Strict enforcement of road safety rules and better roads alone could prevent road accidents, B. Kemal Pasha, High Court judge, has said.
He was inaugurating the 36th annual conference of the Kerala Orthopaedic Association at Hotel Lalit Resort at Bekal here on Friday.
Lack of awareness of speed limits, traffic rule violations, and motorists’ reluctance to wear helmets and seatbelts caused fatal road accidents, he said.
Prasad Menon, organising chairman of the programme, said India topped the number of road accidents and fatalities globally with the World Health Organisation (WHO) road safety report giving India three out of 10 points.
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is reported to be hit by three per cent every year due to road accidents, according to UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Dr. Menon said.
Speeding is the single largest killer, claiming almost 50 per cent of the lives lost on roads, he said.
Awareness of road safety begins when we accept that our roads are laid for various users, including pedestrians, cyclists, small and large goods transporters, and private vehicle users. However, the public are not aware of speed limits and the authorities should rectify this, Dr. Menon said.
Shantharam Shetty, former president, Indian Orthopaedic Association, Babu Joseph, president, Kerala Orthopaedic Association (KOA), Jijo Jose, secretary, KOA, Shekeel Anwar, organising secretary, and Tigy Thomas Jacob, president-elect, KOA, spoke.
The three-day event was launched with deliberations on measures to deal with life-threatening complications resulting from motor accidents.
200 papers
Scientific sessions are being held in four parallel tracks, roughly covering 200 papers including topics touching all aspects of trauma, fracture dislocation of hip, management of complications, shoulder and elbow arthroplasty, knee arthroplasty, hip arthroplasty, shoulder arthroscopy, joint surgery, spine injuries and paediatric orthopaedics.
Over 500 delegates including eminent international and national faculty, researchers and experts are attending the conference.
