Advocacy & Safety - Over a million killed on world's roads

Over 1.2m people are killed in road traffic accidents around the world each year, according to a report.

Figures from the World Health Organization and the World Bank suggest another 50m people may be left injured by crashes annually.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3603439.stm

About the only thing surprising about those statistics is that the numbers are so low. It does make one wonder, however. If those numbers were killed by any other cause, would the generally indifferent reaction we now see be the same?

Over 1.2m people are killed in road traffic accidents around the world each year, according to a report.

Figures from the World Health Organization and the World Bank suggest another 50m people may be left injured by crashes annually.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3603439.stm
ssshhh...

...don't say a word...

I read somewhere a few years ago (can't remember the source) that since the first car ever made to the end of the year 2000 more than 100 million people would have died due to car accidents world wide. A number greater than every war ever fought.

CHEERS.

Mark

I wonder how many people are saved by police cars, ambulances, fire engines, blood mobiles, electrical service trucks, OTR's full of veggies from Mexico, UPS vans delivering affordable comfort bikes to LBS's for diabetics....yada yada?

Civilization: It’s a *****. ;)

If those numbers were killed by any other cause, would the generally indifferent reaction we now see be the same?

It's all about risk perception...driving and smoking and eating fatty foods all kill you, but they are part of *daily life* - so it's OK!!! ;)

It's all about risk perception...driving and smoking and eating fatty foods all kill you, but they are part of *daily life* - so it's OK!!! ;)

Well, I can understand that. Most people who smoke or eat fatty foods, know the risk they are running but the consequences are a long way off and the benefits are right now.

I suppose that careless driving habits are a bit like Russian Roulette. One's chance of getting in an accident as a result of a lapse are relatively and you have always gotten away with it in the past...

But really, it seems from my reading of the statistics that most of the serious accidents involve intoxicated drivers, people falling asleep or people using driving practices that verge on the insane.

For example, a certain number of people are killed every year at railroad crossings. Now, I would have predicted that most of those occur at crossings with no warning lights or crossing barrier (the gate that swings down when a train is coming).

I have gone around a gate that is down a few times whilst driving a car, but I always made VERY sure that the gate was down because of a barely moving train a safe distance away.

Amazingly enough, the majority of fatalities at railroad crossings occur because people are going around gates in an attempt to beat the train to the crossing. These people are risking their lives to save what 2 minutes? They are clearly dern fools. Our local paper advocates putting up barriers that makes driving around impossible. I don't know if that is a good idea. I wonder if the drivers are that foolish if their demise at railroad crossings might be a public benefit? Mightn't such foolish and impatient people end up killing themselves and other people in an accident somewhere else? At least at the railroad crossing, they only kill themselves (and anyone unfortunate enough to be their passengers).

I wonder how many people are saved by police cars, ambulances, fire engines, blood mobiles, electrical service trucks, OTR's full of veggies from Mexico, UPS vans delivering affordable comfort bikes to LBS's for diabetics....yada yada?

The old saying suggests that one "can't have their cake and eat it, too". Personally I disagree with the old saying. This is a case in point. What the statistics don't mention is the old 80/20 rule (i.e. 80% of ***** comes from 20% of the population). I believe it can be applied to this principle, too. We could still have all of the benefits described above, without anywhere near as much death to go with it, if any politician ever had the guts to make an effort to eliminate the incompetent from the equation.

Perhaps driving should just be left to the professionals.

Perhaps driving should just be left to the professionals.

Absolutely... or have all drivers act professionally. The world of aviation learned this lesson early on when regarding the aspects of safety. One of the things that has always stuck in my head from my earliest flight training was when my instructor said to me during a preflight walk-around, "always act professionally... even if you're not a professional."

The number would be a lot higher if not for medical advances. It is more dangerous on the roads now than ever before.

>>>>>The WHO-World Bank joint report sets out specific measures aimed at reducing deaths from road traffic accidents. These include providing affordable public transportation and safe crossings and paths for pedestrians. <<<<

Folks. I guess the World Bank is going to have real tough time convincing the U.S. and most industrial nations we need more bus and rail transport. Mass transit is the way to go but we are headed in to opposite direction. Only 1 out of 7 dollars is spent mass transit in the U.S. and I expect this figure to decrease in the near future.

Road development is considered "progress" and once a nation is on this addiction, they are stuck building more and more road in order to keep the economy afloat. In the U.S., states are increasing the speed limit to 65 and 75 MPH under the pretense that speed does not kill. The motorists think everyone can handle the speed but all you have to do is put a drunk driver, a tired trucker, a drug addict, a teenager, a nearly blind senior and woman with a loaded mini van with kids all moving on the same road at 75 MPH and we have the potential for disaster! USA Today reported that those states which increased the speed limit witnessed more fatalities a year later. The whole thing is insane.

I know a cheap way to decrease deaths on the road by 50%. Lower the speed limit to 45 MPH! Seriously. Have all the auto manufacturers built into the electronics so that it would be impossible to exceed 45 MPH. It can be done folks.

I know I'm dreaming and who cares anyway. It's only 1 million right? That's not alot.. When it reaches 100 million a year give me a call.

On our local news the other day the number of crashes in our province went from 77 in 2002 down to 63 in 2003.

According to this website http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/ fatalities have been decreasing since 1983 (4216) up to the latest stats taken in 2002 (2936).

Sooo, cars are getting safer...for the occupants anyway.

According to the same website above the most deaths occur on sunny summer days, because people are driving faster, so when they have a smack up the speed kills 'em.

However, the most ACCIDENTS occur on snowy days but there are LESS fatalities. The reason for this is because due to the weather and slippery roads people are (generally) driving slower hence, less deaths from high speed.

So, what does this tell everybody? What would make our roads safer?

SLOW THEM DOWN!

Digger

On our local news the other day the number of crashes in our province went from 77 in 2002 down to 63 in 2003.



Good... I'm glad fatal acccidents have dropped in Canada..... For now!

Folks.. China is putting 1 million new cars on the road each year and you don't think they're going to have more fatalities? I can assure you, there will be millions of new motorists on the road so there the numbers will increase with each new car on the road. As the population ages, there will be millions of seniors on the road with very poor vision and slow reactions riding right along with you. Did I forget to mention there will be MORE trucks accidents on the road since trucking is a function of an ever increasing population. With the population increasing over the next 50 years will also mean more drunks on the road too. I can go on and on.

The way I see it, this problem will not go away because you can never build a fool proof car that can withstand the accidents motorist get into each day. In fact, the motorist are buying bigger cars because it has become survival of the fittest on the freeway.

I have no idea when it's going to end but speeds are increasing and the car companies keep developing vehicles with greater horsepower that can go from 0 to 60 in fewer and fewer seconds. The car companies have new models today that can run quite comfortably at 100 MPH and these are not sports cars! It's insane and the pubic is buying the lastest "Fast and the Furious" model so they can burn rubber on todays city streets.

ya'll think we'll ever have one of those nice freeways like on minority report?