An estimated 885,000 people per year lose their lives in traffic accidents, according to WHO[1]. The majority of traffic accidents (70 percent)occur in the low-and middle-income countries of the developing world, even though private vehicle usage is markedly lower there than in wealthier nations[2]. The differences in risk per vehicle are dramatic: in several African countries, fatality rates exceed 100 per 10,000 registered vehicles, compared with fewer than 4 in Western Europe. In Kenya, 40 percent of road accidents happen in cities and 60 percent occur in rural areas.

The rate of fatal injuries per registered vehicle has climbed 300 percent since 1968 in Africa, whereas it has dropped slightly in the developed world[3]. One reason for the higher fatality rate is that each incident frequently affects many people, for example, when an accident involves an overcrowded bus. Inadequate safety standards are another contributor to high fatality rates.

In developing countries, pedestrians account for about 40 percent of deaths from traffic accidents, compared with 20 percent in developed countries[4]. A major reason for this is the concentration of different road users jostling for space on crowded city roads.

References and notes

1. Bart Ostro, "Estimating the Health Effects of Air Pollutants: A Method with an Application to Jakarta," Policy Research Working Paper No. 1301 (The World Bank, Washington, D.C., 1994), p. 47.

2. World Health Organization (WHO), The World Health Report 1995: Bridging the Gaps (WHO, Geneva, 1995), p. 35.

3. G.D. Jacobs, "Road Safety in the Developing World," in Health at the Cross-Roads: Urban Health and Transport Policy, T. Fletcher and T. McMichael, eds. (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, in press), p. 1.

4. Ibid.