Road accidents kill more kids, young adults globally than illness
Dipak K Dash | TNN | Dec 8, 2018, 06:09 ISTHighlights
- Global road fatalities have swelled to 1.35 million in 2016 from 1.25 million in 2013: WHO data
- Between 2013 and 2016, no low-income country could reduce road deaths while some reductions were observed in 48 middle- and high-income countries
Representative imageNEW DELHI: Road accidents claim at least one life every 23 seconds across the globe. And, according to the Global Status Report on Road Safety, India retains the dubious distinction of reporting the maximum number of road fatalities.
The report, prepared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and released on Friday, shows how global road fatalities have swelled to 1.35 million in 2016 from 1.25 million in 2013. Of these, WHO adds, one in every nine fatalities were reported in India. It also said that road traffic injury is now the No.1 cause of death among children and young adults aged 5–29 years, signalling a need for a shift in the current child health agenda, which has largely neglected road safety.
The spike in road deaths has come as a shocker considering that countries around the world had pledged to halve their road deaths by 2020 with United Nations declaring 2010-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety. “These deaths are an unacceptable price to pay for mobility,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, adding that “there is no excuse for inaction” as this is a problem with “proven solutions”.
Although data shared by India’s road transport ministry with WHO cites the death toll in the country at about 1.51 lakh in 2016, the global agency has estimated it to be higher at nearly 3 lakh, pointing to a huge gap between police and hospital data. The latest road accident report, for 2017, has estimated fatalities at close to 1.46 lakh, a decline of about 3% over the previous year. “We have been waiting for a stronger road safety law for the past four years. But the more important aspect is enforcement and creating a situation where every violator fears getting caught every time,” said K K Kapila of International Road Federation.
According to the WHO report, between 2013 and 2016, no low-income country could reduce road deaths while some reductions were observed in 48 middle- and high-income countries. Overall, the number of deaths increased in 104 countries during this period, including in India.
The report, prepared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and released on Friday, shows how global road fatalities have swelled to 1.35 million in 2016 from 1.25 million in 2013. Of these, WHO adds, one in every nine fatalities were reported in India. It also said that road traffic injury is now the No.1 cause of death among children and young adults aged 5–29 years, signalling a need for a shift in the current child health agenda, which has largely neglected road safety.
The spike in road deaths has come as a shocker considering that countries around the world had pledged to halve their road deaths by 2020 with United Nations declaring 2010-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety. “These deaths are an unacceptable price to pay for mobility,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, adding that “there is no excuse for inaction” as this is a problem with “proven solutions”.
Although data shared by India’s road transport ministry with WHO cites the death toll in the country at about 1.51 lakh in 2016, the global agency has estimated it to be higher at nearly 3 lakh, pointing to a huge gap between police and hospital data. The latest road accident report, for 2017, has estimated fatalities at close to 1.46 lakh, a decline of about 3% over the previous year. “We have been waiting for a stronger road safety law for the past four years. But the more important aspect is enforcement and creating a situation where every violator fears getting caught every time,” said K K Kapila of International Road Federation.
According to the WHO report, between 2013 and 2016, no low-income country could reduce road deaths while some reductions were observed in 48 middle- and high-income countries. Overall, the number of deaths increased in 104 countries during this period, including in India.
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