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Introduction to causes of road accidents
Introduction to causes of road accidents
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Canada’s traffic accident statistics show that about 90% of traffic accidents are due to human error, 30% due to environmental conditions, and 10% due to technical conditions. () Human beings, at the core of society, are victims of traffic accidents; however, people are also the troublemakers that lead to tragedy. Hence, it is crucial to analyze various factors causing traffic accidents to prevent and reduce avoidable deaths.
Traffic safety depends on the continuous coordination of all aspects of the integrated system of road traffic, such as people, cars, roads, environment, management, law and education. In fact, traffic accidents are the cumulative result of the imbalance of each link in the system. As a result, the cause of road traffic
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For example, between 1900 and 1990, the number of deaths caused by earthquakes reached 1.3 million, while car accidents killed 22.35 million lives (). Surprisingly, the number of deaths and injuries due to car accidents continues to increase annually: 1 million people died in 1900 to 1920, 2 million people died in 1921 to 1940, 5 million people died in 1941 to 1960 and 14.35 million people died in 1961 to 1991 (). So far, the people who have died due to car accidents have reached more than 25 million around the world, not including the injured victim because injury is difficult to count. According to the statistics from the World Health Organization, 70 million people die from motor vehicle accidents and about 1000 to 1500 million people are injured every year. This means that people died due to car accidents every 45 seconds, and a person was injured every two seconds. Not only does this cause great suffering to the victims, but it also brings suffering to the relatives of the victims. They too must heal from the trauma. Hence, understanding the factors in traffic accidents is crucial to lower the death rate. In this essay, I am going to focus on examining human errors, which can be divided into direct and indirect causes, and how this could affect the risk of the …show more content…
Drowsy driving occurs when driver experiences back pain, blurred eyes, inflexible and unresponsive fingers and the body. In addition, drowsy driving could be due to various factors, for example, pressure from daily life, social and workforce interaction. Theoretically, driving time, sleep, driving intensity, speed, human biological rhythm, physical condition, driving skills, driving environment, nutritional conditions and so, have a direct impact of fatigue. Physically, the driver's eyes and nerves experience constant tensions in order to deal with a complex driving process such as high speed. Consequently, when driving for a long period of time, sensory function weakens, which results in a diminishing in hearing and visual acuity, illusion may be experienced under a serious drowsy condition. With the extension of fatigue, driver becomes less responsive to complex stimuli as their reaction time is longer and accuracy of the action decreases, resulting in unsafe
We understand the dangers of driving under the influence, texting while driving and distracted driving; however, drowsy driving continues to be a problem on our roads. Needs assessment Between 1998 and 2008, 16.5% of fatal car accidents in the US involved a drowsy driver, and 13% of non-fatal accidents where at least one person was admitted to the hospital involved a drowsy driver (Tefft, 2012).... ... middle of paper ... ... Sleepiness, Driving, and Motor Vehicle Crashes.
According to the Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, "automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for those aged 3 to 33, with 43,005 (118 per day) Americans killed in 2002 alone" (Clayton, Helms, Simpson, 2006). Worldwide, vehicle accidents consist of 1.2 millions deaths per year, "behind only childhood infections and AIDS as cause of death amount people aged 5 to 30 years old" (Clayton., 2006). The annual cost of road accidents is estimated about $518 billion"(Factor, Yair, Mahalel, 2013). The fact alone of being in a moving, heavy vehicle is a danger in itself but individuals that do not wear their seat belts, talk on the phone, text, and do other distracting behavior also put themselves in even more harmful situations.
Every person who has gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle will be involved in some sort of automobile collision at some point in his or her lifetime. Traffic accidents account for over twenty thousand deaths each year and more than ten times as many injuries. There are a number of factors that contribute to these types of collisions, however, new and evolving laws can account for a large portion of successful preventable measures. In order for laws to be changed or added for the purpose of safer roads and highways, lawmakers have to first look at what factors contribute to such unsafe conditions. The top five causes of automobile accidents that cause injury are distracted drivers, driver fatigue, drunk driving, speeding, and aggressive driving. Laws can be proposed to reduce and even eliminate each of these risks.
Ever since the invention of the automobile, numerous efforts have been employed to try and improve its safety features. Judging by the current statistics, one could argue that driving has so far turned out to be a risky business. In actual fact, people of all ages and social status are considered to be in control of lethal weapons whenever they have to drive. According to the National Safety Council, it is estimated that more than 41,000 people lose their lives in road accidents annually and no less than 2 million more suffer from serious life threatening injuries (2009). Furthermore, it is estimated that at least 50% of the people killed in road accidents is as a result of their failure to adhere to safety measures such as wearing seatbelts while driving, driving under the influence, or careless driving (Ingalls, “Defensive Driving Strategies”). As an effect, huge losses occur with respect to life, injuries sustained, and damage to property.
