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Road safety: a public health issue

At the inquest into the world�s first road traffic death in 1896, the coroner was reported to have said �this must never happen again�.¹ More than a century later, 1.2 million people are killed on roads every year and up to 50 million more are injured. These casualties of the road will increase if action is not taken.

Throughout the world, roads are bustling with cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles, mopeds and other types of two- and three-wheelers. By making the transportation of goods and people faster and more efficient, these vehicles support economic and social development in many countries. But while motorized travel provides many benefits, it can also do serious harm unless safety is made a priority. Pedestrians and cyclists using roads are particularly at risk. Crashes are frequent. Deaths and injuries are common.

If current trends continue, the number of people killed and injured on the world�s roads will rise by more than 60% between 2000 and 2020. Most of these injuries will occur in developing countries where more and more people are using motorized transport. In these countries, cyclists, motorcyclists, users of public transport, and pedestrians are especially vulnerable to road traffic injuries.

  AIDS
& BANGLADESH

  ARSENIC
CALAMITY

  DENGUE
FEVER

  ROAD SAFETY
& BANGLADESH

Bangladesh has covered many miles on the road toward reduced fertility and childhood mortality in its first three decades since independence in 1971. It is the only country among the 20 poorest that has recorded a sustained reduction in birth rates over the past 15 years. On average, in the 1990s women had 3.3 birthsone-half the number in 1974. Infant mortality has dropped from about 140 to 88 per 1,000 live births. The government's strategy is now directed toward reducing the high levels of maternal illness and deaths, tackling malnutrition, and consolidating and sustaining the gains already made.

Although Bangladesh had a basic health care infrastructure in the 1980s, much remained to be done, particularly in rural areas, where the majority of the people faced critical health problems. The main dangers to health in the late 1980s were much the same as they were at the time of independence. The incidence of communicable disease was extensive, and there was widespread malnutrition, inadequate sewage disposal, and inadequate supplies of safe drinking water. The fertility rate was also extremely high. Only 30 percent of the population had access to primary health care services, and overall health care performance remained unacceptably low by all conventional measurements. Life expectancy at birth in FY 1985, according to official Bangladesh statistics was estimated at 55.1 years, as opposed to 61 years in comparable developing countries. Morbidity and mortality rates for women and children were high. Infant mortality rates exceeded 125 deaths per 1,000 live births, the maternal mortality rate was 6 per 1,000 live births, and 56.1 percent of infants suffered from chronic malnutrition. More than 45 percent of rural families and 76 percent of urban families were below the acceptable caloric intake level. About two- thirds of all families received insufficient protein and vitamins.