Last month two teenagers were killed in a tragic accident when they were hit by a car as they walked by the road on their way home. This tragic scenario and similar situations are sadly more common than we think.
Deaths caused by road traffic accidents are apparently falling with last years total at its lowest since 1928 when records began. However, road traffic accidents are one of the “leading causes of death and disability in the under 35s”, as well as being the “most common cause of head injuries”. Although it is reassuring to know that fewer accidents are fatal there were still 247,780 casualties from road accidents in 2007, 2,946 of whom were killed which is a staggeringly high number. Since road traffic accidents are such a major issue many people are investigating the causes and preventions to help bring the figures down even further.
Most of us are familiar with campaigns to reduce speeding, for example “twenty’s plenty” around schools and the TV advert: “hit me at 40mph and there’s an 80% I’ll die, hit me at 30mph and there’s and 80% chance I’ll live”. Now we have 7000 speed cameras across the country and speeding only accounts for 3% of road traffic accidents. To help crack down even further on speeding motorists, residents in Norwich have been given radar speed guns to record speeding vehicles. Those caught speeding are reported to the police and receive warning letters. This method is thought to help the community work together to keep their area safe.
However, human error and risk-taking have been cited as one of the main causes of road traffic accidents. Things such as tail-gating, which reduces your time to react and makes you dependant on the car in front reacting in time, accounts for 7% of accidents. Changing lanes at slow speed is “counter-productive” and increases the risk of an accident and all because you think the other lane is moving faster, in truth it probably isn’t!
Police on the Isle of Man are targeting motorists who use hand-held mobiles while driving, “last year, being distracted behind the wheel caused 54 road traffic accidents”. They have put up roadside messages with a maximum penalty of £1000 for any motorist caught using a mobile. The Think campaign has a similar message: “missing a call won’t kill you”, the implication being that taking a call while driving could.
Another major cause is drink-driving and more recently drug-driving. Now that the technology is available police have been able to pick up drink-drivers by using breathalysers and in 2007 deaths from drink-driving fell 18% to 460. However, drugs are much harder to pick up and the number of deaths due to drug-driving has increased to 64 in 2007. Because they are so hard to detect police feel that their full effect is not reflected or even apparent because an accident is more likely to be attributed to drink-driving or other causes which are easier to detect.
Although deaths on the roads are at their lowest, the number is still tragically high, with many of the causes preventable as they are due mainly to human error. Road safety should be, and in the majority of cases is, a priority to help protect everyone: motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and children. Simple things such as sticking to speed limits, switching your phone off, leaving a 2 second gap can all help to prevent accidents by increasing reaction times and focusing your attention on the road.