The World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims is commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year. The day is supposed to promote road safety and pay tribute to the victims, their families, dedicated emergency crews, rescuers, police and medical professionals who deal with the traumatic aftermath of road crashes. The Global Plan for Decade of Action focuses on a holistic approach to road safety, including transport policies and designs of cities, roads and vehicles, enforcement of laws and timely provision of life-saving emergency care for the injured. It aims to achieve the 50% road casualty reduction target all the while putting focus on justice that is related to traffic law enforcement through investigation after a crash and to prevent the recurrence, criminal prosecution and civil compensation.
The UN Road Safety Fund has called road death and injuries a silent epidemic as every year, approximately 1.35 million people die due to accidents. Worldwide, road fatalities have become the leading cause of the death of children and young adults and the seventh leading cause of death in low-income countries. Besides, world over, every 25 seconds someone dies on the road as per the World Health Organization (WHO). More than half of those deaths are associated to motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians.
In Pakistan, WHO organided road safety workshops and highlighted the contributing factors of road traffic crashes, which includes safety management, safer roads and mobility, safer vehicles, and efficient post-crash response in order to reduce the increasing burden of disease due to accidents in Pakistan. An accident occurs every 1.45 minutes Rescue 1122 alone manages an average of a thousand road traffic crashes daily in Punjab. The evidence based recommended steps to improve road safety in Punjab are to reduce the maximum speed limit of motorcycles to 30 kilometers per hour, dedicate a motorcycle lane, standardise user friendly helmets and ensure enforcement.
According to statistics, Punjab Emergency Service Rescue 1122 responded to over 3.4 million crashes in Punjab since its inception in 2004 and emergency data revealed that 80% of accident victims are associated with motorbikes. An average of a thousand families got traumatised daily when the sole breadwinner of the house gets injured or dies in road crashes. If we were to take preventive measures related to motorbike accidents, it would mean that 80% of all victims can be saved from such accidents and injuries. Despite of having an excellent post-crash response to road traffic crashes due to Rescue 1122 and the motorbike rescue service, there is a serious need to work on road security. The management of emergency service under the leadership of Dr. Rizwan Naseer, Director General, is highly committed to take tangible steps to promote road safety.
Post-crash response was provided with emergency ambulance but now motorbike rescue service with trained paramedic and healthcare staff reaches the site of the incident within 4 minutes, which significantly contributed to road crashes. Besides that, the community is being trained under the Pakistan Lifesavers Program on essential lifesaving skills of Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and bleeding control. These two skills help to save lives in emergencies specially road traffic crashes, where victims are at high risk due to excessive blood loss and cardiac arrest.
Reducing speed or driving at low speed is a responsibility all citizens should adhere to and it must be practiced in true letter and spirit to reduce 50% of all accident related injuries by 2030. Many road crashes occur due to irresponsible behavior. The violation of traffic rules, over speeding, impaired driving, no use of helmet and seat belt, no use of side mirrors, and use of cell phone while driving increase risk of accidents. It’s time to realise that we all should abide by traffic rules, discourage underage driving, wear helmets, fasten seat belts, refrain from using mobiles during driving, maintain vehicles and keep a safe distance from the next vehicle because it’s better to be safe than sorry. Do not forget that the civilised nations are recognised by organized traffic. We, as responsible citizens, play our roles and behave responsibly to contribute to road safety.