Essay on Road Safety

Introduction:

Road safety can basically be defined and explained as the safety and guidance of all people from road accidents and road side injuries. Road safety involves a variety of measures and methods that must be and are followed by the users of the road so as to prevent different accidents and serious injury. There is the utmost need for us to pay proper attention to road safety whether it is vehicles we are using or other means of road transportation. Research findings have shown that students and most especially children are the groups that are most vulnerable to accidents on the road leading to major or minor injuries and sometimes even death largely due to the complete absence or inadequacy of supervision by an adult.

Historical Background:

One of the major problems of injury prevention and public health is road crashes. The problem of road crash is a lot more serious because most of the victims of these crashes are always healthy before the crash. The World Health Organisation have put forward that the number of people that are killed every year as a result of road accidents is way above one million.

The World Health Organisation also published a report in 2004 that the estimated number of people that are killed in car crashes each year is 1.2 million and the number of people that were left injured due to traffic collisions every year was about 50 million. Road accidents were also found to be the major cause of the death of people (children) between the ages of 10 and 19 years old. It was also stated in the report that developing countries were the biggest contributors to the large numbers and the amount of deaths can be reduced by more than half if simple preventive measures can be taken.

Vehicle Safety:

There are a lot of ways through which we can improve road safety that depends on the various means of transport taken.

Some of the ways include:

1. Buses and Coaches:

There are a lot of ways we can improve safety which would in turn lower the chances of the occurrence of accidents. If we avoid standing in places that are not safe in the coach or bus and also avoid rushing and we follow all the set rules of the coach or bus, the road safety of the passengers will be greatly increased. There are numerous safety measures and features that can be adopted to improve the safety in coaches and buses including the inclusion of safety bars that people can hold onto.

Some of the road safety measures that can be adopted on coaches and buses include:

i. Endeavour to leave your place early enough so that there is no need to run in order to catch the coach or bus.

ii. Following the queue at the bus station or bus stop is important.

iii. There should not be any situation where you get off a bus while it is still in motion or get on it at an unofficial hour.

iv. A bus or coach should never be boarded or gotten off at an unauthorised station or bus stop or at a crossing of red light.

v. Buses should only be boarded after they have come to a full halt without pushing others or rushing.

vi. The bus’ footboard is not a place to stand or sit.

vii. Any body part should not be put outside the bus whether moving or stationary.

viii. There should not be any form of noise making or shouting that might distract and confuse the driver.

ix. If one is standing in the bus, one should hold the handrail most especially where the bus is turning.

x. All the safety rules of the bus should be adhered to.

2. Cars:

We can improve safety in cars by lowering the odds of an error occurring on the part of the driver, also by the design of vehicles that reduce the extent of damage caused by crashes. Countries that are industrialised have special specifications and requirements for vehicle systems, devices, construction and design that are safety related.

Some of them are:

i. The deployment of passenger restraints like airbags and seat belts that are enforced with laws that require their use.

ii. Equipments that helps in the avoidance of crash like reflectors and lights.

iii. Systems that are driver assistance-enabled must have stability in electronic control.

iv. Some designs  should be there for crash survivability like interior materials that are fire retardant, safety glass use and systems of fuel integrity.

v. Sobriety detectors are really great, they interlock and prevent ignition if the breath of the driver is detected to have a significant amount of alcohol. Companies that are involved in commercial transportation use sobriety detectors for their drivers and sobriety detectors are also suggested to offenders of drunk-driving voluntarily.

3. Motorbikes:

Statistics from the United Kingdom have shown that there is a nine times more likelihood of motorbike riders to be involved in road crashes than the car drivers. Also, motorbike riders have a seventeen times more likelihood to die as a result of road crashes than the car drivers. This high risk is largely due to the absence and sometimes inadequacy of the crash protection available for motorbikes unlike the protection available for enclosed vehicles.

Also, motorbikes usually travel at high speeds and this can be dangerous. US statistics have put forward numbers that show that more intoxicated motorbike riders are involved in crashes that are fatal than all other forms of accident on the road. Helmets are also very important in motorbike safety. It was estimated that helmets only have an efficiency rate of 37 percent in the saving of lives during motorbike crashes.

4. Trucks:

The transport department of the famed European commission put forward a report that has put the estimate of accidents that involves truck as a result of the inadequate securing of cargos at 25 percent. When cargos are not properly secured, there can be loss of human lives, vehicles, cargo and so many more.