Road traffic fatalities increasing globally

Abu Dhabi:The global burden of road traffic fatalities is increasing worldwide, with the majority of lives being lost among younger people, international health and safety experts warned in the capital on Tuesday.

The impact on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is even more pronounced, where road traffic fatalities are between the second and fourth leading causes of death at present, said Tony Bliss, global road safety advisor at Australia-based Monash University.

“What is even more worrying is that in developed countries, road traffic fatalities fell from being the ninth leading cause of death in 1990 to the 17th leading cause in 2010. In all GCC countries however, these fatalities have become more of a concern during the period, and have even become the leading cause of death in Qatar,” Bliss said, citing reports by the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

In the UAE, the reports show that road crashes have been the second leading cause of death between 1990 and 2010. Moreover, they are the top killer among people aged between one and 39 years.

Dr Hala Sakr, violence and injury prevention and disabilities official at the World Health Organisation, also highlighted that 45 per cent of all road traffic fatalities in the Eastern Mediterranean Region affect vulnerable road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.

“We have however seen a 30 per cent drop in road deaths in the UAE between 1970 and 2009, and this is impressive,” she said.

The WHO official also called for countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and the GCC to establish comprehensive laws regarding child restraints, seat belt use and speeding, and to strengthen enforcement by coordinating between various traffic and transport entities.