1│ © WHO, 2007

U n i t 1

Magnitude and

impact of road

traffic injuries

2│ © WHO, 2007

Objectives

By the end of this unit, the trainee should be able to:

• describe the global magnitude and trends of road traffic

fatalities;

• discuss the global socioeconomic and health burden of

road traffic injuries;

• describe the magnitude and trends of road traffic injuries

in his or her own country, region or city;

• discuss the socioeconomic and health burden of road

traffic injuries in his or her own country, region or city.

Objectives

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• 1.2 million deaths a year

• 20-50 million are injured

or disabled

• 11th leading cause of

death

• account for 2.1% of all

deaths globally

Copyright Etienne Creux, Pretoria News

Road traffic injuries are a huge public health and

development problem

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Distribution of global injury mortality by cause

Road traffic injuries

account for 23% of all

injury deaths

worldwide

Source: WHO Global Burden of Disease project, 2002, Version 1

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WHO region Low- and middle-

income countries

High-income

countries

African Region

Region of the Americas

South-East Asia Region

European Region

Eastern Mediterranean Region

Western Pacific Region

28.3

16.2

18.6

17.4

26.4

18.5

–

14.8

–

11.0

19.0

12.0

Road traffic injury mortality rate (per 100 000 population) in WHO

regions, 2002

The African Region has the highest mortality rate.

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Road traffic injury mortality rates (per 100 000

population) in WHO regions, 2002

The majority of road traffic deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

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2030 Disease or injury

2002Disease or injury

10. Perinatal conditions10. Road traffic injuries

9. Tuberculosis9. Trachea, bronchus, lung

cancers

8. Road traffic injuries8. Tuberculosis

7. Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers7. Diarrhoeal diseases

6. Diabetes mellitus6. Perinatal conditions

5. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

4. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease4. HIV/AIDS

3. HIV/AIDS3. Lower respiratory infections

2. Cerebrovascular disease2. Cerebrovascular disease

1. Ischaemic heart disease1. Ischaemic heart disease

5. Lower respiratory infections

WHO predicts that road traffic injuries will rise to

eighth place by 2030 as a cause of death

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Source: Kopits E, Cropper M., 2003.

The World Bank predicts that road traffic deaths will increase

by 67% worldwide between 2000 and 2020

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0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1960

1962

1964

1966

1968

1970

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

Years

Fat

alit

y ra

te p

er 1

00 0

00 p

op

ula

tio

n

UK Australia USA

Downward trends in road traffic fatalities in high-income countries

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Upward trends in road traffic fatalities in low-and middle-income countries

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

1961 1971 1981 1991

Years

Tra

ffic

fata

liti

es p

er 1

00 0

00

popu

lati

onBrazil

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Upward trends in road traffic fatalities in low-and middle-income countries

India

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1971 1975 1981 1985 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

Years

Tra

ffic

fata

liti

es p

er 1

00 0

00

popu

lati

on

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Upward trends in road traffic fatalities in low-and middle-income countries

Trinidad and Tobago

0

5

10

15

20

25

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

Years

Tra

ffic

fat

alit

ies

per

100

000

p

opu

lati

on

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Most of those killed are vulnerable road users

Source: Various WHO collaborators in countries

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

USA

Thailand

Colombo, Sri Lanka

South Africa

Netherlands

Malaysia

Kenya

Japan

Bandung, Indonesia

Delhi, India

Ghana

Australia

Pedestrians Bicyclists Motorized 2-wheelers Motorized 4-wheelers Other

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• Half of all global road traffic deaths occur among young adults

between 15 and 44 years of age.

• 73% of all global road traffic fatalities are males.

• In Africa, a third of all road traffic deaths occur among those

aged 5-14 years.

• Males takes more risks as drivers or pedestrians.

• In high-income countries young drivers are disproportionately

represented.

• In low- and middle-income countries, most young victims are

vulnerable road users.

Young adults and males are at greatest risk

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Costs (US $ billion)

The costs of road traffic injuries are enormous

Region Estimated annual crash

GNP 1997 (US $ billion)

GNP (%)

Africa

Asia

Latin America and Caribbean

Middle East

Central and Eastern Europe

370

2 454

1 890

495

659

1

1

1

1.5

1.5

3.7

24.5

18.9

7.4

9.9

Subtotal 5 615 64.5

Highly motorized countries 22 665 2 453.3

Total 517.8

Source: Jacobs G, et al. 2000.

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Economic costs of road traffic injuries to households

• Loss of main breadwinner

• Loss of earnings

• Medical bills, funeral costs, legal bills

• Rehabilitation costs

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• Worldwide, about 1.2 million persons are killed in

road traffic crashes every year.

• 20 million to 50 million more are injured or disabled

in these crashes.

• Road traffic injuries account for 2.1% of global

mortality and 23% of all injury deaths worldwide.

• Road traffic injuries are predicted to rise from tenth

place in 2002 to eighth place in 2030 as a cause of

death.

Key points (1)

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• There are downward trends in road traffic deaths in

high-income countries and increases in most low- and

middle-income countries.

• The global economic cost of road traffic injuries is

about US $ 518 billion per year.

Key points (2)

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Task

Look at the table on the next slide which presents data on estimated

road traffic fatalities per 100 000 population in the WHO African

Region for 2002. Carefully study the table and write down key

features related to the distribution of road traffic fatalities per

100 000 by sex and age.

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Estimated mortalitya caused by road traffic injuriesb in WHO African region

Agec in years Males Females

0–4 18.6 11.0

5–14 42.6 25.5

15–29 27.2 10.0

30–44 53.4 15.0

45–59 65.7 22.1

60 and above 81.9 35.8

Total 39.3 17.4

a Mortality is measured by number of road traffic fatalities per 100 000 population.b Road traffic injury = ICD10 V01–V89, V99, Y850 (ICD9 E810–E819, E826–E829, E929).C Age-standardized.

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Expected results

The purpose of this exercise is to assist trainees to identify and

summarize key elements in the distribution of road traffic fatalities

per 100 000 population for the WHO African Region. They are to

describe variations noted in this indicator by different age groups

for males and females.

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Questions to think about

a) What challenges does your country face as a result of

road traffic crashes?

b) In most countries, road traffic injury costs exceed 1% of

gross national product. This figure is generally

considered to be an underestimate of national road

traffic collision costs. What is the estimated cost of road

traffic injuries in your country? How is this estimate

derived? How often is this estimate updated?

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Questions to think about

c) Conduct a review of literature to establish how much

research has been done on costs of road traffic injuries in

your country. Look for published research on this issue in

both local and international journals. This activity is meant

to equip you with library research skills and capacity to

examine existing literature. You can work on your own, or

with two or three colleagues. Try to summarize the results

and indicate gaps in knowledge that need to be filled.

Consider preparing a manuscript based on your review to

submit to a journal.

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Questions to think about

d) Identify a family you know where someone has been

involved in a non-fatal road traffic collision recently. Seek

permission to gather information on the economic costs

of that crash for that family. Prepare a summary of the

economic costs to the family and immediate society.

Think of ways of using this information to enhance

prevention of road traffic injuries in your local setting.