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Essay on Road Safety: Sample Essay In 100,300 Words

• Updated on  
• Sep 28, 2023

Essay on Road Safety: Road safety is an imperative concern globally, with millions of lives at stake annually due to traffic accidents. This blog delves into the multifaceted issue of road safety, highlighting its pressing importance, the contributing factors behind accidents, and the pivotal measures required to create safer road environments for all.

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Table of Contents

• 1 The Importance of Road Safety
• 2 Factors Contributing to Road Safety
• 3 Innovations for Prevention
• 4 Essay on Road Safety in 100 Words
• 5 Essay on Road Safety in 300 Words

The Importance of Road Safety

Road safety is of paramount importance, safeguarding lives and ensuring the well-being of communities worldwide. Firstly, it prevents tragedies by reducing the risk of accidents and the resulting loss of life and limb. Road accidents inflict immeasurable pain on families and strain healthcare systems. Secondly, road safety plays a pivotal role in economic prosperity. It enables efficient transportation of goods and services, bolstering economic growth. Moreover, reduced accident rates translate to lower healthcare costs and productivity losses. Thus, prioritizing road safety is not just a moral duty but also a sound economic and social investment that fosters a safer, more prosperous society.

Factors Contributing to Road Safety

The following factors contribute to road safety:: 

• Driver Behavior: Responsible driving habits, adherence to speed limits, and avoiding distractions like texting or impaired driving are crucial. Defensive driving techniques help reduce accidents.
• Road Infrastructure: Well-maintained roads with clear signage, proper lighting, and road markings enhance safety. Infrastructure improvements like roundabouts and traffic calming measures can reduce accidents.
• Vehicle Safety: Modern vehicles equipped with advanced safety features, such as ABS brakes, airbags, and collision avoidance systems, contribute to road safety.
• Enforcement: Stringent law enforcement and penalties for traffic violations act as deterrents and encourage compliance with road rules.
• Education and Awareness: Public awareness campaigns, driver education programs, and initiatives to promote responsible road behaviour are essential in fostering a culture of road safety.

Innovations for Prevention

Innovations in road safety are pivotal for preventing accidents and minimizing their severity. One such innovation is the development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). These systems utilize technologies like sensors, cameras, and AI algorithms to provide real-time feedback to drivers. They offer features such as lane-keeping assistance, adaptive cruise control, and automatic emergency braking, which can prevent collisions and reduce the impact of accidents.

Another significant innovation is the emergence of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication. V2X technology enables vehicles to exchange data with each other and with infrastructure like traffic lights. This communication enhances situational awareness, enabling vehicles to anticipate potential hazards and take preventive actions, ultimately making our roads safer for everyone.

Essay on Road Safety in 100 Words

Road safety is a paramount concern for communities worldwide. It encompasses a range of measures and precautions aimed at reducing the risks of accidents and ensuring the well-being of all road users. Adhering to traffic rules, avoiding distractions while driving, and responsible speeding are essential aspects of individual road safety. Moreover, robust road infrastructure, including clear signage and well-maintained roads, plays a pivotal role in accident prevention.

Ultimately, prioritizing road safety is not just a matter of compliance but a collective responsibility to protect lives and promote safe, efficient transportation systems for our societies.

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Essay on Road Safety in 300 Words

Road safety is an issue of paramount importance, affecting individuals and communities worldwide. The ever-increasing number of vehicles on the road and the complex dynamics of modern traffic demand a concerted effort to prevent accidents and safeguard lives.

One of the fundamental pillars of road safety is responsible driver behaviour. Adhering to traffic rules, avoiding distractions such as texting or using a phone while driving, and respecting speed limits are essential aspects of individual road safety. 

Furthermore, road infrastructure is a critical factor in ensuring road safety. Well-maintained roads with clear signage, proper lighting, and road markings are essential to guide drivers safely. Innovations in road design, such as the implementation of roundabouts and traffic-calming measures, have been proven to reduce accidents and their severity.

Vehicle safety is another key component. Modern vehicles equipped with advanced safety features, such as anti-lock braking systems (ABS), airbags, electronic stability control (ESC), and collision avoidance systems, significantly contribute to road safety. These technologies can prevent accidents or mitigate their consequences when they do occur.

Law enforcement and penalties for traffic violations are also crucial in promoting road safety. Strict enforcement acts as a deterrent, encouraging compliance with road rules and regulations. Drunk driving, speeding, and reckless behaviour should be met with punitive measures to discourage risky conduct on the road.

Education and awareness campaigns play a vital role in fostering a culture of road safety. They aim to educate the public about the risks associated with irresponsible driving and encourage responsible behavior. These campaigns target drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike, emphasizing their shared responsibility for road safety.

Road safety is not merely a matter of compliance; it is a moral and societal duty to protect lives and promote responsible road use.

Road safety is vital to prevent accidents, save lives, reduce injuries, and ensure the orderly flow of traffic.

The most crucial rule is to follow speed limits, as excessive speed is a leading cause of accidents.

A road safety essay discusses measures, behaviours, and strategies to prevent accidents and promote safe road usage for all.

We hope this blog gave you an idea about how to write and present an essay on road safety that puts forth your opinions. The skill of writing an essay comes in handy when appearing for standardized language tests. Thinking of taking one soon? Leverage Edu provides the best online test prep for the same via Leverage Live . Register today to know more!

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Essay on Road Safety

500 words essay on road safety.

In today’s fast-paced world, road accidents are happening at a very high rate. Although, the technological advancements in the automobile industry has thankfully brought down the mortality rates. Nonetheless, there are a lot of potential hazards that are present on the road. Thus, road safety is important to safeguard everyone. In this essay on road safety, we will learn its importance and its basic rules.

Importance of Essay on Road Safety

Road safety is important to safeguard the well-being of everyone including humans and other living beings. This essay on road safety will help us learn about why it is important. A lot of environmental factors determine our road safety.

For instance, if it is raining or there is heavy fog or smog, the visibility of the driver will be hampered. It may result in pile-ups on the highway. Similarly, there are other factors like rain that lead to hydroplaning.

In this phenomenon, the vehicles that travel at high speeds start to slide uncontrollably as the tires of the vehicle push off the ground through a thin film of water present on the road.

However, road safety rules can help us avoid all these dangerous situations easily. When people follow the road safety rules rigorously and maintain their vehicles well, everyone can remain safe.

Most importantly, it is also essential to drive within the prescribed speed limits. Also, one must not use their mobile phone when driving a vehicle. Road safety is of utmost importance to make sure that everyone remains safe and healthy.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Basic Rules of Road Safety

There are a lot of general and basic rules that one must follow when they drive vehicles or use public roads in general. The first rule is to know the signals and pay attention to them rigorously.

This applies to both the driver as well as the pedestrian. Further, it is important for those who are walking to use the sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. It is also essential to be aware of all the rules and laws of the state and abide by them.

Most importantly, it is also mandatory to have an approved driving license before getting on the road with your vehicle. Road safety sensitization is vital to ensure the safety of everyone.

Making the general public aware of the importance of road safety can help reduce the rate of accidents and road mishaps that happen on a daily basis. Seminars and educating people can be helpful to guide them and make them aware of the consequences.

Conclusion of Essay on Road Safety

To sum it up, everyone must follow the road rules. Do not drive at excessive speed and try to enhance the general awareness so risks of traffic accidents can be reduced. One must also check the vehicle health regularly and its maintenance parts to eliminate any potential risks.

FAQ on Essay on Road Safety

Question 1: What is road safety?

Answer 1: Road safety refers to the methods that we adopt to prevent road users from getting injuries or being killed in traffic accidents. They are essential to maintain everyone’s well being.

Question 2: How can one avoid traffic accidents and enhance road safety?

Answer 2: One can avoid traffic accidents by following the road rules strictly. Moreover, they must also make sure their vehicles are always well-maintained. Further, it is also vital to drive within the speed limits of the state. Do not use phones when driving or be under the influence of alcohol.

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• Research article
• Open access
• Published: 16 March 2022

Effects of interventions for preventing road traffic crashes: an overview of systematic reviews

• Ronald Fisa   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1953-5190 1 ,
• Mwiche Musukuma 1 ,
• Mutale Sampa 1 ,
• Patrick Musonda 1 , 2 &
• Taryn Young 3  

BMC Public Health volume  22 , Article number:  513 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

19k Accesses

23 Citations

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Metrics details

Road traffic crashes (RTCs) are among the eight-leading causes of death globally. Strategies and policies have been put in place by many countries to reduce RTCs and to prevent RTCs and related injuries/deaths.

In this review, we searched the following databases Ovid Medline, Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Epistemonikos, Web of Science, and LILACS for reviews matching our inclusion criteria between periods January 1950 and March 2020. We did not apply language or publication restrictions in the searches. We, however, excluded reviews that focused primarily on injury prevention and reviews that looked at crashes not involving a motor vehicle.

We identified 35 systematic reviews matching our inclusion criteria and most of the reviews (33/35) included studies strictly from high-income countries. Most reviews were published before 2015, with only 5 published between 2015 and 2020. Methodological quality varied between reviews. Most reviews focused on enforcement intervention. There was strong evidence that random breath testing, selective breath testing, and sobriety checkpoints were effective in reducing alcohol-related crashes and associated fatal and nonfatal injuries. Other reviews found that sobriety checkpoints reduced the number of crashes by 17% [CI: (− 20, − 14)]. Road safety campaigns were found to reduce the numbers of RTCs by 9% [CI: (− 11, − 8%)]. Mass media campaigns indicated some median decrease in crashes across all studies and all levels of crash severity was 10% (IQR: 6 to 14%). Converting intersections to roundabouts was associated with a reduction of 30 to 50% in the number of RTCs resulting in injury and property damage. Electronic stability control measure was found to reduce single-vehicle crashes by − 49% [95% CI: (− 55, − 42%)]. No evidence was found to indicate that post-license driver education is effective in preventing road traffic injuries or crashes.

There were many systematic reviews of varying quality available which included studies that were conducted in high-income settings. The overview has found that behavioural based interventions are very effective in reducing RTCs.

Peer Review reports

Description of the problem

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a Road Traffic Crash (RTC) as a collision involving at least one vehicle in motion on a public or private road that results in at least one person being injured or killed [ 1 ]. Road traffic crashes can result in property damage, injury, or loss of life. A road traffic injury (RTI) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “a fatal or non-fatal injury incurred as a result of a collision on a public road involving at least one moving vehicle” [ 2 ]. Not all RTCs result in injuries however, the latter cannot precede the former.

