Global InformationTraffic collision information
A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision (car crash in case cars are involved in the collision), occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Traffic collisions often result in injury, disability, death, and property damage as well as financial costs to both society and the individuals involved. Road transport is statistically the most dangerous situation people deal with on a daily basis, but casualty figures from such incidents attract less media attention than other, less frequent types of tragedy.[1] The commonly used term car accident is increasingly falling out of favor with many government departments and organizations, with the Associated Press style guide recommending caution before using the term.[2] Some collisions are intentional vehicle-ramming attacks, staged crashes, vehicular homicide or vehicular suicide.
Several factors contribute to the risk of collisions, including vehicle design, speed of operation, road design, weather, road environment, driving skills, impairment due to alcohol or drugs, and behavior, notably aggressive driving, distracted driving, speeding and street racing.
In 2013, 54 million people worldwide sustained injuries from traffic collisions.[3] This resulted in 1.4 million deaths in 2013, up from 1.1 million deaths in 1990.[4] About 68,000 of these occurred with children less than five years old.[4] Almost all high-income countries have decreasing death rates, while the majority of low-income countries have increasing death rates due to traffic collisions. Middle-income countries have the highest rate with 20 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, accounting for 80% of all road fatalities with 52% of all vehicles. While the death rate in Africa is the highest (24.1 per 100,000 inhabitants), the lowest rate is to be found in Europe (10.3 per 100,000 inhabitants).[5]
- ^ Peden, Margie; Scurfield, Richard; Sleet, David; et al. (2004). World report on road traffic injury prevention. Geneva: World Health Organization. ISBN 9241562609. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ Reid, Carlton (17 November 2019). "Crash Not Accident: Better Road-Safety Reporting Could Save Lives, Show Researchers". Forbes. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ Vos, Theo (22 August 2015). "Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013". Lancet. 386 (9995): 743–800. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(15)60692-4. PMC 4561509. PMID 26063472.
- ^ a b Murray, Christopher J L (17 December 2014). "Global, regional, and national age-sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013". Lancet. 385 (9963): 117–71. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61682-2. PMC 4340604. PMID 25530442.
- ^ Global status report on road safety 2013: Supporting a decade of action (in English and Russian). Geneva, Switzerland: WHO. 2013. ISBN 978-92-4-156456-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2014.