Beyond the Headlines: Why Road Injuries Matter
Good progress in reducing road traffic fatalities does not necessarily show the full picture of road safety.
Many countries are seeing an increase in the number of injuries which in some cases can be life-changing.
Focusing on reducing injuries will invariably make roads safer, and if supplemented with programmes intended to help those impacted by a road traffic collision recover, could see countries take a holistic harm reduction approach to road safety.
This week’s release of the UAE’s 2023 road safety statistics demands a closer look beyond the headlines, focusing on the slight increase in road deaths (3%).
The UAE was only one of ten countries to achieve the UN’s target of halving road deaths by 2020. It is a remarkable feat when you consider where they started. However, the figures show a concerning 10% rise in serious injuries (from 5,045 in 2022 to 5,568 in 2023).
This pattern is not unique to the UAE. Some interpret it positively, suggesting improved vehicle safety is saving lives, resulting in more injuries instead of deaths. Others argue these are “near misses” with the difference between fatality and injury being a matter of seconds or a difference in speed.
Both perspectives hold some validity. However, a rise in serious injuries is more likely to provide a more accurate reflection of road safety culture than just deaths.
The World Health Organisation estimates a staggering 20–50 million people are injured on roads globally every year. This underscores the scale of harm we are experiencing, with many of those impacted suffering some level of trauma and some life-changing injuries.
The Safer System approach with its recognition that humans are vulnerable and deaths are not inevitable effectively promotes harm reduction but authorities need to focus on injuries in terms of preventing them and supporting the recovery of those impacted.
The Data Challenge
A lack of reliable data is a significant challenge. Reducing fatalities is a target for almost all countries in our region but these targets rarely extend to injuries.
This means that reducing fatalities can be seen as the single measure to assess road safety, and can result in focusing effort on that rather than safety more broadly.
In our PwC and Loughborough University White Paper on Reducing Road Deaths, we highlight that international experience showed that setting targets in terms of absolute numbers can galvanize action on road safety partnerships. Extending targets to injuries can only broaden our safety mission and the focus on minimising harm not just reducing fatalities.
There is another complication. There is no universally agreed definition of “injury”, or what constitutes a “serious injury”.
The European Union utilizes the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS), a well-established medical scale that facilitates objective data collection. However, police often assess injury severity based on initial appearance for example loads of blood, potentially missing serious internal injuries.
The UK, for instance, discovered significant underestimations of serious injuries in police reports compared to MAIS assessments.
Why Serious Injuries Matter
Serious injuries have devastating consequences for victims and families:
- Lifelong physical and emotional struggles
- The strain on healthcare and social services
- Lost productivity and economic potential
A study estimates the global cost of road traffic deaths and injuries to be $1.8 trillion from 2015–2018, with the MENA region bearing a staggering $103 billion. A good proportion of this will be as a consequence of injuries.
A focus on injuries, and the enhanced data collection that comes with this, can help understand risk factors and inform road safety strategies but also allow us to provide better support to those impacted by collisions.
Any focus on serious injuries should be focused on reducing them but also provide an opportunity to understand the impact of road traffic injuries to develop care pathways and mitigate health and economic impacts.
A study of survivors admitted to hospital after a road collision in the UK found that road injury can impact everyday activities with the quality of life being particularly affected for many. Good quality data can inform evidence-based programmes and interventions intended to help recovery.
Addressing the Challenge: A Harm Reduction Approach
If we assume that the recent rise in serious injuries in the UAE is part of a global trend then there is a case for a broader harm reduction approach. This could include:
- Setting Specific Targets for Reducing Serious Injuries: Road safety agencies could broaden their focus from reducing fatalities to reducing injuries.
- Improving Data Collection: Standardize the definition of “serious injury” for accurate data collection and regional comparisons.
- Targeting Interventions: Utilize data to guide interventions addressing safety risks, including promoting safe driving practices and other Safe System domains.
- Supporting Collision Victims: Develop programs to assist those suffering long-term consequences from road injuries.
Conclusion
Any increase in road traffic injuries is cause for concern. Extending targets to include injuries, and thinking about how we can reduce harm even after the event of a collision can only help make our roads safer and reduce the personal, societal and economic burden of harm they cause.