It is the eighth leading cause of death for all age groups surpassing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and diarrhoeal diseases [ 3 ]. Road traffic crashes now represent the eighth leading cause of death globally. The WHO reports that about 1.24 million people die on the roads annually, with 20-50 million sustaining non-fatal injuries [ 2 ]. Globally, RTIs are reported as the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5–29 years and are among the top three causes of mortality among people aged 15–44 years. More than 85% of the global deaths due to injuries occur in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) consuming substantial health sector resources [ 4 ]. The WHO indicates that RTIs cause considerable economic losses to victims, their families, and nations. These losses arise from the cost of treatment (including rehabilitation and incident investigation) as well as reduced/lost productivity (e.g. in wages) for those killed or disabled by their injuries as well as family members who need to take time off work (or school) to care for the injured. Road traffic deaths and injuries are a major but neglected public health challenge that requires concerted efforts for effective and sustainable [ 4 ].

Many countries have put forward strategies and policies to curb RTCs to help prevent deaths and injuries. For example, the vision on sustainable safety was developed in 1992 in the Netherlands. In March 2000, the Government of the United Kingdom set out its strategy for improving road safety over the next decade in Tomorrow’s roads: safer for everyone [ 5 ]. More recently, in March 2010 the United Nations General Assembly resolution 64/255 proclaimed a Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020 intending to stabilize and then reduce the forecasted level of road traffic fatalities around the world by increasing activities conducted at national, regional and global levels [ 6 ]. With the burden of RTCs occurring in LMICs, the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) 2015-2019 program is a recent initiative implemented in some LMICs. The program seeks to reduce fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes in LMICs by strengthening road safety legislation at the national level and implementing proven road safety interventions at the city level [ 7 ].

Description of interventions

The high incidence of RTCs worldwide (HICs and LMICs) has led to the implementation of preventive interventions. Interventions aimed at the reduction of RTCs can be described as a coherent, organized, structured set of objectives and activities implemented to eliminate adverse events related to the use of roads [ 8 ]. Interventions for the prevention of RTCs can be tailored for motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, and all other road users. Many systematic reviews exist that attempt to answer the question of whether or not these interventions are effective in reducing RTCs around the world. The reduction of RTCs in different sub-populations has also been the focus of interest in some systematic reviews. A brief search of systematic reviews suggests that legislation is the most common intervention evaluated with the best outcomes when combined with strong enforcement initiatives or as part of a multifaceted approach [ 9 , 10 ]. Other reviews suggest that graduated driver licensing (GDL) and interventions aimed at improving pedestrian and cyclist visibility as well as area-wide traffic calming has been effective when implemented with concerted efforts [ 11 , 12 , 13 ].

Why is it important to do this assessment of systematic reviews?

Between 2013 and 2016, no reductions in the number of road traffic deaths were observed in any low-income country, while some reductions were observed in 48 middle- and high-income countries [ 3 ]. The abundance of different interventions that have been implemented and reported to have a positive effect coupled with the continued increase in the incidence of RTCs, illustrates the need to comprehensively assess and describe the evidence from systematic reviews and the quality of these reviews to identify effective interventions on one hand and gaps in the evidence base on the other hand.

Interventions for preventing RTCs fall into various categories which include legislation, enforcement, public awareness/education, driver education, and speed control measures such as speed cameras. The logic model below (Fig.  1 ) shows existing interventions and their target population. These interventions can be targeted at different individuals/groups; Drivers, Riders (motorcyclists & cyclists), Pedestrians, Passengers, all road users, and non-motorized vehicles (hand carts). William Haddon [ 14 ] developed a matrix that identifies risk factors before the crash, during the crash, and after the crash, with the person, vehicle, and environment. Since the interventions are a deterrent measure of RTCs, in this overview of systematic reviews, the focus will be on the before the crash stage.

A logic model; Interventions aimed at reducing road traffic crashes around the world which include interventions at individual and organisational level

The objective of this overview of systematic reviews is to describe the evidence and quality of existing systematic reviews. The main objective of this overview was to summarize the available evidence worldwide from systematic reviews that focused on interventions that have been put in place to reduce RTCs.

Search methods for identification of systematic reviews

This overview focused on systematic reviews of interventions that aimed at reducing RTCs and subsequently RTIs. To identify the reviews, an information specialist conducted searches in Medline Ovid, Embase Ovid, Web of Science, Epistemonikos (which includes Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews), Pubmed, EMBASE, The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). We further searched PsycINFO, LILACS (Literatura Latinoamericana y del Caribe en Ciencias de la Salud), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), and the Campbell Collaboration online library using relevant search terms (See additional Table 11 for the search strategy used). The details of the search strategy including the mesh terms are given in Additional file 2 . Reference lists of systematic and related reviews were also searched to find additional potentially eligible studies. All systematic reviews published between 1950 and March 2020, which included Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews, were considered. The search was again conducted in September 2021 during the revision of the manuscript to identify new reviews. We did not find any review that focused of interventions to prevent RTCs. The searches were not restricted by language or publication status.

Criteria for considering reviews for inclusion

This overview considered all systematic reviews that focused on interventions and measures that have been put in place to reduce RTCs around the world. Reviews that were included satisfied our definition of a systematic review according to Antman and Oxman. The reviews to be included should clearly state the objectives, searched for studies on two or more databases including grey literature/unpublished work, extracted data should have been analysed, and a risk of bias assessed for each study with results presented appropriately [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. For any systematic review to be included, the PICO component must be satisfied (population, intervention, comparator, and outcome). The population in these reviews included people who use roads such as drivers, pedestrians, cyclists etc. Interventions included sobriety check points, lowering Blood alcohol content, road expansions, mass media campaigns among others and comparators included areas/sections where there was no intervention. The outcome of the overview was road traffic crashes (RTC).

Systematic review selection, data extraction and management

Titles and abstracts were examined independently by two reviewers and full text articles of the selected titles and abstracts were retrieved for further scrutiny. The full texts were independently assessed using the pre-specified eligibility criteria. A final decision on the included studies was made and the data extraction phase began. Conflicts during the screening process were resolved by a third reviewer. A PRISMA flow diagram (Fig.  2 ) shows the screening process of articles up to the final number of reviews which were included in the overview.

PRISMA Flow diagram; selection of relevant systematic reviews meeting the inclusion criteria for the overview

A checklist of items to consider when extracting the data from the systematic reviews was created. The checklist included items on the methods used in each systematic review, the interventions considered in the review and results which were obtained in each systematic review. We then summarized data from the systematic reviews in the table of characteristics of included systematic reviews. The methodological quality of the systematic reviews was assessed using AMSTAR 2 [ 18 ], a critical appraisal tool for systematic reviews that include randomized or non-randomized studies of health care interventions. It consists of 16 domains which must be answered with a yes, partial yes, N/A or a no. The domains are given in the following table (Table  1 ).

Data analysis

This overview was a descriptive study that aimed at describing all systematic reviews that focused on interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of RTCs. The overview also identified interventions that were effective in reducing RTCs as well as ineffective interventions. We reported the type of interventions that assessed in the included systematic reviews, we also stratified the included systematic reviews according to the economic status of the countries in which the reviews were conducted. For example, we reported the number of systematic reviews which were conducted in LMICs. We further examined potential overlap between included systematic reviews.

This overview included systematic reviews that had interventions to prevent road traffic crashes around the globe. The objective was to describe and summarize findings from existing reviews. The different intervention which were assessed are included in Table  2 . 

Results of the search

The search for the overview was conducted in December 2019 and identified 4376 systematic reviews, and of these, 2258 reviews were excluded as they were duplicates. A total of 2118 abstracts were screened and 1952 studies were deemed irrelevant and were excluded. One hundred and sixty-four (164) full text studies were assessed for eligibility and out these studies, 129 were excluded. The reasons for exclusion included wrong outcomes, wrong intervention, wrong setting and wrong patient population (Fig. 2 ). Thirty-five (35) systematic reviews were included in this overview. The interventions in these reviews were then classified into different categories such as enforcement, driver education, structural improvement, legislation, public awareness, improvement of vehicle design, mixed intervention and other intervention.

Description of included reviews

Thirty-five (35) of the systematic reviews in the overview included studies from high-income countries. Only one review [ 50 ] included studies from high-income, upper-middle and low-income countries. One systematic review did not find any studies that met the inclusion criteria despite the search being updated twice [ 41 , 52 , 53 ]. Most reviews were published prior to 2015, only 5 published between 2015 and 2020.

Enforcement results

Eleven systematic reviews looked at enforcement of laws that help reduce RTCs (Table 3 in Additional file 3 ) [ 12 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 54 , 55 ]. Some of these enforcement strategies included police patrols, sobriety check points, speed cameras and speed control measures such as humps. Little overlap existed between these systematic reviews. After conducting quality assessment of the reviews using AMSTAR 2 (See additional file 1 ), results indicated that 4 reviews were of critically low quality [ 25 , 26 , 30 , 31 ], 3 were of low quality [ 24 , 27 , 54 ] and 4 were of moderate quality [ 23 , 28 , 29 , 32 ].

The reviews found different results depending on the type of intervention. Reviews such as one done by Aeron-Thomas and Hess [ 23 ] conducted in high-income countries (Australia, Singapore, USA) on red-light cameras (RLCs) on RTCs found that that RLCs reduced total casualty crashes though the investigators indicated that there was limited evidence available regarding the reduction of right-angle or rare-end crashes. Contrary to these findings of reduction in motor vehicle crashes by RLCs, a review by Erke [ 26 ] where the effects of RLCs on crashes was investigated in high income countries, the findings for RLCs were rather unfavourable. Results from this overview indicated that right-angle collisions were reduced by about 10%, whereas the rear-end collisions increased significantly increased by 40% and the overall effect of RLCs on all types of crashes is an increase by about 15% (Erke, 2009). Further, another systematic review by Pilkington and Kinra [ 31 ] assessed the effectiveness of speed cameras in reducing road traffic collisions and related casualties. The review found that speed cameras consistently reduced road traffic collisions effectively as an intervention. In the same line of interventions but with regard to speed cameras, Wilson et al., [ 32 ] conducted an assessment to investigate whether the use of speed cameras on the roads reduces incidence of speeding, road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths. In this review, findings showed that speed cameras were an effective intervention for reducing RTIs and deaths. There was however, a weak level of evidence as only 12 of the 35 studies included in the review were of high quality. Most of these reviews (23/35) were of poor quality [ 31 ].

Other interventions which fall under enforcement included police intervention, assessing these interventions indicated a reduced number of crashes. This reduction however varied between 23 and 31% [ 24 ]. The review further found that all the types of police interventions reviewed, such as enhancing police controls were effective in reducing RTCs and as a result improved road safety.

Traffic calming has been used as one of the interventions to reduce RTCs. In this vain, a review by Bunn et al. [ 12 ] consisting of controlled before-after studies revealed that area-wide traffic calming schemes may have the potential to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries. However, there was no evidence that traffic calming schemes prevented pedestrian-motor collisions. One of the important effects of traffic calming schemes is to reduce the speed of traffic and by doing this, we reduce the likelihood of injury in the event of a collision.

