Trend Analysis on Road Traffic Collision Occurrence in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES: Road traffic collisions (RTC) result in a significant number of preventable deaths worldwide. In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly launched, "The Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020)" with the stated goal to "reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2020." This study aims to analyze trends in RTC numbers and subsequent deaths with respect to road safety laws in Nigeria and to suggest suitable interventions. METHODS: Annual reports for the period 2007-2017 were obtained from the Federal Road Safety Corps of Nigeria. These reports were analyzed for trends in RTC, including reported causes, fatalities, injuries, and casualties. RESULTS: Overall total injuries, casualties, and fatalities increased by 74.7%, 61.2%, and 9.6%, respectively. Analysis showed that the 3 main causes of RTC were speed violation, loss of control, and dangerous driving. CONCLUSIONS: Although current trends do not suggest that Nigeria will accomplish its initial goal of decreasing fatalities by 50% by 2020, there has been a reduction in the number of crashes resulting from dangerous driving. Further interventions such as implementing automated speed monitoring, collaboration, and data sharing between federal and regional agencies, and improving the state of road networks should be implemented to decrease fatalities further.

Effect of Road Safety Laws on Deaths and Injuries from Road Traffic Collisions in Colombia.

INTRODUCTION: Colombia is the fourth largest country in South America. It is an upper middle-income country with an estimated population of 49.2 million people, and road traffic collisions (RTCs) are the second most common cause of traumatic death. The United Nations (UN) proclaimed 2011 to 2020 as the "Decade of Action for Road Safety." In this context, the government of Colombia established the National Road Safety Plan (PNSV) for the period 2011-2021, aiming to reduce RTC-related deaths by 26%. Some road safety laws (RSLs) were implemented before the PNSV, but their impact on deaths and injuries is still not known. STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether these RSLs have had a long-term effect on road safety in the country. METHODS: Data on RTC casualties, deaths, and injuries from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2017 were collated from official Colombian governmental publications. Three different periods were considered for analysis: 2001-2010 to evaluate the Transit Code; 2011-2017 to evaluate the PNSV; and 2001-2017 to evaluate a composite of the full study period. Analyses of trends in deaths and injuries were related to dates of new RSLs. RESULTS: A total of 102,723 deaths (12.7%) and 707,778 injuries (87.3%) were reported from 2001 through 2017. The Transit Code period (2001-2010) showed a 10.1% decline in deaths, 16.6% decline in injuries, and rates per 100,000 inhabitants and per 10,000 registered vehicles also declined. During the period of the PNSV (2011-2017), there was an increase in the number of deaths by 16.6%, injuries decreased by 1.7%, and death rates per 100,000 inhabitants also increased. During the total study period, a 12.4% reduction in the total number of casualties was achieved, and death and injury rates per 100,000 inhabitants decreased by 12.4% and 27.5%, respectively. DISCUSSION: Despite the introduction of the PNSV, RTCs remain the second most common cause of preventable death in Colombia. Overall, while the absolute number of RTCs and deaths has been increasing, the rate of RTCs per 10,000 registered vehicles has been decreasing. This suggests that although the goals of the PNSV may not be realized, some of the laws emanating from it may be having a beneficial effect. Further study is required over a protracted period to determine the longer-term impact of these initiatives.