Road Accidents Prevention & Protection

Presented byB. Rajitha

TAM/ 2013- 028

Definition of Accident

WHO Definition:- unpremeditated event resulting in recognizable damage.

An unexpected occurrence which may involve injury due to collision of vehicle.

Occurrence in a sequence of events which usually produces unintended injury, death or property damage.

ROAD ACCIDENTS Records say that total worldwide death toll

of Tsunami of 2004 was about 230,000.

But the annual worldwide death toll of Road Accidents is 1,200,000 !!! i.e. more than FIVE TIMES THE TSUNAMI TOLL.

One child is killed in Road Accidents, every three minutes in the World.

50 million people worldwide are believed to be injured in road crashes each year, 15 million seriously injured .

Developing countries account for more than 85 per cent of global deaths from road traffic crashes.

HistoryThe world’s first road traffic death involving a motor

vehicle is alleged to have occurred on 31 August 1869. Irish scientist Mary Ward died when she fell out of her

steam car and was run over by it.

Ministry of road transports G.O.I (GOVERNMENT OF INDIA) on road safety states that in india, annual economic losses are as high as 3% of gross domestic product – caused due to road accidents.

It has also released stats about the economic losses caused by road accidents in other nations.

STATISTICS OF ROAD ACCIDENT MORTALITY RATES IN INDIA

THE INCIDENCE OF ACCIDENTAL DEATHS HAS SHOWN AN INCREASING TREND DURING THESE DECADES

Year Average accidental deaths per year

Average Rate of accidental deaths per

year 1971-80 113952 18.8

1981-90 145740 19.2

1991-2000 222840 24.0

2001-2010 310168 27.9

2011 390884 32.3

Most disasturous accidents in our state

As many as 2,640 people lost their lives in 8,400 road accidents reported in the State up to July 21 in 2014.

The 2013 Mahabubnagar bus accident occurred on 30 October when a private Volvo bus on the way from Bangalore to Hyderabad caught fire after hitting a culvert while overtaking a car, killing 45 people and injuring another 7. 

As many as 2,640 people lost their lives in 8,400 road accidents reported in the State up to July 21 in 2014.

According to official figures for 2012, road accidents accounted for 51.9 per cent deaths in Andhra Pradesh against the all-India figure of 37.4 per cent.

In March last year, eight children were killed when a school bus lost control and plunged into a canal in Khammam district.

FACTORS BEHIND ROAD ACCIDENTS

A study by K. Rumar, using crash reports as data, There are commonly 3 factors behind road accidents.

A. MAN FACTORS 69 % of total accidents

B. MACHINE FACTORS 27 % of total accidents

C. MEDIUM (ROADWAY) FACTORS 4 % of total accidents

Fault of driver - 71.5%

Defect in road condi-tion – 4%

Defective vehicle causes 24.5 %

[A]. HUMAN FACTORS

Human factors in vehicle collisions include all factors related to drivers which cause a collision.

Examples of human factors include driver behavior, visual and auditory ability, decision-making ability, and reaction speed during driving.

Driver impairmentDrivers caused collission factors include:

i. Alcohol consumption

ii. Physical impairment

iii. Youth & Old age

iv. Drugs use

v. Distraction

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

I. Traffic department’s statistics found that in almost 40% of fatally injured drivers, some quantity of alcohol was consumed prior to the collision.

II. It is the most devastating factor which causes fatal damage to public.

Vellore on 25th october

When blood alcohol content is higher than 0.21 grams per 100 ml of blood, the mere chance for cause of an accident will

increase by 35%.

PHYSICAL IMPAIREMENT

Poor eyesight causes accidents.

physical impairment may also be a person’s physical limb inability (handicap), or poor vision, poor ear audibility, etc..,

YOUTH & OLD AGETeens and early twenty-aged drivers have the

highest incidence of both accidents and fatalities among all driving age groups.

This is merely due to their natural aggressive nature and inexperience in driving.

Females in this age group suffer a lower accident and fatality rate than males. Also within this group, the highest accident incidence rate occurs within the first year after they procure a license.