Other interventions focused on reduction of drinking and driving which is one of the common factors documented to be associated with RTCs. Interventions in this category included sobriety check points and this was assessed for effectiveness. Findings from one review by Elder [ 25 ] indicated that there was a strong evidence that both random breath testing (RBT) and selective breath testing (SBT) sobriety check points were effective in reducing alcohol-related crashes and associated fatal and nonfatal injuries. The results of this review were consistent with results from other reviews such as those by Peek-Asa [ 30 ] and Erke et al., [ 27 ] on sobriety check points. The review by Erke [ 27 ] revealed that the overall effect of driving under influence (DUI) checkpoints on the number of crashes had an estimated reduction of 17% [CI: (− 20; − 14)] and when controlled for publication bias, the estimated reduction in RTCs was 14%. The reviews which fall under this category are summarized in Table 3 below.

Public awareness

In this category, five reviews fell under this and assessed public awareness strategies [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]. All the reviews included data from high income countries. One of the reviews focused on awareness campaigns targeting pedestrians [ 42 ] while the remaining four reviews focused on awareness campaigns which targeted drivers [ 44 , 45 , 46 ]. Little overlap was observed between the systematic reviews in this category. After an assessment of the methodological quality of the reviews, we found that three out of the five reviews were critically of low quality [ 43 , 44 , 46 ] and two were of moderate quality [ 42 , 45 ]. A summary of the methodological quality of all the reviews is included in the attachments (additional file 1 ).

A review by Dupperex [ 42 ] assessed the effectiveness of safety education with respect to pedestrians. The review did not find any significant information on the magnitude of the driver education effectiveness in reducing child injuries. A meta-analysis on road safety campaigns conducted by Phillips, (2011) found that road safety campaigns reduce the numbers of road crashes by 9% [CI: (− 11%; − 8%)]. In the same line Elder [ 43 ] focused primarily on the effectiveness of School Based Programs for reducing drinking and driving (DD) behaviour but the review did not find sufficient evidence regarding its effectiveness. Mass media campaigns is one of the strategies which countries have been using in reducing RTCs. A review by Elder [ 44 ] found some decrease in crashes across all studies and all levels of crash severity was 13% (IQR: 6 to 14%). Similar findings were obtained by Yadav [ 46 ] where he found that studies that evaluated the impact of mass media campaigns independently showed reduction more consistently with a median of 15.1% (28.8, 0). A summary of these reviews is given in Table 4 below.

Structural improvement

In structural improvement, we looked at interventions that brought about the change in road network, signage etc. In this category one review assessed the safety effects of street lights [ 47 ], another one looked at the effects and efficiency of digital countdown timers [ 50 ], and the remaining two reviews focused on the effectiveness of converting intersections into roundabouts [ 48 , 49 ]. Of the four reviews, only one review by Fu et al. [ 50 ] included primary studies from high income, upper-middle and lower-middle countries, while all the other reviews only included primary studies from high income countries. A lot of overlap existed between two studies conducted by Elvik [ 48 , 49 ] as all the studies used in the systematic review by [ 48 ] were also included in the 2017 review. Table 5 below gives systematic reviews which were considered in this category.

A review conducted by Beyer [ 47 ] evaluated street lighting and prevention of RTIs. This review consisted of controlled before-after studies and the findings suggested that street lighting may prevent road traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities.

Other reviews in this category included Elvik’s 2003 and 2017 [ 48 , 49 ] studies in which the effects of converting intersections to roundabouts in order to improve on road safety was examined. Elvik found that roundabouts were associated with a reduction of 30 to 50% in the number of injury accidents, and fatal accidents were reduced by 50 to 70% [ 48 ]. Similarly, an updated review by Elvik [ 49 ], revealed that converting junctions to roundabout was associated with a reduction of fatal accidents. The reduction of fatal accidents was estimated to be of 65%, while a reduction of injury accidents was estimated to be approximately 40%.

Regarding the Digital countdown timers (DCT), a review by Fu [ 50 ] found no evidence of DCT being effective on intersections. The author therefore, made no recommendations with regard to installing DCT at signalized intersections as a way of improving road safety and operational efficiency.

Legislation

Three reviews were included under the legislation category [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. Interventions in these reviews included graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs for teenage drivers [ 33 , 34 ] and low blood alcohol concentration (BAC) laws among younger drivers [ 35 ]. Due to the nature of the interventions, none of the reviews utilized data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) but all three utilized data from observational studies. All three reviews used primary studies conducted in either in the United States of America, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. There was little overlap between two reviews Foss and Russel in this category [ 33 , 34 ]. All the reviews in this category are given in Table 6 below.

A review by Foss [ 33 ] focused on GDL programme and their effectiveness. The review found that insufficient data on GDL programs to assess their effectiveness in reducing RTCs and crashes. One of the limitations in this review was that there were very few graduate driver licensing programs around the world and thus evidence was limited. However, a latest review done by Russel [ 34 ] on GDL found that the program was effective in reducing crash rates of teenage drivers. The GDL was very effective in reducing all crash types, although this is not a common intervention especially in LMIC.

Zwerling [ 35 ] focused on blood alcohol content and aimed at investigating if the reduction in the BAC could lead to reduced RTCs and crashes, the law was effective and the number of accidents were seen to be reducing. Reductions in RTCs/crashes ranged from 11 to 33% with a cluster of parameter estimates just under 20% [ 35 ].

Driver education

Four reviews were included in the driver education category [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Two of the reviews focused on driver education programs targeting teen drivers [ 19 , 22 ], one focused on retraining of older individuals [ 21 ] while another focused on post-license driver education for all drivers, regardless of age (reported in two publications) [ 20 ]. All reviews included primary studies from high income countries. Table 7 below gives a summary of included studies in this category.

In a review by Curry [ 19 ], findings were that the teens driving interventions only improved parental supervisory behaviours and increased teen driver skill acquisition, however, the intervention did not demonstrate a reduction on teen crashes and resultant injuries. These findings were consistent with Roberts and Kwan [ 22 ] who also found no evidence that driver education reduces teenage involvement in road traffic crashes but driver education only leads to early licencing. Roberts and Kwan’s’ research further observed that because driver education encourages earlier licensing, it may lead to a modest but potentially important increase in the number of teenagers involved in road traffic crashes.

A study be Ker [ 20 ] quantified the effectiveness of post-licence driver education in reducing road traffic crashes. This review found no evidence that post-licence driver education is effective in preventing RTIs or crashes. The authors indicated that although the results are compatible with a small reduction in the occurrence of traffic offences, there’s no evidence of this being truly effective; and this may be due to selection biases or biases in the included trials. Driver retraining especially older drivers was also looked at by Korner-bitensky [ 21 ]. Interventions included in the review were classroom sessions, on road sessions and on road education in comparison with controls. In this review, Korner-bitensky found strong evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that an educational intervention curriculum versus no intervention was effective in reducing crashes.

Improvement of vehicle design

Two reviews by Elder et al., and Erke looked at interventions targeted at improving the designs of motor vehicles [ 51 , 56 ]. The study by Elder looked at the effect of ignition interlocks on reducing alcohol impaired driving and alcohol related crashes [ 51 ] while Erke [ 56 ] focused on the effect of electronic stability control (ESC) in reducing RTCs. In these two systematic reviews, we found no overlap. Both systematic reviews only included studies from high income countries, as demonstrated in Table 8 .

In the study by Elder that assessed the effectiveness of ignition interlocks in reducing alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-related crashes, no evidence of effectiveness was found in this intervention [ 51 ]. Although the findings were not statistically significant, Elder found that rates of single-vehicle night time crashes (SVNCs) were similar for first-time offenders with interlocks installed relative to those with suspended licenses (HR1.05, p -value = 0.85). This was lower for repeat offenders (HR0.46, p  = 0.14). Investigators noted that the potential for interlock programs to reduce alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-related crashes is currently limited by the small proportion of offenders who participate in the programs and the lack of a persistent beneficial effect once the interlock is removed [ 51 ].

Electronic stability control was also evaluated by Erke [ 56 ]. This is an active safety device for motor vehicles which aims to improve driving dynamics and to prevent accidents which result from loss of control. In this review, Erke found significant reductions in single vehicle accidents (− 49%; 95% CI: [− 55%; − 42%]), and smaller reductions in head-on collisions (− 13%; 95% CI: [− 17%; − 8%]). Similarly, multi-vehicle fatal accidents were also reduced (− 32%; 95% CI: [− 43%; − 20%]).

Mixed interventions results

The mixed interventions categories consisted of systematic reviews which assessed the effectiveness of several interventions in reducing RTCs. In this category, there were three systematic reviews [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. All three reviews were of critically low quality (See additional file 1 ). The reviews under this intervention are given in Table 9 below.

Bergen et al., [ 37 ] evaluated the effects of publicized sobriety checkpoint, media coverage, student designed social marketing campaign programs on alcohol involved crash fatalities. Results from this review indicated that eight out of 10 evaluations that measured alcohol involved crash fatalities reported reductions in the outcome after implementing publicized sobriety checkpoint programs. As such, publicized checkpoints were proven to be effective in preventing RTCs. Further, Bergen et al. found that stratified analysis of the effect of various factors on intervention effectiveness showed evidence of effectiveness for high-risk populations. However, differing check point configurations and publicized sobriety checkpoint programs were effective among high-risk populations of men aged 21–34 years and college students.

Lefio et al., [ 38 ] analysed several interventions which included monitoring motor carrier safety, regulatory compliance of trucking companies, a mandatory alcohol-testing program to reduce alcohol involvement in motor carrier crashes. Of all these interventions, the interventions which were found to reduce RTCs were blood alcohol content limit, enhancement of safety driving and driver standard. The results further indicated that among the working population, interventions most frequently shown to be effective were enforcement of national safety standards in the workplace (for companies that have transport operations) and interventions that used mandatory testing to prevent and severely restrict alcohol consumption.

Aguilera et al., [ 36 ] evaluated education as a behavior change strategy, as well as infrastructure interventions, inspections and other traffic safety policies. The studies included in the review focused on surveillance interventions. This intervention showed effectiveness in short-term assessments for example the points penalty system (SPP) was effective in promoting safe driving with outcomes more favourable to reducing morbidity and mortality. Enforcement was effective in changing driver’s behaviour, especially in relation to speeding and alcohol consumption associated with driving. Infrastructure development on the other hand promoted a safe environment, in which pedestrians, cyclists and drivers can live together. Finally, education was more informative and supportive of the other strategies used and did not present evidence of generating cultural change in road safety.

‘Other’ interventions

In the process of categorising these interventions, there were interventions such as vision screening for older drivers which did not fall in any of the interventions. Although these are targeted at individuals (drivers), we grouped these as other interventions. Three of the reviews [ 39 , 40 , 53 ] did not fall into any of the previous six categories. These interventions were then categorised as other interventions. Another review by Ditter et al.,[ 39 ] looked at the effect of designated drivers on alcohol related RTCs while Kwan and Mapstone [ 40 ] focused on how visibility aids used by cyclists and pedestrians can help increase visibility, reaction time and ultimately RTCs. The review by Kwan and Mapstone [ 40 ] included primary studies from high income countries as well as upper-middle income countries (South-Africa). A systematic review focusing on vision screening in older drivers by Desapriya et al., [ 53 ] did not find any studies that met the inclusion criteria and as such had 0 included studies and all these reviews are given in Table 10 below.

