PREVENTION & CONTROL OF ROAD

TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

Presented by: Dr Wani Bosco Fabiano A. (MBBS, MIPH)

LECTURER OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE
UNIVERSITY OF JUBA ,SCHOOL OF MEEDICINE
Jul 12, 2025
LECTURE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lecture the students should be able to

:
1. Define Road traffic accidents
2. Classify Road traffic accidents
3. Understand the burden and epidemiology of Road traffic
accidents
4. Know the risk factors for Road traffic accidents
5. Know the different levels of preventing road traffic
accidents(RTA)
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 CLASSIFICATION OF ACCIDENTS

The classification of accidents according to the International Classification of

Diseases is given below.
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Suicide and self-inflicted injury
• Accidental falls
• Accidents mainly of industrial type
• Accidental drowning and submersion
• Accidental poisoning
• Accidents caused by fires, etc.
• All other accidents.
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 DEFINITION OF ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

Introduction
 Accidents constitute an important cause of preventable
morbidity, mortality and disability.
 Accidents constitute the first leading cause of death for the age
group 5 to 45 years in developing as well as developed
countries and the third leading cause at all ages.
 Road traffic accidents (RTA) are emerging as a major cause of
death in most countries.

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 DEFINITIONS
 Definition:
 Accident has been defined by WHO Advisory Group
(1956) as “unpremeditated event resulting in
recognizable damage” or
 Accident is “an unexpected, unplanned occurrence
which may involve injury”


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 MEASUREMENT OF ACCIDENTS

 Mortality:
 Proportionality mortality rate; the number is deaths due
to accidents per 100 (or 1000) total deaths
 The number of deaths per millions populations
 Death rate per 1000 (or 100,000) registered vehicles per
year
 Number of accident fatalities as a ratio of the number of
vehicles per kilometre or passengers per kilometre
 Death of vehicle occupants per 1000 vehicles per year
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 MEASUREMENT OF ACCIDENTS
 Morbidity: in terms of serious injuries and slight
injuries
 Disability: temporary or permanent, partial or
total

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 THE PROBLEM OF ACCIDENTS

AGENT
 Injuries are classified based on the “intentionality”
 Unintentional injuries: RTA, poisoning, falls, fire
and burn injuries, drowning, and natural disasters
 Intentional injuries; interpersonal violence
(homicide, sexual assault, neglect), self harm,
suicide, and collective violence (war)

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 THE PROBLEM
 Industrialization, increase in transport facilities( rapid
motorization), overcrowding, urbanization and rural
electrification have also brought a number of 'new'
accidents.
 Globally 1.19 million people die each year from RTA
 RTA are the leading cause of death for children and
young adults aged 5-29 years
 92% of the global RTA occurs in low and middle income
countries(LMIC) where 60% of the World’s vehicles are
located 9
 THE PROBLEM
 More than half of the road traffic deaths are among
vulnerable road users:- pedestrians, cyclists, &
motorcyclists
 Road traffic crashes costs 3% of most countries
gross domestic product
 Two thirds (2/3) of the road traffic deaths occurs
among people of working age (18-59)
 Nine in 10 fatalities on the roads occur in LMIC

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 HOST

 Poisoning, drowning, burns, and maltreatment by

caregivers affect primarily young children.
 Road traffic accidents, interpersonal violence and
sports injuries tend to affect older children and
adolescents.
 In addition, injuries tend to be more prevalent in boys.

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 ENVIRONMENT
In the rural areas injuries are mainly due to farming
activities, pesticide poisoning, and drowning.
In the urban areas, most injuries are traffic related, or
linked to gadgets and electrical appliances, falls or
poisonings resulting from household chemicals and
drugs ingested by children.
The environmental factors leading to injury may also
be associated with social factors, such as family
stress and critical life events like hospitalization or
chronic disease 12
 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES TRAFFIC AND THE
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES CAUSING RTA

1. Motorized and nonmotorized vehicles moving in the same

tracks; there is no segregation of vehicles in most streets.
2. Pedestrians are not effectively segregated from traffic;
available footpaths are blocked by street hawkers and
vendors.
3. A high number of old vehicles.
4. Large proportion of two wheelers, tricycles, and scooters
which are unstable by design.
5. Too many overloaded vehicles over speeding past each
other.
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 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES TRAFFIC
AND THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES CAUSING RTA