Old age of people also causes road collisions.

This is due to their slower reaction ability and also poor eye-sight, low audibility, and physical weakness.

DRUGS USAGE DURING DRIVING

Illegal or medical narcotic drugs will cause fatigue (weakness) to the drivers.

Illegal drugs like kokkaine, heroin, brown sugar etc.., will cause severe sedativeness.

When drivers are addicts to such drugs, there is every chance for the accident.

Distractions

Research suggests that the driver's attention is affected by distracting sounds such as conversations and operating a mobile phone while driving.

Many jurisdictions now restrict or outlaw the use of some types of phone within the car.

[B]. ROADWAY FACTORS

About 4% of serious crashes are due to the roadway or its environment.

Poor quality roads laid due to corrupt contractors, not erupting signal boards at dangerous turnings, hilly and avalanche like terrains as seen in north indian states like Darjeeling causes road collisions.

AMARNATH

Bus accidents at uttarakhand due to

slippery road and fog

Due to slipperiness and fog at uttarakhand, the bus fell in the river .

Police reported that it was due to fog the driver has speedily driven in to the forest at road turning.

8 people were killed and this was purely due to lack of safety measures, and signal at the turning side of road.

[C]. VEHICLE FACTORS

Some crash types involving vehicular design and maintenance tend to have more serious consequences. 

Rollovers have become more common in recent years, perhaps due to increased popularity of taller  SUVs and minivans.

Rollovers can be fatal, especially if the occupants are ejected because they were not wearing seat belts

SUV’s are sport utility vehicles which have a taller body design. It causes the vehicle to roll-over when they are travelling speedily at turnings, or when sudden brakes are applied.

Vehicles with higher c.o.g will easily topple over easily than the vehicle with low c.o.g

PREVENTIVE & PROTECTIVE MEASURES TO BE TAKEN TO AVOID

ROAD ACCIDENTS

A. It is sure that thousands of lives can be saved, every year,  if the suggestions are implemented worldwide, especially in developing and under developed countries.

Most important method to bring down accidents is strict enforcement of speed limits. 90 % of accidents can be avoided by strict enforcement of speed limits.

Heavy Penalty should be imposed on ALL those who cross speed limits. If this is strictly implemented, nobody will dare to go at high speed.

Diving tests for issue of Driving license is to be made more stringent and foolproof.

License of drunkard drivers and riders should be cancelled immediately.

One way traffic should be implemented in all roads as far as possible.

Wear seat belts. Seat belts are life saving. A statistics has revealed that 63% of those who died in accidents had not strapped on their seat belts.

Reflecters to be used on the rear side of the vehicle.

Lower age limit for two wheeler and Heavy Vehicle license should be raised to 21.

License of those who make serious accidents should be cancelled immediately.

Roads should be properly marked. Sign posts should be provided wherever required.

Helmet should be made compulsory by law in all countries, OR impose a lower speed limit for those who do not use helmet.

Issue of Helmet should be made mandatory with the sale of each two wheeler.

All sorts of Motor sports, especially racing should be banned by government.

All the roads should be maintained properly. Permanent contracts or arrangements should be in place for maintaining all roads in good condition. Because, if a gutter is repaired in time it can save a life !!!

Health of vehicles should be strictly checked and enforced.

• Eyes of old aged driving license holders should be checked at regular intervals.

Foot paths and medians should be made mandatory for all important roads and for all new roads.

Zebra crossings should be provided for pedestrians for safe road crossings at appropriate places.

Signals for road crossings should be provided at important and busy places where a large number of people have to cross the road everyday.

Humps & speed breakers should be provided at all important places like Educational institutions, temples, hospitals and accident prone areas.

Humps should be clearly marked, to avoid accidents.

Methods of permanent nature should be followed in Hump marking. For example white / fluorescent pigmented metal blocks must be used.

Avoid over load and follow rules as per RTA

Prevention of RTA / RTI

What Can We Do?

Summary Outline

Drive without drinking

Reduce driving speed to safe limits.

Drive without using mobile phone or text messaging.