Ditter [ 39 ], evaluated the effects of specific designated driver programs which involved drivers moving long distances. However, no study that evaluated whether the use of designated drivers decreased alcohol related motor vehicle related injuries was found was found. Kwan and Mapstone [ 40 ] quantified the effect of visibility aids versus no visibility aids in pedestrians to reduce motor vehicle crashes and also to help drivers’ detection and recognition responses. Results of the review suggested that visibility aids influence drivers’ reaction, detection and recognition resulting in reduced RTCs. For daytime visibility, fluorescent materials in yellow, red and orange improved detection and recognition whereas in night-time visibility the use of lamps, flashing lights and retro reflective materials in red and yellow enhanced drivers’ detection and recognition. The review by Kwan and Mapstone [ 40 ] further indicated that the behaviors of drivers, pedestrians and cyclist in terms of intoxication and speeding are important issues to consider. Desapriya et al., [ 53 ] assessed the effects of vision screening interventions for older drivers who have problems with visual to prevent RTIs and fatalities, the review however did not find any study meeting the inclusion criteria.

Taking stock of existing systematic reviews is an important approach to use in informing both new research as well as policy and practice. This overview included 35 systematic reviews that evaluated different types of interventions to reduce RTCs. Out of all these reviews, 33 included studies which were conducted in HICs such as United Kingdom, Norway, Australia, Canada, Spain, USA, France, Netherlands, and Italy. Interventions assessed included enforcement, driver education, vehicle design, legislation, structural improvement and public awareness. Not all interventions showed consistency in reducing RTC’s. Sobriety check point and random breath testing, red light cameras, speed cameras, police patrols, roundabouts, streetlights and vehicle design improvement were consistently found to reduce RTCs.

This overview has provided evidence in HIC in which all the interventions have been applied. The overview has also established that the majority of the enforcement interventions (RLC, speed cameras, police interventions and sobriety check points) lead to a reduced number of road traffic crashes as compared to other intervention categories such as legislation and structural improvements. As indicated above, all the interventions which were assessed were implemented in HIC which include the UK, USA, England Australia, Germany, Denmark and Norway. It has been established from the descriptive analysis that enforcement programmes are very effective in reducing RTCs.

Other interventions that were falling in the public awareness only mass media campaigns were found to reduce the number of road traffic crashes and these results were in agreement with another study by Yadav [ 46 ]. These mass media campaigns must be encouraged as they educate school going children and the general public on safety measures when on the roads.

Interventions which were aligned to structural improvement strategies were not found to be very effective in preventing road traffic crashes. These interventions included street lighting, converting of intersections to round-about. In HIC, reducing blood alcohol content has proved to be effective in reducing road traffic crashes. The results from this overview is consistent with results found by Lefio [ 38 ] that blood alcohol concentration limit has a significance reduction in number of RTCs.

Our overview also confirmed the low number of reviews that have summarized evidence on interventions to prevent RTC on the African continent. This however, could have been as a result of few studies conducted which focused on interventions to prevent RTCs have been conducted on the African continent. This need to be explored so as to identify some of the effective interventions in road safety. In addition, there is need to synthesise evidence from LMICs through systematic reviews/meta-analysis where the majority of road traffic deaths occur.

Drivers are key individuals in these road traffic crashes and interventions that are driver-centered. The overview has also shown that programmes targeted on individuals/drivers are more effective than those targeted on road network and infrastructure. Some of these interventions include sobriety check points, class room sessions for drivers showed effectiveness in reducing RTCs. In summary, our findings are mapping to Fig. 1 in that we have identified interventions that are effective in road safety, these are mainly interventions which focused on behavioural change of drivers such as drink and driving, police presence and driver/pedestrian education.

Overall completeness and applicability of evidence

The overview did not identify any systematic review focusing on LMICs. Caution should be taken when making inference on the effectiveness of some of these interventions especially in middle and low-income countries. The road infrastructure may greatly vary from developed countries where most of the primary studies included in the reviews took place.

Generally, the systematic reviews were of low quality. Twenty-two out of the thirty-five reviews were found to be either critically low or of low quality according to AMSTAR2 [ 12 , 19 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 30 , 31 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 43 , 44 , 46 , 51 , 56 ]. To assess the quality of the reviews, the reviewers read the methods section of the systematic reviews or searched for published protocols where possible. Most of the reviews lacked clarity on the methods used in the review process. Given the nature of some interventions, the majority of the reviews included studies that didn’t have comparison groups or of an observational design. This resulted in such reviews scoring poorly. This overview brought together findings from existing systematic reviews on interventions to prevent RTCs which can be used to inform future research and practice.

Quality of the evidence

Most of the reviews included in this overview indicated that there was ‘weak level of evidence available’. Most of the systematic reviews conducted had included studies that were of poor quality in terms of study design, sampling etc. However, it was noted that, in general, some of the more recent studies were conducted with greater methodological rigour. A review by Goss et al., [ 28 ] observed that although increased police patrols appeared to reduce alcohol-related crashes and traffic fatalities in the identified studies, the quality and reporting of these studies was often poor. The review further found that there is need for methodologically rigorous research to evaluate effectiveness of these interventions.

Heterogeneity was present between included studies in the reviews. More evidence is needed to determine effectiveness of interventions such as, red light cameras, speed cameras, roundabouts, streetlights and vehicle design improvement in LMICs.

Potential biases in the overview process

One of the potential biases in this overview could have resulted from the studies found during the search. In this regard, the search for potential systematic reviews did not comprehensively search for unpublished systematic reviews or grey literature. Unknown potential biases were minimised by following standard methods throughout the review. Two overview authors independently conducted eligibility assessment and data extraction, with resolution of conflicts through consultation with a third overview author.

The review has revealed that individual based interventions have been found to be very effective as compared to other interventions. This finding suggests that the majority of the accidents are as a result of a driver’s behaviour. Therefore, results from the overview are anchoring on behaviour change to reduce RTCs. This change in behaviour can be done through sobriety check points, driver education, mass media campaigns for both drivers and other road users. In this vain, there is need for countries to strengthen interventions that target drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and motor cyclists. The overview has also established that there are very few reviews in Africa focusing on effectiveness of these interventions. Implications for new research is the need to conduct systematic reviews on effectiveness of interventions in LMIC.

Availability of data and materials

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary files). Extraction forms for all included systematic reviews are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Blood Alcohol Concentration

Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety

Confidence Interval

Digital Countdown Timer

Drinking and Driving

Driving under the Influence

Electronic Stability Control

Graduated Driver Licensing

High Income Countries

Human immunodeficiency virus

Hazards Ratio

Inter-quartile range

Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Non-randomized Studies of therapeutic Interventions

Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome

Random Breath Testing

Randomized Controlled Trials

Ridding with Drinking Drivers

Red Light Cameras

Risk of Bias

Road Traffic Crash

Road Traffic Crashes

Road Traffic Injuries

Selective Breath Testing

Points Penalty System

Single Vehicle Night Time Crashes

United Kingdom

United States of America

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Acknowledgements

We thank Paul Garner from Liverpool School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Liverpool for his feedback in the designing of the protocol as well as during the write up of the overview. We also thank Vittoria Lutge for her efforts in conducting the searches and retrieving the reviews for the overview.

This research was partly funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and UK AID through the Research, Evidence and Development Initiative (READ-It, project ID 300342–104). The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.

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RF and MM conceived the idea and designed the protocol with the help of TY and PM. TY helped in the application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria and advised RF and MM on the analyses for the overview. RF and MM independently examined titles, abstracts, full text and wrote the overview with the help of TY. TY and MS helped in resolving conflicts during the title, abstract and full text screening process. RF and MM assessed the methodological quality of the reviews and in cases of disagreements, MS assisted in resolving the disagreements and reaching on the final decision. TY and PM read the overview throughout the writing process and added comments. TY helped extensively in writing the overview and approved the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Supplementary Information

Additional file 1: table 1..

Methodological quality of systematic reviews.

Additional file 2: Table 3.

 Description of included systematic reviews in the overview: Enforcement category.

Additional file 3: Table 11

. Search Strategy-Overview of systematic reviews.

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Fisa, R., Musukuma, M., Sampa, M. et al. Effects of interventions for preventing road traffic crashes: an overview of systematic reviews. BMC Public Health 22 , 513 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12253-y

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Road accidents are an unfortunate reality of our lives. The daily news reports generally contain at least one incident of a road accident. Depending on the severity of the accident, the number of casualties and the damage done can be concerning. Road accidents cost a lot of lives and property damage. To avoid accidents, everyone should be more careful and vigilant on the streets. As a driver, one must be extra cautious because one mistake from the driver can cost the lives of innocent others. 

  The Road Accident That I Experienced

I remember the first road accident I witnessed. It had changed my perspective on life. I still remember the date and the day very intricately. It was the 20th of September 2016. I was returning home from tuition. My mother had come to pick me up. It was around 6 o'clock in the evening. When we reached the bus stand, we saw a huge crowd of people at a few feet of distance from the bus stop. There were men in the crowd who were screaming in the regional language. 

At first, we couldn't understand what was going on. After a while of careful overhearing of the conversation of everyone near us, we could understand that there was an accident. So to get to the bottom of it we asked a shopkeeper what had  happened. He told us that indeed an accident took place a while ago. He then went on to give us a detailed event of what happened. According to him, a pedestrian was crossing the road. A passenger's bus had hit him. The man was left bleeding on the street. The people in the area then cornered the bus and assaulted the bus driver. The police were called to the scene. As for the pedestrian, when the police came over, they declared the man dead. However, as a formality, they sent him to the hospital but according to the shopkeeper, there is not much hope for a miracle. 

This incident made me realize how fragile life is. It could very well have been me or my loved one instead of that man.  The man was not at fault as he was following the rules, but because of the ignorance of another careless man, he had to lose his life. This incident has left a scar on my mind which still bothers me at times. 

Road accidents are a fairly tragic event that has dangerously increased in numbers nowadays. Today, there are more automobiles on the streets than ever. Some say that this increase in the number of automobiles is the reason the number of road accidents is increasing too. Some others say that people nowadays have become more careless, this leads to a higher number of accidents due to carelessness. Another problem that is very prevalent in India is the lack of civic sense in people. People in the cities of India do not strictly adhere to the traffic rules; some people also lack the basic road sense. On top of that, certain parts of the city have narrow roads. All these add up to increase road accidents.

Description of Road Accident:

Road accidents are scary for our lives. In recent times it has increased more. Every morning when you open a newspaper every second or third page will have news related to road accidents. The reason for increasing road accidents is due to the fact that people are buying more automobiles and have also become careless while driving vehicles.

