Citation

Hammad Ali SM, Aasim N, Malik A. J. Pak. Med. Assoc. 2022; 72(3): 400-403.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Pakistan Medical Association)

DOI

10.47391/JPMA.22-017

PMID

35320213

Abstract

Trauma from road traffic accidents (RTA) is the leading cause of mortality among children and adults up to the age of thirty. Currently, almost one and a half million annual deaths are attributed to RTA trauma with over 90% of the deaths being reported from low- and middle-income countries.1 In Pakistan, almost 26,000 casualties from 50,283 RTAs have been registered in the past five years, however a much larger number was reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016, which estimated 14.3 annual deaths per 100,000 population.2,3 Seemingly, a higher number of mortality from RTAs in the developing countries can be attributed to factors such as lack of adherence towards traffic rules, violation of speed limits, vehicular overloading, low-quality vehicles with less safety features, increased traffic density due to abundance of motorcycles, and inadequate post-accident trauma care. In addition to this, faulty road infrastructure and poor road designs including the malfunctioning signals, crossings, turns, intersections and curves are a frequent cause of recurring RTA mishaps at particular locations. Therefore, road safety management is becoming a global concern with the ever-growing population, increasing number of motor vehicles and vulnerable road users. The WHO's estimated cost of RTAs in low- and middle-income countries is around 3% of the gross domestic product which is alarming for the authorities.1 Also, the burden of RTA trauma on the healthcare system of Pakistan is enormous, which is struggling with myriad of issues...

Language: en