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World Health Day
2004

PAHO Calls for Behavior Change for Road Safety

Washington, April 13, 2004 (PAHO)—Pan American Health Organization Director Dr. Mirta Roses said today "We need a sustained effort to change behavior" to improve road safety and reduce the toll of deaths and injuries among pedestrians throughout the Americas.

In a panel at PAHO as part of the new "Road Safety is No Accident" campaign, experts presented information on pedestrian safety, during Health in the Americas Week dedicated to road safety.

"We are really concerned about problems like this one, which is largely preventable," Roses said.

Dr. Joxel García. PAHO's deputy director, noting that the fatality rate in crashes involving pedestrians is higher among Latinos than other groups in the U.S., said "We are looking to create change so we can reduce these pedestrian fatalities." In addition to educating drivers and pedestrians, other measures such as separating pedestrians from traffic, building overpasses for busy crossings, and strict enforcement of speed limits and drunk driving laws are important to cut the toll of injury and death, he said.

Alberto Concha-Eastman, PAHO's regional adviser on injury prevention, said that of the 130,000 people killed in road crashes throughout the Americas. 40 percent were pedestrians. . Worldwide, 1.2 million die and as many as 50 million people are injured or disabled in crashes.

Tamara Redmon of the U.S. Department of transportation said that 4,808 pedestrians were killed and 71,000 injured in the United States in 2002, the last year for which figures are available. Most pedestrian fatalities occurred in urban areas, 78 percent were at locations other than intersections, 89 percent occurred in normal weather conditions and 65 percent took place at night, she said.

The largest percentage of pedestrians killed in the U.S., 23 percent, were children aged 5-9, and the highest percentage of pedestrians injured in traffic crashes were youths between the ages of 10 and 15, Redmon noted.

"Vulnerable populations such as the very young, the elderly, migrants to urban areas, and illiterate people are at the highest risk of being injured or killed as pedestrians," Concha-Eastman said. In some countries of Latin America, between 20 and 40 percent of crashes involving pedestrians are hit-and-runs, and half of the crashes are alcohol-related, he said.

In Bogotá, Colombia, 700 people were killed in road crashes, including 444 pedestrians, or 64 percent, Concha-Eastman said. In Mexico City, 643 pedestrians were killed, or 52 percent of all traffic deaths. In Rio de Janeiro, 45 percent of those killed were pedestrians, and 17 percent of the 13,253 injured in traffic crashes were pedestrians, he said.

PAHO, together with other partners, has launched a regional campaign to reduce deaths and injuries from traffic crashes in the Americas, focusing on increased use of seat belts and helmets, reductions in drunk driving, pedestrian safety, road improvements and other measures. The partners include the World Bank, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the American Automobile Association, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Safe Kids, and others.

A new traffic injury prevention report by the World Bank and the World Health Organization recommends appointment of a lead agency in every country to coordinate efforts by various sectors to cut deaths and injuries, along with national road safety strategies and plans of action with clear roles and objectives for each sector, and the implementation of proven interventions to prevent crashes and minimize injuries and their consequences.

PAHO was established in 1902 and works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and the quality of life of its people. It also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).