Road Safety Is No Accident

TRANSPORTATION/PUBLIC WORKS/HEALTH PROMOTION -Road Safety Is No Accident

Road Safety Is No Accident is the theme of World Health Day 2004, Wednesday, April 7, and it's a message supported by road safety advocates across Nova Scotia.

"Although road collisions are reported as accidents, most are preventable," said Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works. "Impaired driving is a factor in one of every four road users killed in Nova Scotia, and the non-use of seatbelts is a factor in an equal number of deaths. Clearly, nothing is more important than individual choices when it comes to road safety."

Raising awareness of the economic costs and health and social impacts of road traffic injuries is a specific objective of World Health Day 2004, and Mr. Russell said costs are higher than most people think.

"We've had some success in reducing the number of collisions, but the long-term costs are enormous for both the victims and their families, and for our health-care services," he said. "Last year, 70 Nova Scotians died on our roadways. That's 70 too many."

The minister cited a report titled the Economic Burden of Unintentional Injury in Atlantic Canada, released by the Atlantic Network for Injury Prevention last year, that found unintended injuries cost Nova Scotians $372 million in 1999. Motor vehicle crashes accounted for $74 million.

The economic toll is huge, but even bigger is the toll injuries take on peoples' lives.

"The reality of road collisions is that it's a matter of life and death," said Dr. John Tallon, emergency physician and medical director for both the Nova Scotia Trauma Program and the QEII Trauma Service. "Each day I see patients come into the emergency room with injuries from motor vehicle crashes that could have been prevented had people made different choices -- driven slower, worn a seatbelt, not had that drink."

The recently developed provincial injury prevention strategy will reduce injury in Nova Scotia by addressing three main causes - motor vehicle collisions, falls and self-inflicted injury. Implementation of the strategy is being led by the Office of Health Promotion in conjunction with other government departments -- including Transportation and Public Works -- and many non- government organizations.

"Improving the health of Nova Scotians includes protecting them from injury -- at home, at work and on the roads," said Health Promotion Minister Rodney MacDonald. "We're the only province with an injury prevention strategy that will improve collaboration on initiatives to reduce injury across Nova Scotia and ultimately, save lives."

The World Health Organization says a key to a successful road safety program is to engage government and private sector groups in co-ordinated programs of road safety research, development and implementation. Nova Scotia's own Road Safety Advisory Committee includes members of non-profit organizations, government, industry, policing and others, and leads the way to improving road safety in this province. The committee is guided by Road Safety Vision 2010, a national plan that aims to reduce the number of road users killed and seriously injured across Canada by 30 per cent by 2010. Alcohol countermeasures, occupant restraint, driver behaviour, and pedestrian, bicycle and motorcycle safety are its main areas of concern.

"We've taken a number of steps over the years to reduce traffic injury, including strong messages about driver choices, police enforcement, improved vehicle safety standards, and highway design. Government programs, such as mandatory seat belts and graduated licensing contribute to safety, but there are still far too many preventable injuries," said Mr. Russell.

This is the first time in its 56 years that the World Health Organization (WHO) has selected road safety as the focus of World Health Day. WHO has reported that 1.2 million people are killed annually in road collisions -- 3,000 people around the world every day with an additional 140,000 injured.

In Canada, as in Nova Scotia, traffic fatalities peaked in the early 1970s. WHO has reported that since that time, Canada's population has grown by 40 per cent, and the number of vehicles has increased by 80 per cent. Despite this increased mobility, the number of traffic fatalities has been cut by more than half.