New Delhi: Road accidents will be one of
the leading causes of death in South East Asia by 2030, a
report released by the World Health Organisation says.
According to the WHO findings, 33 people are killed
every hour in road accidents in the region and the number of
injured in such mishaps is also rising over the years.
"Road traffic injuries were the ninth leading cause of
death in 2004 and will rise to fifth position by the year
2030," Samlee Plianbangchang, WHO regional director for
south-east Asia, said.
Almost two-thirds of the people who die in road
traffic crashes every year in the region are motorcyclists,
pedestrians and cyclists, he said, citing a WHO study.
WHO concentrated on five major factors to find out the
causes of road accidents. They include driving at a high
speed, not using seat belts, helmets and child restraint
usage and drunken driving.
Only three countries in the region have drink-driving
laws that use a blood-alcohol concentration limit of less than
or equal to 0.05g/dl, as recommended by WHO.
Helmet laws exist in more than 90 per cent of the
countries in the region but only 60 per cent stipulate that
helmets need to meet a specific safety standard, the study
found.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, November 13, 2009, 21:13