300,000 Died Because Motor Vehicle Accidents

Each year, motor vehicle accidents kill an estimated 300,000 people throughout the world. A high percentage of those killed in automobile accidents are young people. In fact, in the United States, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for people from 5 to 32 years old. Young people also have the highest accident rate of all drivers.

Almost every accident results from one or more of these three factors: the driver, the car, and the road. The same three factors contribute to accident prevention.

Drivers are the chief factor in vehicle safety because they are responsible for about two-thirds of all accidents. They cause accidents by speeding, driving in the wrong lane, making improper turns, and breaking other rules of safe driving. Many traffic deaths involve drunken drivers. Alcohol slows a driver's reflexes, reduces alertness and concentration, impairs vision, and clouds judgment. The use of illegal drugs and the improper use of wireless telephones by drivers are also serious safety problems.

The automobile itself has become safer over the years because of advances in its design and manufacture. Automakers must meet strict government standards designed to prevent accidents and to protect drivers and passengers. The standards to prevent accidents involve the installation of government-specified lights, reflectors, brakes, tires, windows, windshield wipers and defrosters, and dashboard controls.

Standards to protect car occupants include the installation of seat belts or air bags, head restraints, and bumper systems. Seat belts-when used-are probably the main safety equipment. A driver must not assume that the engine, brakes, lights, and steering system always operate properly. All equipment should be tested frequently.

Modern roadbuilding techniques have increasingly lowered the risk of automobile accidents. To build safe roads, highway engineers consider such factors as road foundations and surfaces, lighting, guardrails, and grading. They carefully plan bypasses, intersections, on-and-off ramps, traffic signals, and the number of lanes.