Road traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death worldwide, resulting in over one million deaths per year. India has a particularly high road fatality rate and sees over 150,000 deaths from traffic accidents annually. The risks are greater for certain groups like motorcyclists, young people, and those of low socioeconomic status. Most accidents are caused by human error factors like speeding, distracted driving, and alcohol use, though vehicle and road infrastructure issues also contribute. Prevention efforts include education, enforcement of traffic laws, improving vehicle and road design, and managing land use to reduce risk exposure.

1. Transport Accident Prevention
By Dr. Ashok Laddha
Emergency Medicine
Occupational health physician

2. Content
• Introduction
• Definition
• Epidemiology
• Types of road accident
• High risk group
• Parameters --Probability of accident
• Causes of road traffic accidents
• Preventive Measures and Intervention

3. Introduction
• Road traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality
worldwide
• Accounting for over one million deaths per year.
• Huge impact on disability-adjusted life years.
• It has been predicted that by 2020 global death rates from road traffic
accidents will rise by 67% due to the effect of rapid population growth,
industrialization and an increase in road vehicles.
• The World Health Organization predicts that road traffic injuries would
become the sixth commonest cause of death by the year 2020 and the fifth by
2030.
• This increasing morbidity and mortality rate, particularly in those of working
age group, has devastating consequences for the economic growth of
countries.
• annual average of 700,000 road accidents occurs world wide,
• Over 100,000 people are killed on Indian roads annually.
• By 2020 it is estimated that road traffic accidents would have its fatal effect on
about 55,0000 people annually.

4. Indian Scenario
• India tops the global list
• Road fatality rate –16 /10,000
• 1,50000 deaths occur in India per year
• Upward tend in comparison with china
• The trend is alarming and is leading to a frightening situation day by
day.
• India have only 1% of the worlds vehicle
• Almost 5,00,000 injuries per year due to road traffic accident
• Fatalities and injuries resulting from road traffic accidents are a
major and growing public health problem in India.
• Every week almost more than 3000 people get killed and more
than 12,000 people get injured

5. Definition-1
• A "transport accident" is defined as an incident directly
caused by the driving of a motor car or motor vehicle,
a railway train or a tram
• A traffic accident is any vehicle accident occurring on
the public highway [i.e. originating on, terminating on,
or involving a vehicle partially on the highway]. A
vehicle accident is assumed to have occurred on the
public highway unless another place is specified,
except in the case of accidents involving only off-road
motor vehicles, which are classified as nontraffic
accidents unless the contrary is stated.

6. Road traffic accident
• Road traffic accidents are defined as a collision
involving at least one vehicle in motion on a
public or private road that results in at least
one person being injured or killed
• The unintended collision of one motor vehicle
with another, a stationary object, or person, re
sulting in injuries, death and/or
loss of property

7. Technological Hazards-Transport
accidents
• Disaster type term used to describe
technological transport accidents involving
mechanized modes of transport. It comprises
of four disaster subsets:
• accidents involving air
• Boat
• Rail transport and
• accidents involving motor vehicles OR Motor
bikes on roads and tracks.

8. Parameters
• Following parameters that can define the probability of
an accident and degree of damage------------
1. Rigidity of colliding object
2. Type of collision
3. Vehicle Relative speed before the expected accident
4. Vehicle movement during the accident
5. Number of subsequent collision
6. Vehicle occupation
7. Reaction space etc

9. High Risk Group
• Poor eye vision
• Young
• Old age
• Low socioeconomic
• Motorcyclist
• Drug addict
• Alcoholics etc

10. Road accident deaths by various modes of transport-(Journal of orthopedic,
traumatology and rehabilitation

11. Contributing Factors
• Expansion road network
• Rising population
• surge in motorization
• Low socioeconomic status
• Low literacy rate

12. Causes
• Human/Personnel error
• Mechanical error
• Infrastructure
• Environmental factor
• Other

13. How different factors of Roads contribute in
Accidents
• Drivers:
• Over-speeding,
• rash driving,
• violation of rules,
• failure to understand signs,
• fatigue,
• alcohol.
Pedestrian:
• Carelessness
• illiteracy,
• crossing at wrong places moving on carriageway,
• Jaywalkers.
Passengers:
• Projecting their body outside vehicle,
• by talking to drivers,
• alighting and boarding vehicle from wrong side travelling on footboards,
• catching a running bus etc.

14. How different factors of Roads contribute in
Accidents
Vehicles:
• Failure of brakes or steering,
• tyre burst,
• insufficient headlights,
• overloading,
• projecting loads.
•
Road Conditions:
• Potholes,
• damaged road,
• eroded road merging of rural roads with highways,
• diversions,
• illegal speed breakers.
•
Weather conditions:
• Fog,
• snow,
• heavy rainfall,
• wind storms
• hail storms.

15. Human causes
• Main cause of accidents and crashes are due to
human error
1.Over Speeding
2.Drunken Driving
3.Distractions to Driver
4.Red Light Jumping
5.Avoiding Safety Gears like Seat belts and
Helmets
6.Non-adherence to lane driving and overtaking
in a wrong manner

16. Causes of high accident in India
• Rapid motorization
• Poor road conditions
• Rapid population growth
• lack of safety features in cars
• Crowded roads
• Poor road maintenance
• lack of police enforcement.
• Poor Construction

17. Direct Consequences of Accidents:
• 1 Fatality (Death)
• 2. Injury
• 3. Property Damage

18. Detrimental effects of traffic on environment
• 1. Safety
• 2. Noise
• 3. Land Consumption
• 4. Air Pollution
• 5. Degrading the Aesthetics

19. Major pollutants--------
• Particulate matter (PM). These particles of
soot and metals give smog its murky color. ...
• Hydrocarbons (HC). ...
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx). ...
• Carbon monoxide (CO). ...
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2). ...
• Hazardous air pollutants (toxics). ...
• Greenhouse gases.

20. Types of air pollution due to
transportation
• Air pollution from cars and trucks is split into
primary and secondary pollution.
• Primary pollution is emitted directly into the
atmosphere;
• secondary pollution results from chemical
reactions between pollutants in the
atmosphere. The following are the major
pollutants from motor vehicles:

21. Preventive measures for accidents
• Education and awareness about road safety
• Strict Enforcement of Law
• Engineering:
(a) Vehicle design (b) Road infrastructure

22. Prevention intervention
• Managing risk exposure with land-use.
• Planning and designing roads for safety
• Providing visible, crashworthy, and smart vehicles.
• Setting road and safety rules, securing compliance,
and improving transport policy.