The car is an efficient form of transportation. It is a common form of transportation in America but is a very dangerous. More than 47,000 people in America die from injuries related to motor vehicle crashes per year. In addition, 1,800,000 people per year are also permanently disabled. What statistics fail to show is that most of the people that are injured in traffic related accidents are in their 20s.
Seat belts and car seats edit
Safety belts and car seats greatly increase the chance of the user to not die or require medical assistance after an accident. Belted motorists have around half the chance of an unbelted motorist of serious injury or death. Car seats decrease the chance of injury or death by about two thirds. These show the effectiveness of seat belts and child safety seats. In California, safety requirements jumped from 18% to 47%. The usage of seat belts has risen nationally over time. The combination of these two facts has the great potential of improving public health. It was estimated that if 100% of people in America used seat belts, 12,000 to 15,000 deaths would be prevented.[1]
How sleep affects driving edit
There is a strong association between measures of sleepiness and the risk of a crash. Drivers with five hours or less of sleep in the last 24 hours compared with more than five hours, and with driving between 2 am and 5 am compared with other times of day affect the population risk. When driving with one or more of these factors, there is about a 19% higher chance of being involved in a car crash. [2]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Kizer, Kenneth W., and Roger B. Trent. "Safety belts and public health: the role of medical practitioners." The Western Journal of Medicine 154.n3 (March 1991): 303(4). Expanded Academic ASAP. Gale. BENTLEY UPPER SCHOOL LIBRARY (BAISL). 18 Oct. 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=EAIM>
- ^ Fletcher, John. "Paper plus: driver sleepiness and risk of serious injury to car occupants: this month, John Fletcher looks at a population based case control study about driver sleepiness and the risk of injury to car occupants.(papers +)(Editorial)." British Medical Journal (Jan. 2004): 27(2). http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=EAIM. Web. 12 Oct. 2009
[[Category:Car safety]] [[Category:Motorcycle safety]] [[Category:Road transport]] [[Category:Road accidents]]