Many a time we have seen that people are just avoiding following traffic rules. Especially in metropolitan cities, people are more careless while driving vehicles which ultimately lead to road accidents.

The foremost causes of road accidents in such metropolitan areas can be narrow roads and roads with potholes.

Thus a road accident damages the lives of life and material. People should be very careful while driving or walking on the road.

It is also seen that walking on the road is also equally dangerous because of heavy traffic it can also be harmful to the people walking on the road. Hence, such people should walk on the side of the road or walk on footpaths.

Road Accident Incident:

Once I was coming back from my office at that time when I witnessed a road accident. I was with my co-worker and it was around 6 o’clock in the evening. In the middle of the road, we saw a crowd surrounding something. We weren’t sure what was happening as the first thought that came to our mind was that it was probably a quarrel between two groups of people but then after reaching the spot, we found that an accident had taken place. 

After talking with the people present there, we came to know that a man who was crossing the road met with an accident while crossing the road. A truck passing by hit him leaving him with serious injuries. The man was lying on the ground bleeding and people were calling for an ambulance, plus they also informed the police about the incident. 

Subsequently, the police arrived and caught the driver of the truck as people had already taken a hold of the driver. During the investigation with the driver, the cops came to know that the driver was drunk and was driving the vehicle. Later on, cops detained him and took the injured person to the nearest hospital, and took a statement from the injured person. The driver was released later based on the statement given by the person. That incident made me realize how precious our lives are and we must be very careful when we are walking on the road, on foot, or driving a car.

  Prevention from Road Accidents:

There are some most important points that every person should keep in mind while driving or walking or crossing the road. These points are as follows:

Drive within the prescribed speed limit.

Don’t drink or smoke while driving.

Follow all the traffic rules as they are for our safety.

Never use mobile phones while driving a vehicle.

Always drive in the proper lane.

While riding a bike always wear a helmet.

FAQs on Road Accident Essay

1.  What are the causes of Road Accidents?

The main cause of road accidents is human beings’ attitude towards not following the traffic rule. Apart from this, there are some major causes of Road Accidents which are as follows:

  Over Speeding

  Drink and drive

  To avoid wearing a helmet while driving a bike.

  Talking on mobile phones.

 To avoid waiting on traffic signals and so are some of the major causes of a road accident.

2.  How to prevent Road Accidents?

Prevention of Road Accidents can only be possible if people change their attitudes towards traffic rules and show some maturity while driving vehicles. People should be very cautious while passing from the crowded area and at such places they should reduce their speed limit. On the turning of the road, they should stop and before crossing the road they should look at the right and left side of the road and then should cross the road.  Last but not least every vehicle should maintain proper distance between two vehicles to avoid a collision.

3.  How to reduce road death and injuries?

To reduce road death and injuries the corporation of the respective cities should see that city roads are connecting areas properly and constructed compactly. The sides of the road should be constructed broad and vendors or any cattle should be avoided who block the roads because sometimes due to unwanted cattle’s road death and fatal injuries might occur.

4.  How should an injured person be treated?

If someone is injured at that time first check the severity of the casualty accordingly and give the treatment. If the person is having normal injuries, first treat him/her with first aid and in the matter of serious injuries call an emergency ambulance.

5.  Why is it important to give First Aid immediately after the accident?

To promote instant relief and to avoid any further damage as well as for speedy recovery it is recommended to give first aid treatment immediately after the accident. This can help to reduce the fatal level of the injuries before getting emergency treatment.  As it is not always possible that emergency care reaches the victim within an hour. In that case, the people who are available next to the victim can give him/her first aid treatment to save his/her life.

Road Safety Essay

Quite often, we walk on the road, sometimes to buy goods or simply to meet our next-door neighbour. Despite the distance we travel on the road, we need to be aware of certain road safety rules. In these times where there is a rise in road accidents, a little care and attention are all we need to prevent accidents and save lives.

In its simplest sense, road safety means ensuring that people are safe from any accidents that may happen while travelling on the road. This short essay on road safety will give you an idea of how to go about writing an easy and effective essay on the same.

Experience in Road Safety

I usually walk to school, where my father accompanies me, and he would never let go of my hand until I was safe within the bounds of the school. On our way, we came across many vehicles and people running past us, and I had a fear that they would trip me over and hurt me. But my father taught me some golden rules of the road that would protect me from any harm.

He told me that roads are for everyone – be it for motor vehicles, bikers or pedestrians. And hence, we should be mindful of them while walking or driving. Road safety should not be taken lightly, and there are many road safety rules to guide and safeguard us. Children are more prone to accidents because of their carelessness and ignorance of rules. Hence, they need to understand and follow road safety rules.

If there is pavement, make sure to walk on it and make use of the zebra crossing if you ever have to cross the road. Also, look to your right and left to ensure that no vehicles are passing before crossing the road. We must always be alert while walking/driving on the road and hence, should avoid any distractions like phones. Most importantly, follow traffic signals; only cross the road when it is clear and all vehicles are stopped at red. Even while driving, take care to wear your seat belt and helmet and try not to overspeed in busy lanes. Thus, if we stick to these simple road safety rules, we will be able to walk or travel safely on the road and avoid accidents.

Moral of the Essay

This short essay on road safety highlights the significance of obeying road safety rules so that everyone can walk/travel on the road without any worries. We must remember that we are always at risk of experiencing road accidents while on the road. It is in our hands whether we will be able to overcome them. Through this road safety essay in English, we have come to understand the meaning of road safety and how we can remain safe on the road by following simple rules.

For more essays and other kid-friendly learning resources, visit BYJU’S website.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the meaning of road safety.

When we walk/travel on the road, there are chances that we might get hurt due to some minor or major road accidents. To prevent such accidents, there are certain rules that we must follow while on the road. This is what is referred to as road safety, and it plays a key role in maintaining our well-being.

What are the steps taken to ensure road safety while walking?

Always try to walk on the footpath to keep yourself from being hit by passing vehicles. If there is no footpath, walk on the right side of the road so that it becomes easier for you to see oncoming traffic. While crossing the road, make sure that no vehicles are passing and only cross after checking both sides of the road.

How do you prevent accidents while driving?

Whether in a two-wheeler or car, wear your protective gear – helmets and seat belts. Follow traffic signals, and do not speed up when you see the signal turning red. Maintain a safe distance between the vehicles in the front and back and drive slowly in busy junctions and residential areas.

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Essay on Road Accidents: Causes and Remedies to Reduce Road Accidents

Essay on Road Accidents:  Causes and Preventive Remedies! Also learn about: 1. Causes of Road Accidents, 2. Accident Studies 3. Preventive Measures and Remedies to Reduce Accident Rates in India.

Road accidents, as the name itself suggests, are random events that are caused by the interplay of diverse factors relating to the road and its condition, the road users, the vehicles, and environmental conditions. Invariably, a combination of two or more of these factors may lead to accidents. 

An undesirable feature of highway transport is the occurrence of accidents and consequent loss of lives and property. The spectacular increase of vehicles on the road has been causing a steady growth accident rates on highways. India has a poor record of road safety with a large number of accidents as well as fatalities.

This has become a major social problem and deserves special attention from the highway and traffic engineers. Based on a scientific analysis of the causes of accidents, the traffic engineer has to devise ways to reduce them through better design, construction, and maintenance of highways, and through better traffic operation and regulation.

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Heavy economic losses and human misery caused by accidents indicate the need for systematic accident studies. The data obtained from an analysis of accidents helps the engineer to evolve improvement schemes and regulatory measures to enhance road safety and decrease accidents.

Essay on the Causes of Road Accidents:

Road accidents, as the name itself suggests, are random events that are caused by the interplay of diverse factors relating to the road and its condition, the road users, the vehicles, and environmental conditions. Invariably, a combination of two or more of these factors may lead to accidents.

The following is a brief summary of the causes of accidents on roads:

1. Road and Road Conditions:

Faulty geometric design components like sight distance, shoulders, super-elevation, transitions and inadequate traffic control devices cause accidents, as do slippery road conditions with inadequate friction leading to skidding and pot holes, ruts and damaged conditions of the surface.

2. Road Users:

The drivers of vehicles can cause accidents through rash driving and excessive speed, violation of traffic rules, traffic signs and signals, through fatigue due to excessive continuous driving, alcoholism and drunken driving. In addition, bus passengers can cause accidents while getting into and alighting from moving vehicles, and distracting the driver’s attention. Pedestrians using the carriageway and violating regulations can also cause accidents.

3. Vehicles:

Mechanical defects of vehicles like failure of brakes, tyre burst, and steering system invariably lead to traffic accidents.

4. Weather:

Unfavourable weather conditions such as fog, heavy rainfall, dust and smoke render driving unsafe, leading to accidents.

5. Miscellaneous:

Stray animals, unmanned level crossings, advertisement boards and hoardings affecting visibility and distracting the drivers’ attention and a host of other such things may also cause road accidents.

Accident Records:

The importance of collecting and recording accurate and comprehensive information relating to road accidents cannot be over-emphasised. Such records help to identify the causes of road accidents and evolve methods of overcoming the deficiencies observed; statistical techniques may also be used in the analysis of accident data.

The IRC have prescribed standard accident reporting forms – Form A-1-for collecting the details of an accident and Form 4 for summary of road accidents in a state during the year.

The particulars in Form A-l are in the following heads:

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Essay on Road Accident in English

Table of Contents

Essay on Road Accident: We all know how difficult it is to cope up with a sudden loss of life of a near and dear one; moreover, if the person who died was the bread earner, then the lives of the dependents turn topsy-turvy. One of the major reasons for sudden or unexpected deaths in India are road accidents. The irony is that, most of the road accidents could have easily been avoided. In the following essays I have tried to discuss the causes of road accidents and also suggested some solutions. I hope you will appreciate my effort and also my essays.

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Long and Short Essay on Road Accident in English

We all know the traffic rules. We also know the consequences of not following the traffic rules. Still, the irony is no one follows it and by the time a person realizes his/her mistake, it’s too late. Now-a-days it has almost become a fashion to flout traffic rules. In the following Road Accident essay, I have tried to figure out as to why road accidents have become common in India and as to how we can reverse this trend. I hope you will like my approach and the essay on Road Accident.

Short Essay on Road Accident – Essay 1 (200 words)

Maximum people including me, believe in luck or fate but the problem is that, when something goes wrong, we blame it on fate, rather than accepting our fault. For example, if a meteor falls on one’s house and destroys it. It can be said that it’s bad luck because there was no way by which the person could have guessed its coming or could have done anything to protect his/her house but if you are going on your bike and due to some reason, your bike slips and you get a serious head injury. Is it luck? I am afraid it’s not, It’s gross negligence. If you would have worn your helmet, the head injury would have been avoided.

According to a credible research, most of the road accidents could be avoided or their effect could be minimised if proper precautions are taken. The issue is that maximum people are aware of the safety precautions and also traffic rules and regulations but they consider it (especially youngsters) cool to not to follow them. How this trend started and gained momentum can be a matter of debate but the fact is this problem has taken monstrous proportions and if something is not done urgently, then very soon things will go out of control.

