WHO Forecasts Global Surge in Traffic Deaths, Disability

Traffic accidents will become the third biggest cause of premature death and disability around the world by 2020, according to a report released Wednesday by the World Health Organization and the World Bank.

About 1.2 million people are killed in road accidents each year and 50 million are injured or disabled, the United Nations’ health agency said in its first report on road safety in more than 40 years. The report, issued in conjunction with World Health Day, kicks off a yearlong focus on the issue.

Unless immediate action is taken, the report forecast, accidents will kill more than 2.3 million people annually -- most of them pedestrians, cyclists and public transportation users in low- and middle-income countries -- by 2020.

As growing global prosperity puts more vehicles on the road and the population of many nations continues to expand, traffic fatalities in low- and middle-income countries are expected to increase 83%, but they are likely to decline 27% in high-income countries, where safety standards are typically strict and strictly enforced.

Currently, traffic accidents rank ninth among causes of premature death and disability, the report said. By 2020, they will be outranked only by heart disease and depression.

Even though higher-income countries have larger per-capita numbers of motor vehicles, low- and middle-income countries have more traffic-related injuries and fatalities, the WHO said. High-income countries are defined as having per-capita income of $9,076 or higher; middle income indicates per-capita income of $736 to $9,075, and low income is $735 or below.

Latin American and Caribbean nations had the highest traffic fatality rate in 2000, with 26.1 deaths occurring per 100,000 persons; that figure is expected to rise to 31 by 2020. The Middle East and North Africa followed with 19.2, with a predicted increase to 22.3. South Asia’s rate -- 10.2 in 2000 -- is expected to reach 18.9.

More than 1 million people died because of traffic-related injuries in low- and middle-income countries in 2002, compared with about 117,000 in high-income countries. Pedestrians and cyclists -- with and without engines -- have the highest rates of road mortality. They make up the majority of traffic in poor and middle-income countries.

Currently, the WHO said, road accidents in low- and middle-income countries exact a cost of $65 billion annually -- more than the U.S. spends in development assistance.

To minimize traffic fatalities, the WHO recommends that every country establish a lead agency to coordinate traffic safety efforts, such as the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration in the United States.

In addition, the U.N. agency suggests:

* Incorporating safety features into land-use and transportation planning, such as safer, shorter pedestrian and bicycle routes as well as road design.

* Establishing and enforcing speed limits.

* Establishing and enforcing laws requiring the use of seat belts, child restraints and helmets.

* Setting and enforcing blood-alcohol concentration limits for drivers.

* Requiring daytime lights for two-wheeled vehicles.

* Requiring all vehicles to be designed for crashworthiness.

A related study released Wednesday by the Pan-American Health Organization noted that in the United States, motor vehicle accidents have become the leading cause of death for Latino males younger than 34.

Dr. Joxel Garcia, the organization’s deputy director, attributed the high rate to a lack of seat belt use, explaining that because seat belts are absent in most cars in Latin America, immigrants from the region are unaccustomed to buckling up.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Vehicle fatalities around the world

According to a World Health Organization report, by 2020 traffic accidents will become the third leading cause of death and disability around the world, accounting for an estimated 2.3 million fatalities annually. The current figure is 1.2 million.

Estimated mortality caused by road traffic injury in 2002*, by region (Rate per 100,000 population)

African Region 28.3 Eastern Mediterranean Region 26.3 Southeast Asian Region 18.6 Western Pacific Region 17.7 Region of the Americas 15.7 European Region 14.5

*Latest year available Sources: World Health Organization, World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention