WHO COLLABORATING CENTRE The Road Ahead Traffic Injuries and Fatalities in India

The road ahead: Traffic injuries and fatalities in India “Too often, road safety is treated as a transportation issue, not a public health issue, and road traffic injuries are called “accidents, ” though most could be prevented. As a result, many countries put far less effort into understanding and preventing road traffic injuries than they do into understanding and preventing diseases that do less harm. Every day as many as 140 000 people are injured on the world’s roads. More than 3,000 die and some 15,000 are disabled for life. Each of those people has a network of family, friends, neighbours, colleagues or classmates who are also affected, emotionally and otherwise. Families struggle with poverty when they lose a breadwinner or have the added expense of caring for disabled family members.” Dr. LEE Jong-wook, WHO Director-General (1)