I think no amount of rules and regulations can solve this problem. For this the mentality of the public (especially youngsters) needs to be changed. I think, this could be done by creating awareness among public through various awareness programs. Let’s hope that in the coming time better sense will prevail among the public and the number of deaths caused by the road accidents will come down.

Essay on Road Accidents in India – Essay 2 (300 words)

Introduction

When we were young, we were taught “precaution is better than cure”, and so many other things like “one should help a person in need”, etc but as we grow old we almost forget these things and seldom follow them and by the time we realize that what was taught to us is really true and worthwhile, it gets too late.

Road Accidents in India

According to a data, around one and a half lakh persons die due to road accidents per year in India alone and according to a research most of the deaths are avoidable. Then the million-dollar question is, “why we are not avoiding it”? From where this idea, that wearing helmets and fastening of seatbelts is boring has crept into our minds, I am unable to answer.

I tried to find the answer to the question. According to my dad, films, television and media are one of the main reasons. Film stars and television personalities are shown indulging in irresponsible behaviour in movies and serials. For example, riding very fast on a bike without a helmet and with a girl on the back who is cheering and shouting with joy. Kids and young adults who idolize film stars and television personalities find it cool and try to imitate it in real life without realizing that what was shown in the movie was complete fake or special effect.

Movies like “Dhoom” and “Fast and Furious” etc have glamorized speed. Even bike companies in their advertisements emphasize on the speed of their machines. That is why fast bikes are a craze among youth. Every boy wants to own one these and every girl wants to have a boyfriend who has one of these.

Young boys and girls are routinely found racing on empty roads (sometimes busy also) and highways by the police. Normally they are left with a strong warning but the problem is that, it is not mending them.

Government and few non-government organizations have taken the initiative to educate the youths. Even film and television stars have come out and appealed to youngsters. Progress is slow but let’s hope that in coming time people (specially youngsters) will behave more responsibly and we will be able to control road accidents in India.

Essay on Road Accidents, Causes and Remedies – Essay 3 (400 words)

We Indians are a great lot and are really great at discipline. Where it is written “no parking”, there one can easily find many vehicles parked. This is a very common scene in cities. The next one is more hilarious. In government offices one can find writen on the wall, “do not spit” or in Hindi, “Yahan pe thukna mana hai”. At that very place you will find lots of spits”. The silver lining is that, at least it’s not life threatening but not following traffic rules and guidelines could result in loss of life.

Causes and Remedies of Road Accidents

• Lack of discipline

I think, this is the biggest reason of road accidents. We are aware of the rules but just don’t follow them. The most common rule which we don’t follow is, wearing of helmets and fastening of seat belts. This simple precaution can save us from serious injuries in case of accidents and it is easy to follow.

On should not cross a railway crossing when it is closed but who cares. It is common to find bikers and cyclists pushing their vehicles from under the closed bars. When asked for reason, the common reply is, “sir ji late ho raha tha”. I am unable to understand why one would risk his life, just to save 5 or 10 minutes. If you want to reach your office/home in time, then it is a good idea to move a bit early but crossing a closed railway crossing is not advisable as it could result in serious injuries or even loss of life.

Mobile phones have revolutionised our world but at many times they prove a big nuisance. It is common to find people chatting on their mobile phones while they are driving. This increases the risk of accident many times. It is not advisable to talk on the phone even if using hands free because one still gets distracted.

Listening to music or radio is also not advisable while driving because it can also cause distraction. If we follow all these rules (be in discipline), there is a good chance that we may never meet an accident.

• Natural and other Causes

There are many factors which are under our control but also there are some factors which are not under our control. For example, bad roads, bad weather, stray animals etc. I agree, these factors are not under our control but if we take precautions, we can minimize the effect of accidents in case they happen.

People need to be convinced that following rules and being in discipline is also cool and it is in their interest to follow traffic rules.

Essay on How to Prevent Road Accidents – Essay 4 (500 words)

We all are used to ignore statutory warnings. Be it cancer warnings on chewing tobacco and cigarettes or traffic warnings, like, “drive slow”, “do not overtake” etc. Normally our attitude towards them is that, they are meant to be ignored.

Actually, preventing road accidents is very easy, there is no rocket science in it. We just have to stick to basics but the problem is, who cares.

How to Prevent Road Accidents

• Do not Over Speed

We all love speed. This is why fast bikes and fast cars are in great demand. Even manufactures highlight the speed of their machines in their advertisements. When traffic police catch us speeding, then our standard excuse is, “sir, I was getting late for office”. I am sure most of us will agree to the fact that it’s a lame excuse. The solution to this is simple, “leave your house early”.

Sometimes we do it for fun (specially youngsters indulge in racing or stunts). I think they get inspired from movies and serials without realizing that what is shown to us is special effect and fake.

• Do not Drink and Drive

This reason is responsible for a majority of major road accidents. First of all, it is not a good idea to drink but let’s say, you end up eventually having few glasses in a friend’s party then under no circumstances should you be driving. You can ask someone who is not drunk, to drive or you can take a taxi etc.

It has been proven scientifically that alcohol reduces the ability of the mind to think and react properly. Therefore, doesn’t matter how confident you are feeling, you should never drive after drinking. Certain medications also cause the same effect on mind as alcohol. So, if your doctor has advised you not to drive after taking some medications, then you should avoid doing it. As by doing it you are putting your life and also others life in danger.

• Learn Driving Before Driving

Most of us have never learnt driving formally (I mean in a driving school or by a driving instructor). Someone (normally relatives) just guide us a bit and then we think we are good to go. Persons (specially teenagers) who don’t know proper driving are at more risk than those persons who know proper driving.

This is why there is a driving test before one can get a driving licence but every one knows the reality. For few thousand rupees one can get a driving licence (without giving a driving test).

There are many who don’t have a driving licence at all and they continue to drive freely. If one is caught then he/she just gives a few hundred rupees to the concerned official and you are good to go.

• Proper Maintenance of Roads

Many accidents also happen due to poor maintenance of roads. For example, potholes, broken roads, open manholes etc increase the chance of accidents. Therefore, they should be taken care of, to decrease the chances of accident.

If one is careful and follows all rules and regulations carefully then many road accidents could be avoided and our roads will become safer.

Long Essay on Road Accident – Essay 5 (600 words)

Accident by definition means, “an unexpected and unintentional incident, causing damage or injury” but in most of the cases accidents can be avoided, if certain precautions are taken. So, if we take precautions, it’s good for us and if we don’t take precautions then we ourselves are responsible for the consequences.

According to a data around 1.5 lakh people die per year due to road accidents in India alone. Of course, this number could be reduced easily but for that we have to change our attitude and start following traffic rules and regulations.

What Precautions should be taken to Avoid Road Accidents?

• Never Drive when Feeling Tired or Sleepy

Normally when we are returning from day’s work, we are tired. There is good chance we may feel a bit sleepy. In that case one should never drive because the chance of (serious) accident increases. It’s a good idea to relax a bit and then drive or better take a taxi.

• Never Drive under the Influence of Alcohol or other Drugs which Hamper the Ability of the Brain

This one is a strict no-no. Under no circumstances one should drive after consuming alcohol. If some one does it, he/she is risking his/her life and also the life of others.

• Wear Helmets and Seatbelts while Driving

This rule is the easiest one to follow and has great benefits. This minimizes the effect in case of an accident.

• Never use your Mobile Phone while Driving

This rule is one of the most leniently followed. It is very common to find people talking on their mobile phone while driving. Talking on the mobile phone causes diversion of mind and in a flip second one can lose control and that can cause accident.

• Jumping Red Light can be Fatal

Traffic lights are made for a purpose. If you jump a red light (no matter why), you run the chance of getting hit by a vehicle coming from other direction. Therefore, it’s a good idea to stop at red light and move only when it’s green.

• Never Overspeed

No matter, how tempted you feel to speed up your car or bike after hearing the title tune of “Dhoom”. One should never do it because we all know that what is shown in movies is not real.

Sometimes people speed up to reach the office/house on time. For this, the easy solution is to start your journey a bit early.

• Make Sure your Headlights and Tail Lights are in Working Condition

Suppose you are driving in night and you want to turn your vehicle to the left, so you turn on your left indicator but your tail light is not working, so the driver behind you was not able to know that you want to turn and he hits your car.

This is a possible scenario. So, it’s a good idea to keep your car in good condition and get it repaired as soon as you find any faults.

• Drive Slowly and more Carefully in Bad Weather

The chances of accident increases by many folds in bad weather (rain, storm, snow etc). Therefore, one should avoid driving in bad weather but if that is not possible then one should drive very carefully and slowly otherwise he/she can get hurt.

• Busting of Tires

Suppose you are driving on a lonely road and your car runs over an iron nail and your tire bursts. There is a chance that your car may flip or your car may get hit by another car. An iron nail was there on the road. You can’t do anything about that but if you had taken precautions like driving under speed limit and wearing of seatbelts, you can definitely minimize the effect of the accident.

There are so many things which are under our control and also there are some things which are not under our control. So, let’s do what we can do and leave the rest to God. With some effort I am sure we can bring down the number of road accidents.

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Essay on “Preventing Road Accidents” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Preventing Road Accidents

Road accidents are very common these days: There may be several reasons for this state of affairs. Some of such reasons may be briefly studied as given below.

There are certain set traffic rules for the vehicles plying on roads. If any of these rules is violated, the consequences can be serious and in certain cases, even fatal. So, it should be ensured that traffic rules are followed by the commuters. All violators of these rules should be brought to book.

There should be automatic electric traffic lights at all the busy crossing and some traffic police officials should always be there to see that the commuters do not jump the traffic lights. The violators should be heavily fined or even imprisoned and, if necessary, even their driving licences should be impounded.

In case of certain roads such as the Sher Shah Sun Marg, there are so many unnecessary road-dividers. These road dividers are in many cases the cause of accidents. If the number of these road dividers is reduced, the number of accidents will also get reduced automatically.

Intensive road repairs where necessary should be taken to make traffic smooth and safe.

Rash driving and driving in a drunken state should be prohibited. The drunken drivers’ licences should be cancelled. There should be a fixed speed limit for driving on all highways which should be displayed prominently at important places and crossings. Any violator of this limit should be severely dealt with.

It will be very worthwhile if road safety weeks are organised in all schools and colleges frequently to apprise the young students from the very beginning of the idea of road safety.

All encroachments on important highways should be removed and several roadlanes at regular intervals may be constructed to streamline traffic. This idea may seem to be counteracting against the idea of reducing the number of road – dividers but actually it is not.

In all important cities where road traffic is high, a bypass should be constructed to divert or direct through traffic to other towns.

The road traffic personnel should be highly trained to control the traffic in a better way.

If all these steps are taken in unison, the graph of road accidents is likely to show a downward trend.