Evidence for this argument can be seen in the research performed by Williamson & Feyer (2000), which study the relative impairment of sleep deprivation in cognitive and motor performance. They found that fatigue caused by sleep deprivation plays an important role when driving. In fact, it can even compromise the accuracy and safety needed in the road. Furthermore, Rogé, Basheer, Pébayle, Hannachi & Muzet (2003) advocate that sleep deprivation can increase the levels of drowsiness and fatigue, which can cause deficiency when detecting signals or responding to stimulus in a driving simulator. Sleep is an important part of human health, which can help improve our ability to perform tasks. It can also be detrimental to both body and mind. It cannot only cause damage to us but to others. Therefore the effects of sleep play an important role when realizing to what extent it can damage performance and become a risk to
“Error is part of the human condition”. While errors by road users trigger crashes, the environment in which these take place should no be ignored - - road layout – indirect influences – nature of the vehicle – traffic laws, enforcement or ack thereof (Hijar)
“John died in his sleep. He was warm, comfortable, and doing 70 miles per hour on the motorway”(Fatigue:THINK!:Roadsafety. (N.d.). Retrieved from http://think.direct.gov.uk/fatigue.html). Should drowsy driving be mandated as a criminal offense in the state of California? Few people realize the explicit dangers of drowsy driving. Consider the following scenario: Darkness surrounds your car on the drive home after a late night at the office. There is no light on the two-lane highway except for occasional flashes from the headlights of oncoming traffic. Your eyelids are heavy. You yawn. Your head begins to bob. As you shake your head from side to side trying
Drowsy drivers who feel like they’re able to drive should re-consider their judgment. Sometimes people feel like they’re able to drive under sleepy conditions but honestly they’re putting themselves and others on the road around them in serious danger. Drivers can prevent drowsiness by taking naps or drinking some kind of caffeine drinks. This can help promote awareness and can improve the safety of the driver driving and also other drivers on the road surrounding the driver.
Hazardous Driving Driving in the recent decades has progressively gotten worse due to all the technological advances and carelessness of drivers on the road. Police officers are finding more and more ethical reasons for arrests and/or the fining of people. Habits referring to drivers being distracted, overly aggressive and dangerous to society need to be addressed. These factors are generated from the actions of the drivers by tailgating, excessive road rage, and texting while driving.
One of the worst feelings is when you are making a long drive in a car and realize you don’t remember the last half hour or longer. Sometimes people say they were on autopilot but most likely, they are suffering from some form of fatigue. According to Webster’s dictionary fatigue is the state of being very tired or extreme weariness. (Webster’s 2015) This can be very dangerous while driving a car, and even more dangerous while flying an airplane.
Accidents in which the driver has fallen asleep tend to be particularly serious because of the lack of reaction of the driver to the impending collision. Furthermore, sleepy drivers report a high incidence of near-misses on the road while driving, which suggests that they have an awareness of the driving risks related to sleepiness short of being involved in an actual collision. A Gallup poll carried out by the British Sleep Foundation found that 19% of male drivers admitted to having fallen asleep while driving . Occupations such as long-haul truck driving are particularly associated with sleepiness while driving which may not be surprising given the time they spend on the road. These findings are particularly worrying because of the likelihood of a fatal accident where a large truck driven by a driver who falls asleep is involved. Many spectacular multiple vehicle collisions that have occurred on motorways have been traced to drivers falling asleep at the wheel.
Tired Driving Most people would refrain from doing their daily activities in a drowsy state, yet many will still take to the road with heavy eyelids. According to the acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, drowsy driving can be as dangerous as intoxicated driving. About 1,500 deaths occurred as a result of drowsy driving in 2007 alone. Get some rest before hitting the road, and keep yourself and others out of danger.
From 2004 to 2013, total driver fatalities dropped from 145 to 78, which is a larger decrease in fatalities. 28% of the road toll in 2004 was young drivers, down to 18.8% in 2013. With the implementation of logbooks, time of days restrictions, age and practises to improve experience have seen the safety of young drivers rise and prevent more unnecessary fatalities. 2013 had a higher amount of hospitalisations than 2011 for young drivers though with 2366 young drivers being hospitalised after an accident, whether as a rider or driver, whereas 2011 has 2209 hospitalisations. This is 157 more people being in an accident, which shows that the drivers are either becoming careless or not taking enough precaution with those around them or their environment.
With the country's annual deaths on the road increasing significantly by the year, things needed to be done to try to prevent accidents as much as possible.
The focus of human factors research is to try and put man into the center of the picture with as little effort as possible. With almost 80% of deaths occurring worldwide falling under transport related accidents (citation needed), the attention that safety in this area has received from researchers is justified. While scientific advancements have been able to bring down these numbers, uneven spread of these advanced technologies has prevented the same from happening throughout the world. With money and political stability also being reasons behind the availability of these scientific advancements, some countries are falling behind in the race (ICAO).