Road accidents

Accident, unexpected event, typically sudden in nature and associated with injury, loss, or harm. Accidents are a common feature of the human experience and result in injury or permanent disability to large numbers of people worldwide every year. Many accidents also involve damage to or loss of property. Accidents can occur anywhere, including in the home, during transportation, in the hospital, on the sports field, or in the workplace. With appropriate safety precautions and awareness of one’s actions and environment, many accidents can be avoided or prevented.

Worldwide, motor vehicle accidents are a major cause of death, and, despite improvements in automobile safety, projections have indicated that deaths from traffic crashes will increase significantly by 2030 because of increased motor vehicle ownership. Examples of causes of traffic accidents include speeding, drunk driving, distracted driving, and inexperienced driving. Although seat belts can save lives, millions of people fail to use them. Likewise, helmets are an effective means of protecting motorcyclists from traumatic brain injury and death, yet many riders choose not to wear a helmet.

Motor vehicle accidents result in a wide range of injuries and often in permanent disability. In an attempt to limit some of this damage, laws in places around the world have been enacted specifically to improve road safety. For example, some U.S. states have imposed universal helmet laws, requiring all motorcycle riders and passengers to wear protective helmets. Some governments impose fines on automobile drivers and passengers who do not use seat belts. Accidents involving buses are also responsible for injuries to large numbers of people, and this has led to mandatory seat belt use in some places. Safety features on cars, including seat belts, side-impact reinforcement, and air bags, have contributed to fewer injuries and deaths. Certain changes in the design of car bumpers and windshields have been aimed at causing less harm to pedestrians who may be hit. Preventive measures, such as campaigns on the dangers of drunk driving, enforcement of speed limits, the use of cameras to catch traffic law violators, and education of children about road safety, have helped raise public awareness about the importance of safety precautions on the road.