Submitted by Cedric Hughes on Mon, 11/26/2007 - 13:27
Despite all the advances, one of the greatest paradoxes (if not the greatest paradox) of modern life is the extent to which death comes abruptly and violently for so many—in “planes, trains and automobiles”, through war or crime, through heart attack or stroke.
On November 11th Canadians remembered the victims of war and the sacrifices made for the liberties we enjoy today.
Another matter for remembrance, very different in character, but still worthy of consideration, was recently in the news. On Sunday November 18, the “Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims” was supposed to focus attention on road death and injury as a worldwide public health issue. This prompted countries to put major attention on addressing the causes.
The push for the creation of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims came from a UK-based charitable organization called RoadPeace which was formed in 1992 “in response to the desperate need of [road traffic] victims for timely and accurate information, immediate to long term support and practical help and advice with complex and confusing legal procedures.”
“Road deaths and injuries shatter lives,” says RoadPeace and the true scale of road death and injury [in the UK] is far worse than the official statistics record: “based on [UK] hospital (not police) data, the annual number of injured is almost double and serious injuries are three time higher than the reported 40,000”…. and “deaths occurring more than 30 days after the crash are not reflected in the fatality figures.” The Day of Remembrance responds to the “great need of road crash victims for public recognition, which is so readily given to victims of other types of disaster. It also acknowledges the work of all those involved in the aftermath of a crash — fire, police and ambulance personnel, doctors, nurses and counsellors.”
The RoadPeace website records other reasonably current (November 2006) statistics on the scope of the problem. Worldwide: “Over 1.2 million road deaths each year. Over 10 million people permanently disabled. Over 3000 killed EVERY day—equivalent to a daily 9/11 tragedy. 70% of road deaths occur to those under 45 years old. Road traffic injury is second leading cause of ill health and premature death of young men (15-44 years), after HIV/AIDS. For every road death, the World Health Organization estimates … 4 people are permanently disabled, 30 require emergency room treatment and 10 are hospitalized.”
RoadPeace has also addressed the question of the number killed and injured in car crashes since the first death, of Bridget Driscoll, on 17 August 1896. Noting the inadequacies of such record keeping, it quotes Heathcote Williams, from a 1991 publication curiously entitled “Autogedden”:
"17 million dead and counting...more than twice the number in the death camps,
eighteen times the count in Korea, seventeen Vietnams, a hundred and thirty times
the kill in Hiroshima, eight thousand five hundred Ulsters, the hundred years wars
in a week, The Crusade in under thirty seconds”
Another reason for an annual reflection: The booming economies of India and China are starting the mass production of affordable cars, all of which is expected to increase these statistics exponentially.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
