Book Description

Road space is shared by multiple vehicles (i.e. cars, taxis, buses, trucks, motorcycles, and mopeds), pedestrians, animals and many other categories of travellers. Easy availability of motor vehicles and advancements in their technology has made road travel easy; on the other hand, this has also resulted in a significant increase in the number of motor vehicle related injuries. Road traffic related injuries remain an important public health problem globally. It has been estimated that approximately 1.25 million people succumb to road traffic injuries annually worldwide, and between 20 and 50 million people sustain non-fatal injuries. It is a cause of great concern that 59% of the severely injured population is young adults aged between the age of 15 and 44 years. At present, globally road traffic injuries are ranked as the eighth leading cause of mortality, and if the current trends continues, it is expected to be the seventh leading cause of mortality at the global level by 2030. Road traffic safety is one of the most significant concerns of the United Nations and a 5-tiered approach has been proposed to combat traffic accidents and fatalities. This includes improvements in health care services focusing on injury care, road safety management, road network safety, vehicular safety, and implementation of road safety legislation. Changes in practices like speed control, use of seatbelts and helmets, respecting traffic signals and signs, avoiding drunken driving (or use of drugs), following traffic rules (lane driving) and avoiding mobile phones while driving are some of the behavioural changes that can bring about a significant reduction in the number of road traffic related injuries. The present book consists of fifteen chapters related to various aspects concerning road traffic and safety, including epidemiology of road traffic injuries, occupant protection and safety devices, risk factors, a manual of safety measures, road safety in hilly terrain and conflict zones, prevention of head injuries, the role of alcohol and bicycle related injuries. The authors hope that the book shall help the readers to get an overview of various aspects related to global road traffic and safety.