The Socioeconomic Costs of Road Traffic Accidents in Ethekwini (Durban) Municipality, South Africa

Abstract

There were 51,880 road traffic accidents recorded in Durban Municipality in 1998, 46.4% being same direction accidents. Most of the casualties (38.8%) were from the vehicle/ pedestrian accidents. Casualties per 100 accidents were highest with vehicle/pedestrian accidents (97.5) and only 9.5 in same direction accidents. Fatalities occurred in 1% of the road traffic accidents and made up 5.1% of all casualties. The total costs of road traffic accidents in 1998 were US$151 million, which was 13.1% of the budget of the municipality for 2002/2003. Damage only accidents cost about US$83.6 million and comprised 55.4% of the total accident costs. Fatal accidents cost US$25.9 million and 17.2% of the total costs. Serious and slight accidents cost about US$42 million and 27.4% of the total costs. Slight accidents cost about US$20.16 million and 13.3% of the total costs. There is an urgent need for measures to reduce the number of pedestrian casualties and fatalities of road traffic accidents.

Title of the Study: a Retrospective Analysis of the Pattern and Severity of Injuries in Victims of Road Traffic Accidents in Karachi, Pakistan during 2010-2011

“…It was found that the present results are quite comparable with results from studies by other researchers. The higher preponderance of pedestrians is also been observed in other studies [20][21][22]. These findings categorize pedestrians and motorcyclist as the most vulnerable road users due to their lack of protection in the event of a crash.…”

Public Health Profile of Road Traffic Accidents in Kosovo 2010-2015

“…People in the 20-54 age group accounted for 71.8% of all those fatal cases annually [ 9 ]. The young population between ages of 20 and 34 is the age group mostly affected, and since is economically active, consequences overcome a person with wider implication on economic losses of their families also [ 10 ].…”

“…Similar results were found in different studies, in the United Arab Emirates, driving behaviour are more prevailing contributing factors, and vehicle safety is least [ 11 ]. In South Africa, most of the casualties of road traffic accidents were drivers (46%) [ 10 ]. In Taiwan, human factor respectively psychosocial influences are responsible up 3 to 4% of accidents [ 12 ].…”

Field Data: Distributions and Costs of Road-Traffic Fatalities in South Africa

“…Road-traffic crashes still constitute a leading cause of premature deaths and a threat to the quality of life of the people of South Africa with more than 12,000 fatalities in 2003 (Brysiewicz, 2001;Olukoga, 2003Olukoga, , 2004a.…”

“…They are a major cause of morbidity and mortality comparable to HIV/AIDS, homicides and some chronic diseases in the country (Bradshaw et al, 2003;Brysiewicz, 2001;Olukoga, 2004a). Road-traffic crashes account for about 1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.…”