INGENIEUR
INGENIEUR
as the name suggests , is envisioned to be a transformation of existing road assessment practices in ASEAN countries into a programme that is sustainable for the benefit of society .
REFERENCE
International Road Assessment Programme . ( 2008 ). Vaccines for Roads : The new iRAP tools and their pilot application . United Kingdom .
International Road Assessment Programme . ( 2009 ). Malaysia : iRAP Results 2009 . United Kingdom .
Royal Malaysian Police . ( 2015 ). Statistical Report Road Accident 2015 . Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad . Kuala Lumpur .
World Health Organization . ( 2013 ). Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013 : Supporting a decade of action . Luxembourg .
Do You Know ?
Road Safety
By Pang Soo Mooi
India banned the sale of booze within
500m of national and state highways starting April 2017 to reduce alcohol-fuelled road accidents . ( WSJ , April 25 , 2017 ).
Approximately one billion vehicles are on the world ’ s roads , and that number is expected to double soon . About 1.25 million people die each year as a result of traffic accidents , and up to 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries . Moreover , road traffic accidents cost at least 1 % of the world ’ s Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ), or roughly US $ 750 billion per year . ( United Nations )
Only 28 countries , which represent 449 million people ( 7 % of the world ’ s population ), have adequate laws that address all five risk factors ( speed , drunk – driving , helmets , seat-belts and child restraints ). Over a third of road traffic deaths in low- and middle-income countries are among pedestrians and cyclists . ( World Health Organisation , or WHO )
Nearly 80 % of pedestrians do not survive accidents involving a car moving at a speed of 50km per hour or above . At 30km per hour however , 90 % are expected survive . Half of the world ’ s road traffic deaths occur among three key vulnerable user groups : motorcyclists ( 23 %), pedestrians ( 22 %) and cyclists ( 5 %). ( United Nations Economic Commission for Europe or UNECE )
There is a four-fold increase in crash risk when
14 VOL 70 APRIL-JUNE 2017 talking on a mobile phone while driving . Legislation prohibiting the use of hand-held phones while driving exists in 139 countries while a further 31 countries prohibit both hand-held and hands-free phones .
In European countries alone , about 75 % of deaths among motorcycle users result from head injuries . Motorcyclists wearing standard , good quality helmets can pay big safety dividends : such helmets can reduce the risk of death by 40 % and the risk of serious head injuries by over 70 %. ( UNECE )
Infants have relatively large and heavy heads in relation to their bodies . That is why this group of ‘ road users ’ should travel in restraints placed opposite to the driving direction to reduce the risk of severe injuries during hard braking . ( UNECE )
The risk of dying in the front seat during a car crash increases five-fold if passengers in the back do not wear seat belts . That is why it is so important to buckle up especially in the back seat . ( UNECE ) Globally , approximately 62 % of reported road traffic deaths occur in 10 countries – which in order of magnitude are India , China , US , Russia , Brazil , Iran , Mexico , Indonesia , South Africa and Egypt . However , based on modelled numbers , the 10 countries with the highest number of deaths are China , India , Nigeria , US , Pakistan , Indonesia , Russia , Brazil , Egypt and Ethiopia . ( WHO )
A 5 % cut in average speed can result in a reduction in the number of fatal road traffic accidents . ( WHO )