India tops in road accidents

22.05.12

At 1.4 lakh deaths annually, India tops the global list in fatal road traffic accidents. As if that wasn’t tragic enough, Andhra Pradesh has one of the highest mortality rates among crash victims, largely due to lack of enforcement mechanism and medical attention, according to experts.

According to police commissioner A.K. Khan, the need of the hour is to raise the number of patrol vehicles on highways, assuring the public that they would not face police and legal hassles when they taken victims to hospitals, and easing the system to move crash victims to the nearest hospital.

Speaking at the conference on international trauma care on Saturday, Dr A.K. Purohit, HoD, Neurosurgery, Nims, said late arrival of victims, inadequate infrastructure and equipment at many hospitals and turning victims away increase the mortality rate. “There’s also a need to change public attitude through self-motivation,” Dr Purohit said.

Prevention of injuries, coordination among various departments and comprehensive rehabilitation of victims were among the issues highlighted in the discussion on improving trauma care in India. Mr Khan said while WHO considers road traffic accidents a public health issue, hardly any police patrol vehicles or ambulances are found on the state’s highways. “Strangely, the first reaction of police now is to remove the victim and vehicle from the spot and clear traffic,” he said. “The society and people also show a callous attitude to accident victims and death.”

Source: Deccan Chronicle