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Sample Answer band 7.5+

Road accidents have always been a significant matter of concern, so much so that there is an idea that says the problem can only be solved by punishing driving offenders very strictly. However, I do not think this is the only solution, although it could be somewhat effective.

On the one hand, it could be helpful to apply serious penalties to reduce the risk of traffic accidents. Theoretically, this not only can prevent lawbreakers from driving thoughtlessly again but also can warn other people against doing that. For example, since 2019, when Vietnam laid down strict legislation on alcohol consumption control, the number of crashes caused by drunkenness has decreased. According to this law, drivers will receive a fine of at least 85 USD for motorcycles and 255 USD for cars if their blood or breath contains alcohol, besides having their driving licence confiscated.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned solution is not always successful, hence an alternate measure should be proposed. Research conducted in Queensland, Australia, in 2019 shows that traffic infringements did not decrease despite the imposition of serious penalties, suggesting that people’s aggressive driving habits were not successfully deterred. Therefore, another measure is needed, and from my perspective, we ought to think about banning private vehicles, at least in a number of areas. This not only contributes to the reduction of road accident risks but also helps to ease environmental problems.

In brief, imposing strict punishments on driving offences could be helpful, but only to a certain extent. Since this method cannot defeat reckless driving, another proposal ought to be made, such as prohibiting personal vehicles.

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Moscow, like other international urban areas , is decentralizing, despite considerable barriers. The expansion will lead to even more decentralization, which is likely to lead to less time "stuck in traffic" and more comfortable lifestyles. Let's hope that Russia's urban development policies, along with its plans to restore population growth, will lead to higher household incomes and much improved economic performance.

Wendell Cox is a Visiting Professor, Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers, Paris and the author of “ War on the Dream: How Anti-Sprawl Policy Threatens the Quality of Life ”

Note 1: The 23 ward (ku) area of Tokyo is the geography of the former city of Tokyo, which was abolished in the 1940s. There is considerable confusion about the geography of Tokyo. For example, the 23 ward area is a part of the prefecture of Tokyo, which is also called the Tokyo Metropolis, which has led some analysts to think of it as the Tokyo metropolitan area (labor market area). In fact, the Tokyo metropolitan area, variously defined, includes, at a minimum the prefectures of Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama with some municipalities in Gunma, Ibaraki and Tochigi. The metropolitan area contains nearly three times the population of the "Tokyo Metropolis."

Note 2: The expansion area (556 square miles or 1,440 square kilometers) has a current population of 250,000.

Note 3: Includes all residents in suburban districts with at least part of their population in the urban area.

Note 4: Urban area data not yet available.

Photo: St. Basil's Cathedral (all photos by author)

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Road in city area.

The roads and ways of the city areas are very clumsy and many accidents are happening due to the short road. But you need to maintain the driving properly otherwise you may face accident. So now the government decided to expand the road which may put the positive effect on automobile sector. I think it is a helpful service for the society people. If you have a BMW car and you have faced any problem then better to repair it at BMW Repair Spring, TX for the best service.

Transit & transportation

Transit and transportation services are quite impressive in most of the urban cities; therefore people were getting better benefits from suitable transportation service. Urban cities like Moscow, Washington, New York and Tokyo; we have found high margin of transportation system that helps to build a better communication network in these cities. I hope through the help of modern transportation system we are able to bring revolutionary change in automobile industries; in this above article we have also found the same concepts to develop transportation system. Mercedes repair in Torrance

Moscow is bursting Noblesse

Moscow is bursting Noblesse at the seams. The core city covers more than 420 square miles (1,090 kilometers), and has a population of approximately 11.5 million people. With 27,300 residents per square mile (10,500 per square kilometer), Moscow is one percent more dense than the bleach anime watch city of New York, though Moscow covers 30 percent more land. The 23 ward area of Tokyo (see Note) is at least a third more dense, though Moscow's land area is at least half again as large as Tokyo. All three core areas rely

Belgravia Villas is a new

Belgravia Villas is a new and upcoming cluster housing located in the Ang Mo Kio area, nested right in the Ang Mo Kio landed area. It is within a short drive to Little India, Orchard and city area. With expected completion in mid 2016, it comprises of 118 units in total with 100 units of terrace and 18 units of Semi-D. belgravia villas

Russians seeing the light while Western elites are bickering?

What an extremely interesting analysis - well done, Wendell.

It is also extremely interesting that the Russian leadership is reasonably pragmatic about urban form, in contrast to the "planners" of the post-rational West.

An acquaintance recently sent me an article from "The New Yorker", re Moscow's traffic problems.

The article "abstract" is HERE (but access to the full article requires subscription)

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gessen

One classic quote worth taking from it, is: "People will endure all manner of humiliation to keep driving".

I do find it odd that the "New Yorker" article author says nothing at all about the rail transit system Moscow had, on which everyone was obliged to travel, under Communism. It can't surely have vaporised into thin air?

Moscow is a classic illustration of just how outmoded rails are, and how important "automobility" is, when the auto supplants rails so rapidly than even when everybody did travel on rails up to a certain date, and the road network dates to that era, when nobody was allowed to own a car; an article written just 2 decades later does not even mention the rail transit system, other than to criticise the mayor for "failing to invest in a transit system".......!!!!!!!!

This is also a give-away of "The New Yorker's" inability to shake off the modern PC ideology on rails vs cars.

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Significance of chronic toxoplasmosis in epidemiology of road traffic accidents in Russian Federation

Ekaterina v. stepanova.

1 Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology, Tropical and Vector Borne Diseases, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russian Federation

Anatoly V. Kondrashin

Vladimir p. sergiev.

2 Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitic Diseases, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russian Federation

Lola F. Morozova

Natalia a. turbabina, maria s. maksimova, alexey i. brazhnikov.

3 Department of Epidemiology and Evidence-based Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russian Federation

Sergei B. Shevchenko

Evgeny n. morozov.

4 Department of Tropical, Parasitic Diseases and Disinfectology, Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education, Moscow, Russian Federation

Associated Data

All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information file.

Studies carried out in Moscow residents have revealed that the prevalence of chronic toxoplasmosis is very close to those in countries of Eastern and Central Europe. Our findings also demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between the rate of traffic accidents and the seroprevalence of chronic toxoplasmosis in drivers who were held responsible for accidents. The latter was 2.37 times higher in drivers who were involved in road accidents compared with control groups. These results suggest that the consequences of chronic toxoplasmosis (particularly a slower reaction time and decreased concentration) might contribute to the peculiarities of the epidemiology of road traffic accidents in the Russian Federation and might interfere with the successful implementation of the Federal Programme named “Increase road traffic safety”. Suggestions for how to address overcome this problem are discussed in this paper.

Introduction

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are very serious health and social problems worldwide. In the Russian Federation, this problem is particularly acute compared with other countries that have similar levels of social and economic development. According to the WHO Road Safety Estimations, the road traffic death rate (per 100000 population) in the Russian Federation was 18.9 in 2013, which was two times lower than that in many developing countries [ 1 ] but much higher compared with European countries such as the Netherlands (3.4), Germany (4.3), Finland (4.8), and the Czech Republic (6.1) [ 2 ].

The demographic burden of RTA and their consequences is enormous. According to the State Statistical Bureau of Russia, during the period 1985–2012, the total number of RTAs in the Russian Federation exceeded 5 million, with more than 850000 people dead. More than 6 million suffered injuries of various degrees of severity. Major trauma, including concomitant injuries, multi-organ injuries, and composite fractures, represents more than 60% of all injuries and leads to the handicap of more than 6000 persons annually. Reports from the Ministry of Health reveal that the total number of fatal cases due to RTAs is 12 times higher and that the number of disabilities is 6–7 times higher compared with that among other causes of injury. The annual economic burden due to the RTA in the Russian Federation is estimated at approximately 1 trillion rubles (US $ 16.7 billion as of 20.12.2016).

The government of the Russian Federation considers road safety to be one of the most important goals for social and economic development. An appreciation and concern for the magnitude of the problem is reflected in the allocation of considerable amount of funds to establish and implement various activities within the framework of the Federal Program “Increase road traffic safety, 2013–2020” under the lead agency Road Safety Commission of the Government of Russian Federation. The aim of the program, at the cost of almost 36 trillion rubles (US $36 billion), is the annual reduction of the number of fatal cases due to RTA by 29% (not more than 8000 cases) by 2020 compared to 2012. Prior to launching the Program, the epidemiological peculiarities of RTAs in the Russian Federation were ascertained and appear to be determined by interaction of several factors. One of the most important factors was believed to be the discordance between the ever-increasing intensity of road traffic (particularly for the last 15–20 years), followed by the tempo of the construction of new roads and the proper maintenance of the existing road network. It was also found that the violation of the National rules of the road was the cause of almost 85% of all RTAs, of which drivers were responsible for 70%-75% [ 3 ].

For 55% of the RTAs, the cause was exceeding the speed limit and breaking the rules at the regulated intersections (30%). A considerable number of road accidents have been committed by drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Road traffic deaths involving alcohol represent 8% of all deaths on the roads [ 4 ]. However, one of the factors contributing to the peculiarities of the epidemiology of RTAs in Russia was not considered. This factor is the consequences of chronic toxoplasmosis among persons involved in RTAs. This was not analyzed, although a number of publications on the subject have been available abroad since the mid- 1990s [ 5 , 6 ].

Unlike its acute form, chronic toxoplasmosis is not accompanied by manifested clinical symptoms of the disease [ 7 ]. The chronic form of toxoplasmosis in the Russian Federation is still considered a phenomenon of asymptomatic carriage, and clinicians do not consider it a health problem. A previous study revealed that the prevalence of latent toxoplasmosis in the Russian Federation is 5%-7% in Republic Saha and Omsk province, both of which are in Eastern Siberia [ 8 ]. Investigations in other parts of the country have not been carried out.

Worldwide interest and concern for the emerging problem of toxoplasmosis, especially its chronic form, have been demonstrated over the last 15–20 years, when new dimensions of the disease were established. The results of monitoring Toxoplasma -infected persons have revealed behavioral changes among them compared with uninfected persons. The intensity of such changes is closely correlated with the duration of chronic toxoplasmosis [ 6 , 9 , 10 ]. It appears that the mechanism that determines the personality changes is associated with an increase in the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine, affecting a person’s motor activity, aggression and social behavior [ 11 , 12 ]. Once in the nerve or inside the muscle tissue, the parasite forms cysts that cause the development of chronic toxoplasmosis [ 13 , 14 ]. It was shown that Toxoplasm a localizes in the nerve cells of the brain and stimulates the production of dopamine. This effect could be responsible for prolongation of person’s reaction time and ability to concentrate [ 15 ] and also for an increased risk of traffic and working place incidents, as convincingly demonstrated in epidemiological studies in the Czech Republic, the Republic of Turkey, and Mexico [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Subsequent observations among toxoplasmosis-infected persons conducted in various countries have confirmed significant behavioral changes, including personality changes, IQ loss and altered psychomotor activity, including an increased risk of involvement in road traffic accidents [ 10 , 11 , 13 ].