6. Disregard of traffic rules and regulations.

7. Low driving standards;
8. The practice of crossing the road whenever you
want without waiting for the signal.
9. Defective roads, lack/ poor street lighting, and
speed breakers
10. Unusual behavior of men and animals while on
the road
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 RISK FACTORS IN RTA

Speed: increase in speed is related to the likelihood

of crash occurring and to the severity of the crash .
30km/hr reduce risk in areas with vulnerable groups
Drink-driving: risk of crash injury increases
significantly above a blood alcohol concentration
(BAC) of 0.04g/dl
Motorcycle helmets: wearing correctly reduce the
risk of death by 42% and the risk of severe head
injury by 69%
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 RISKS FACTORS IN RTA

Seatbelts and child restraints: wearing seat-

belts reduces the risk of fatality among front-seat
passengers by 40-50% and of rear-seat passengers
by 25-75%
Distracted driving: distractions caused by use of
mobile phone while driving

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 CAUSES OF RTA

Human factors
Age: most common in children & young adults 5-29 years
Sex: males 3x more likely to be killed in RTA than females
Education:
Socio-economic: highest in WHO African region, lowest in the
European region. Lower socioeconomic status are more likely to
be involved in RTA
Medical condition like sudden illness, heart attack
Fatigue
Psycho-social factors like lack of experience, rosk taking, delay
in decisions
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 CAUSES OF RTA

Environmental factors
Related to road; defective, narrow roads, poor lighting, and
lack of familiarity
Related to vehicle; excessive speed, poorly maintained,
over load and low driving standards, unsafe vehicles
Bad weather, inadequate enforcement of existing laws
Mixed traffic; fast moving, slow, pedestrian and animals
Precipitating factors like emotional tension, alcohol and
drugs
Precipitating factors; social pressure, use of stolen vehicles
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 PREVENTION….

The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030

and the Sustainable development goal (SDG) aims to
reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by at least 50%
by 2030.

The Haddon matrix lists all possible interventions on

the part of the driver, the vehicle and the environment
to avoid an accident/minimize damage.
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 THE HADDON MATRIX
Pre-crash Crash Post-crash
Driver Education regarding safe Mandatory use of personal Emergency management &
driving protection during crash( air rehabilitation
Enforce maximum alcohol balloons, helmets, seat
limit 80mg% in blood to belts)
be safe for driving
Periodic driving test
Medical fitness
examinations
Vehicle Regular check-up of Crash protective designs Vehicles should have an
vehicles emergency exit
Setting speed limits in
busy areas
Environment Improved roads, street The boundaries and railings Accidents and Trauma care
lights of the road should be made centre
collapsible (to reduce
maximum impact during fall) 20
 PREVENTION OF RTA

1. Data Collection: establish a basic reporting

system for all accidents. Carry out surveys and
qualitative studies to bring out the risk factors, the
circumstances, and chain of events leading to the
accident.
2. Safety education: for school children, training of
drivers in safe driving, traffic rules and safety
precautions
3. Promotion of safety measures:
-Seat-belts; it reduces fatal and non-fatal accidents by 50%
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PREVENTION OF RTA

-Safety helmets; reduces head injury by 30% and fatality

by 40%, they also prevent laceration of the scalp
-Others: Use of door locks, proper vehicle design
4. Alcohol and other drugs: impairs driving ability
and increases the risk and severity of accident.
Studies have indicated that alcohol is the direct
cause of 30 to 50 % of severe road accidents
5. Primary care: plan to have services for trauma
and emergency care at accident site
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 PREVENTION OF RTA

6. Elimination of causative factors: improvement of roads,

speed limits, and marking of danger points
7. Enforcement of laws: by state to prevent accidents ,
examples
driving tests,
medical fitness to drive,
enforcement of speed limits,
compulsory wearing of seat-belts,
checking of blood alcohol concentration, road-side breath testing for
alcohol,
regular inspection of vehicles,
periodic re-examination of drivers over 55 years of age. 23
 PREVENTION OF RTA

7. Rehabilitation services: medical rehabilitation,

social rehabilitation, occupational rehabilitation etc to
prevent disability and handicap
8. Accident research or accidentology: to gather
precise information about extent, type, and
characteristics of accidents. Investigating new and
better ways of altering human behavior, making
environment safer and evaluating control measures

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 DOMESTIC ACCIDENTS
 Domestic accidents are accidents that takes place in
the home and in its immediate surroundings, generally
not connected with traffic, vehicles or sport. These
includes:-
 Drowning
 Burns
 Falls
 Poisoning
 Injuries from sharps
 Bites and injuries from animals
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THE END
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