Car manufacturers are trying to make their vehicles safer; trauma care centres are moving to the next level to save more lives and reduce the impact of injuries suffered by road accident victims. Now, the government should take a strong stand and enforce road rules with an iron hand.
This was the opinion of international renowned trauma care experts Hans-Christoph Pape from Germany, Peter Giannoudis from Leeds, U.K., and Leung Ka Li Frankie from Hongkong. They spoke to The Hindu , recently, after handling training sessions for surgeons at the 4{+t}{+h}International Operative Trauma Course, organised by Ganga Hospital.
Mr. Pape pointed out that enforcement has reduced accident deaths in Germany from 7,000 a year about 15 years ago to 3,000 now. According to him, lane system and speed regulation coupled with heavy fines and suspension of the driver’s licence - for repeating minor offences - is among the efforts that helped reduce accidents there.
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Dr. Frankie said that a decade ago China, India, Indonesia and Thailand topped Asia in road accident deaths. “Six years ago, China was the world leader in accident deaths on roads. Despite being the most populous country stringent road rules enforcement in China helped them reduce deaths compared to India.”
Dr. Peter said that enforcement could begin with making psychological testing and counselling mandatory before issuing a licence. He also asked vehicle buyers to give priority to check how safe a vehicle is during the crash test before buying it.
Director of Orthopaedics and Spine Surgery, Ganga Hospital, S. Rajasekaran said the complexity of accidents has increased.
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“From persons suffering a single fracture in accidents a few decades ago, it is quite common to see persons suffering multiple organ injuries now. This requires a team of doctors across disciplines to treat the patients,” he observed.