an estimated 14,121 deaths in the US, and 13,228 deaths in China. Similarly, wearing helmets would save the lives of around 13,703 motorists in China, 5,802 in Brazil and 5,683 in India – which has a high frequency of two-wheeler-related injuries.

“We hope that these new estimates provide tangible impetus for the global road safety community to focus on implementing evidence-based interventions, especially in low-and-middle income countries,” said Series’ co-author Dr Andres Vecino-Ortiz from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

He said that the estimates derived by the study can be used by policymakers to set their own rules to minimize road deaths.

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“There have been many successes on road safety at the global level including its inclusion in the (United Nations) Sustainable Development Goals, but the rhetoric has yet to deliver results on the ground,” co-author of the series Dr Margie Peden, head of the Global Injury Programme at the George Institute for Global Health in the UK said.

“A real, sustained decline in global road traffic injuries and deaths will only happen with a focus on implementation of effective interventions and concerted country action,” she added.