Thus, the objectives of our study were a) to determine the prevalence of chronic toxoplasmosis in the city and region of Moscow and b) to establish the probable role of the disease in the epidemiology of RTAs in the Russian Federation to facilitate the successful implementation of the Federal Program.

The study was performed at the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University and the Moscow Sklifosovskii Institute of Emergency Medicine during 2015.

To establish the general prevalence of chronic toxoplasmosis among residents of Moscow city, examinations were carried out among persons attending the Outpatient Department at the Clinical Center of the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University. No special criteria were selected for examination in terms of age, sex and occupation. A total of 1272 persons were examined ( Table 1 ).

To address the second objective, we carried out an analytical epidemiological “case-control” study represented by two groups: experimental and control. The experimental group consisted of persons in possession of a valid driving license who were hospitalized because of a road traffic accident for which they were responsible. All persons in the experimental group were patients of the Sklifosovsky Medical Emergency Institute, Moscow. The criteria for inclusion were a) proof that the admitted person was driving at the time of the accident, b) evidence that their actions/behavior had led to the occurrence of the accident; and c) age from 18–45 years.

The criterion for exclusion was driving at the time of an accident under the influence of alcohol/drugs. A total of 100 persons constituted the experimental group, with 65 men and 35 women (Tables ​ (Tables2 2 and ​ and3 3 ).

The control group consisted of 152 healthy persons aged 18–45 years (82 men and 70 women), who were undergoing routine medical examinations at the Clinical Centre of Sechenov University.

Participants in the experimental and control groups were informed about the purposes of the study, and informed consent was obtained before enrollment in the study.

All study patients were tested for the presence of IgG- and IgM-specific antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii . The determination of specific immunoglobulin G and M in the blood serum of the study groups (experimental and control) were determined using “Vector-Toxo of IgG” (Vector-Best, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation) and “Vector Toxo-IgM” enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kits, produced by JSC “VECTOR-BEST.” The indicator of chronic toxoplasmosis in a patient was the presence of IgG in the absence of IgM [ 13 ].

The statistical significance of the results in the experimental and control groups was obtained using the χ² criterion, and the odds ratio (OR) was calculated with a level of reliability not less than 95%. The Statistical Package EpiInfo Version was employed for calculations. Additionally, we used the Pearson Correlation, Partial Correlation, and Mantel-Haenszel Common Odds Ratio Estimate.

Ethical considerations

The study was approved by the Research Ethics Board of Health of the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (protocol № 04–13, 10.04.2013). Participants in the experimental and control groups were informed about the purposes of the study, and informed consent was obtained before enrollment in the study in verbal form.

Results and discussion

The prevalence of chronic toxoplasmosis in the residents of Moscow city is presented in Table 1 . These values were considerably higher (25.39%, n = 1272) in our study than those obtained earlier in Eastern Siberia in Russia [ 8 ]. This could be attributed to the differences in the living conditions and food preferences of the local population. However, our findings are quite close to the results obtained in Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Switzerland [ 20 , 21 , 22 ].

The results of the examination of blood serum in the experimental and control groups are presented in Tables ​ Tables2 2 and ​ and3 3 .

As seen in Table 2 , the immunoglobulin M was absent in both groups, whereas immunoglobulin G was present in 45% of those tested in the experimental group compared to 26% in the control group. The absence of the immunoglobulin IgM in conjunction with the presence of IgG suggests the presence of persons with exclusively the chronic form of toxoplasmosis in both the experimental and control groups. It was found that the number of seropositive subjects with IgG in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group. Thus, among the persons involved in traffic accidents who were responsible for their occurrence, the incidence of cases with chronic toxoplasmosis was more than twice that in the control group.

The results of our studies are quite close to those obtained in the Czech Republic, where it was found that the risk for traffic accidents in subjects with chronic toxoplasmosis was 2.65 times (2.37 in our study) higher than in the control group [ 16 ].

In Turkey, which has a traffic toll of approximately 7500 persons annually, similar epidemiological studies revealed that the risk of accidents in the experimental group was between 2 and 4 times higher than that in the control group [ 17 , 18 ].

Thus, both our results and those obtained abroad suggest the presence of a link between the incidence of chronic toxoplasmosis and road traffic accidents.

The role of the consequences of chronic toxoplasmosis in the changes of the personality profile of an infected person has been well established. A slower reaction time and decreased concentration are most remarkable features among the changes in an infected person [ 6 , 23 ]. These changes are particularly important while driving [ 16 ]. The results of studies carried out among 3890 military drivers (men) in the Czech Republic revealed that persons with high titers of Toxoplasm a antibodies had a 6-fold higher frequency of accidents compared with uninfected persons [ 24 ].

It is believed that the mechanism of such phenomena in general is related to the modulation of dopamine levels (increased or decreased) as a result of the presence of the parasite in brain cells [ 25 , 26 ]. The consequences of such modulation can be seen in the changing behavior in affected individuals, with marked sex differences and similarities. Men with chronic toxoplasmosis have higher and women lower concentrations of testosterone [ 15 ]. The direction of toxoplasmosis-associated shift in intelligence, extroversion, suspiciousness, strength of superego, and self-sufficiency differ between men and women. However, no differences in the direction of such shifts were observed in consciousness, novelty seeking, and the reaction time impairment and these changes could result in a higher risk of road traffic accidents [ 5 , 6 , 14 , 27 ].

The data in Table 3 show that the effect of toxoplasmosis was significant and similar for men (OR = 2.2, CI 95 = 1.04–4.66, p<0.02) and women (OR = 2.6, CI 95 = 1.02–6.8,p<0.02). Similar prevalence of seropositive subjects was found in men and women and this was true both in the experimental and the control group despite the fact that the prevalence of toxoplasmosis was about two times higher in the experimental group.

To assess the possible confounding effects of sex, we performed also the Mantel-Haenzel test. The OR adjusted for sex was 2.35 CI 95 1.37–4.03.

It appears that similarities in the behavioral changes of infected men and women driving on the roads determines “aggressive driving,” the neglect of driving rules, and ignoring pedestrians. In conjunction with inadequate road conditions, which currently prevail in Russia, these factors might contribute to an increased risk of road traffic accidents.

As of today, the Federal Program is in its 4 th year of implementation (2013–2016). During that period, the proportion of the federal and regional network of roads that fully correspond to the national standards has increased from 39% in 2013 to 71% in 2016. However, an appreciable improvement of the road’s standards has not been accompanied by an expected reduction of the total number of RTA and its consequences, as exemplified by the following data. For example, in 2015, there were total of 151000 serious RTAs, with 19000 fatal cases. Approximately 190000 persons were injured with traumas of various degrees of severity. Over the first 9 months of 2016, the total reported number of RTAs was more than 133000, in which 16000 persons died and 168000 persons were injured. Thus, these data indicate that the “human factor”, drunk driving, a low rate of seat-belt wearing, excess speed, a violation of overtaking rules, inadequate behavior in extreme situations, not keeping a stipulated distance between vehicles while driving and the probable consequences of chronic toxoplasmosis—continue to play extremely important roles in the current epidemiology of RTAs in the Russian Federation. The limited scale of our studies did not allow us to precisely calculate the number of RTAs that were directly related to chronic toxoplasmosis. However, one cannot exclude the probability that the consequences of the disease might act in conjunction with other factors, for example, with the presence of alcohol in the blood of the person who caused the RTA. Another factor limiting the possibility to exactly quantify the real impacts of latent toxoplasmosis, e.g. to compute the attributable risk, is the fact that the results of several studies abroad have demonstrated that th Rh positive subjects, especially the heterozygotes, are protected against many negative effects of toxoplasmosis, including impairment of reaction times [ 28 ] and an increased risk of traffic accidents [ 23 ]. In addition, the impairment of reaction times increases [ 23 , 28 ] but the risk of traffic accidents decreases with the duration of the Toxoplasma infection [ 24 ].

We strongly feel that the results of our studies clearly indicate the necessity to address the consequences of chronic toxoplasmosis in the implementation of the Federal Program on Road Safety in Russian Federation, on par with other factors contributing to the problem of road accidents. One of the possible steps towards solving the problem might be an entry screening for toxoplasmosis in every student in every driving school. Licensed drivers should be tested for toxoplasmosis during routine medical examinations. Considering the magnitude of road accidents involving pedestrians, Special Programs should be developed to prevent road accidents, specifically programs targeting school children. To that effect, negotiations with the national authorities are already in progress. Thus, our experience could be extended to individuals who are engaged in other fields of activity, for example, the screening of conscripts and members of the military who drive and manage various military equipment, including aircraft.

It should be kept in mind, however, that the solution to chronic toxoplasmosis with respect to road safety lies in the development of efficient specific drugs targeting parasitic cysts.

Strength and limitations of the study

The results of this study provide very useful information that can be used to educate physicians in the Russian Federation who are still unaware of the consequences of chronic toxoplasmosis. This information may also be used while assessing the progress of the Federal Program on road safety in Russia.

There are some confounders in our study that might have interfered with the reliability of the obtained results. This study is limited in terms of the generalizability of the findings, as it examined the inhabitants of Moscow city only. With respect to the overall prevalence of chronic toxoplasmosis among the residents of Moscow city, no data on the territorial distribution within the study area were ascertained. The availability of such data might provide an idea of whether the distribution of the infection is diffused or focal. With respect to the comparative prevalence of chronic toxoplasmosis in the experimental and control groups, the limiting factors could be considered to be as follows. First, the study was confined to drivers who were held responsible for RTAs. The role of pedestrians involved in RTAs and their responsibility were not studied. The combined prevalence in drivers and pedestrians might be higher. Second, the age groups were limited to only those aged 18–45 years. The inclusion of subject older than 45 years of age might increase or decrease the prevalence of chronic toxoplasmosis in both groups. Third, the possibility of different protection against negative effects of toxoplasmosis in RTAs among the Rh positive and Rh negative subjects was not established. Fourth, the decrease of the risk of traffic accidents during the Toxoplasm a infection was not studied.

Conclusions

The results of our studies had revealed that frequency of chronic toxoplasmosis among residents of the city and region of Moscow in the Russian Federation is very close to those in many European countries. It was also demonstrated that the statistically significant frequency of chronic toxoplasmosis among drivers, regardless of gender and the responsibility for road accidents, was more than 2 times higher compared with that of the control group. The results of our studies are consistent with data from similar studies in other countries.

We suggest that the results of our research should be taken into consideration during the implementation of the Federal Road Safety Program. These results show that the effect of latent toxoplasmosis could play a very important role in the epidemiology of road accidents in the Russian Federation.

Supporting information

Acknowledgments.

The authors are very grateful to the medical personnel of the Sklifosovski Institute for their very valuable assistance during the studies.

Funding Statement

The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Data Availability