Weather is an environmental risk factor that affects collision and casualty rates. Weather conditions partly determine the road conditions and the driver’s behaviour. Bad weather encompasses: fog or mist, rain, snow, sleet, hail, strong wind, and high temperatures. In Europe, 1,4% of total fatalities are due to fog or mist, 8,6% by rain, 0,8% by snow, sleet or hail, 0,6% by strong wind (European Commission – Annual Accident Report, 2018). (more…)

Seat belts are an effective way of reducing the number or road deaths and severe road injuries in crashes. According to the 2018 WHO Global status report on road safety, wearing a seat-belt reduces the risk of a fatality among front seat passengers by 40-50% and among rear-seat passengers by 25-75%. Failure to wear a seat belt is the 2^nd biggest cause of road death, after speeding but ahead of drink-driving. European Commission suggests that action targeting the use of seat belts could save up to 7.300 lives a year in the EU.

Effects of wearing a seat belt

• Not wearing a seat belt can result in being totally ejected from the vehicle in a crash, which is almost always deadly.
• The air bag can seriously injure or even kill you if you’re not wearing a seat belt. Air bags are designed to work with seat belts, not replace.

Why not wearing a seat-belt is dangerous?

Passengers who are not wearing seat-belts at the time of a collision account for the majority of occupant road traffic fatalities. Seat belts are the best defense against impaired, aggressive, and distracted drivers. Being buckled up during a crash helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle.

Guidelines to buckle up safely

• The lap belt and shoulder belt are secured across the pelvis and rib cage, which are better able to withstand crash forces than other parts of your body.
• Place the shoulder belt across the middle of your chest and away from your neck.
• The lap belt rests across your hips, not your stomach.
• NEVER put the shoulder belt behind your back or under an arm.

Key Recommendations

 There is a clear need for drivers to remember to wear their seat belt. How?

1. Buckle up! No excuses…
2. Listen! Most cars signal the driver and passengers to buckle up when the key is put into the ignition
3. You must wear a seat belt either you are not going far or not traveling fast, most fatal crashes happen within 25 miles of home at speeds of less than 60 km/h.
4. If you drive an older or classic car with lap belts only, check with your vehicle manufacturer about how to retrofit your car with today’s safer lap/shoulder belts.

Distracted drivers aren’t just a threat to themselves: they’re a danger to everyone else on the road. The mobile phone is symbolic of ‘distraction in traffic’. Texting (and navigating on the phone) is the most alarming distraction. Since our mental capacity is limited, we can only pay attention to a part of our environment. A road user should first and foremost be focused on traffic. Distracted driving encompasses: Reading and sending text messages and typing or updating a social network site

 Effects of distracted driving

• Worse braking reaction time
• Worse reaction to traffic signals
• Difficulty in keeping the correct lane
• Difficulty in keeping the correct headway distance
• Drivers zigzag more

Why distracted driving is dangerous?

Drivers using mobile phones are approximately 4 times more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers not using a mobile phone. Using a cell phone while driving creates enormous potential for deaths and injuries on roads. Distraction affects a number of essential aspects of driving skills. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 80kph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.

More texting = higher probability of a crash

• Driver more likely to lose control
• Less time to take preventive action
• Less accurately reaction to deceleration by the driver in front
• Difficulty in keeping their lane

Key Recommendations

 There is a clear need for drivers to avoid using their mobile phones while driving. How?

1. Turn your cell on “silent” (and keep vibrate off)!
2. Keep the phone out of sight and reach! Having the volume and vibrate feature off may not be enough.
3. Completely turn your cell phone off!
4. Pull over and stop if it is important to answer a call!
5. Parents lead by example – It’s not an age or experience issue, it is a safety and distracted driving issue!

The concepts of “fatigue”, “sleepiness” and “drowsiness” are often used interchangeably. Sleepiness is an aspect of fatigue which is perhaps easiest to define. Sleepiness can be defined as the neurobiological need to sleep[1], resulting from physiological wake and sleep drives[2]. Driving fatigue is associated with increased crash risk which often results from a combination of biological, lifestyle-related and work-related factors. Crashes in which driver fatigue plays a role are not only a matter of having spent too long behind the wheel; fatigue can also be caused by too little sleep, stress, or the time of the day. (more…)

Speeding is considered as the most important road crash factor. It is a key factor in around 30% of fatal road accidents. Some 40-50% of drivers drive faster than the recommended speed limit and 10-20% exceed the limit by more than 10kph. Not only does speeding make you more likely to crash, it also increases the likelihood of severe injuries or death from an accident (European Commission, 2019). Speeding encompasses: Excessive speed (driving above the speed limit) and Inappropriate speed (driving too fast for the conditions, but within the limits). The main effects of speeding are:

• Excessive or inappropriate speed contributes to about one third of all fatal accidents
• The level of exhaust emissions, fuel consumption and noise increase with speed
• Speed effects the quality of life of urban residents, especially the safe mobility of VRU

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Driving under the influence of alcohol and any psychoactive substance or drug increases the risk of a crash that results in death or serious injuries. About 25% of all road fatalities in Europe are alcohol related whereas about only 1% of all kilometres driven in Europe are driven by drivers with 0.5 g/l alcohol in their blood or more [1]. If the proportion of 25% applies worldwide and is based on 1,25 million road fatalities per year, the annual number of alcohol-related road deaths will be around 312.500. (more…)