The Serious Road Traffic Accidents Worldwide - Dissertation Example

The impact of the injuries on those who suffer from major incapacitation represents significant disability which may cause them to quit their work and rely on full-time assistance to carry out their daily activities. For the breadwinners in the family, it represents a loss of income and reliance on additional healthcare services which implies even more financial burdens on the family. These issues only represent a small aspect of the bigger problem of road traffic accidents. The following discussions shall cover in detail the global statistics and elements relating to road traffic accidents.

2.2 Current state and general statistics About 1.24 million have been estimated to perish from road accidents worldwide yearly, with 20 to 50 million suffering from nonfatal injuries due to these road accidents (WHO, 2013). Such fatalities and injuries have been known to impact significantly families, families who often suffer major life-altering changes because of these injuries or fatalities. The WHO (2013) also reports that road injuries have been counted as the 8th leading cause of death worldwide; these estimates are similar to death rates caused by communicable diseases (WHO, 2009).

Such road accidents are also considered the primary cause of death for teens and young adults aged 15 to 29 years. Injuries incurred at a very young age have a major impact on these individuals at being or entering the most productive period of their life. Figure 2.1: Estimated increase in road traffic accidents deaths (WHO 2013) Families who are already financially challenged are often the families affected the most due to the medical costs and the lost wages resulting from the injuries. Road traffic injuries also represent significant financial costs to developing countries with injuries costing about 1-2% of the gross national product (WHO, 2013).

Even with the significant impact seen from road traffic accidents, the general health agendas for concerned countries have not considered road traffic safety a priority (Puvanachandra, et.al., 2012). As a result, funding relating to any necessary interventions has not sufficiently matched the demands of the issue. This is even more unfortunate in the face of the fact that road accidents are very preventable and evidence indicating the efficacy of preventive measures has been extensive (Kurppa, 2012).

Road traffic injuries are even increasing, especially in low-income nations where their figures are about double the rates for developed countries. This can be credited to the fast pace of motorization in developing countries, without the commensurate adjustments and changes in road safety measures, (Kurppa 2012). Although road traffic incidents have been decreasing in developed states, the high rates of road traffic crashes in developing states have still pushed the global rates of road traffic accidents higher.

In fact, the current trends in road traffic injuries indicate that where no safety measures would be implemented, by 2030, road traffic injuries would be the fifth leading cause of death in both developed and developing countries (WHO, 2013). Nonetheless, reports from various countries indicate success stories in the prevention of road accidents, mostly assisted by coordinated national efforts.