Road Accidents

The sight of ambulances and police cars racing to the scene of a road accident in the city or on the busy highway is so commonplace in modern countries that few heads turn even in idle curiosity. This is part of the tragedy of road accidents. They occur so often that they are taken for granted, and the general public has become conditioned to them. A murder, a fire, or a riot is still front-page news, but a serious motor accident resulting in ghastly injury and often loss of life hardly rates a small back-page paragraph except for o the relatives of those involved, whose lies may be shattered and reduced to pitiful sadness, often poverty, by a few seconds of rending metal and shattering glass. No solution of the problem can help these individuals. There is indeed no cure, so there must be prevention, and the alarming increase in accidents shown by statistics makes the question of cure an immediate one. In most countries, the accident rate goes up roughly in proportion to the increase in the number of vehicles on the road, and there is every sign that in most modern countries, the numbers of both are steadily increasing.

Such is the problem, but when we always the cause of accidents, we find there are many, and that the problem is complex indeed.

The first point to realize is that not all accidents are caused by the driver; quite often the pedestrian is to blame. The “jay” walker who is liable to a heavy fine in the USA, can be a menace; so can the child or teenager playing ‘last across’ or simply playing about with a ball on the road; so can the old person whose ability to see, hear and walk properly may be defective. Sometimes, the roads themselves present hazards; the sharp bend with a reverse camber can easily send a vehicle off the road; sudden rain, ice patches, snow and fog in cold countries, cause innumerable accidents every winter. and the narrowness of many roads in country areas, and their poor surface and blind corners, greatly increase hazards of the driver. A proportion of accidents can, of course, be blamed on the vehicle and therefore on the driver, though nobody can rule out a front-wheel blow-out of speed. Vehicle defects, however, results from careless maintenance and the refusal to pay for necessary repairs.

Faulty tires, steering, lighting and brakes cause many accidents. Badly focused or undipped headlamps can blind oncoming traffic. But, it must be admitted that most accidents result from a failure of the driver himself. Drink increased foolhardiness and slows reactions, and in most countries, the penalties for driving under the influence of liquor are very stringent indeed. But, many accidents result from a simple error of judgment due to inexperience or lack of ‘road sense’ — and it is unfortunate that so many people who barely ‘scrape; through their driving test gain their experience at the expense of other people. Other relevant causes are inconsiderate driving, a momentary slackening of attention due to fatigue, an insect in the vehicle, or a family row, irritation hurry, perhaps an attack of illness at the wheel, or simply the desire to ‘show off to a girlfriend.

Just as there is no single cause of road accidents, so there can be no single solution, although most countries are trying out both short and long-term ideas. Looking ahead, the sane policy is to teach road manners, both to drivers and pedestrians alike.

Britain is at present trying ‘horrific’ propaganda both on television and in posters — depicting realistically what happens when an accident occurs.

driving tests are becoming more exacting, and licenses are withdrawn for long periods following serious offenses. Heavy fines and imprisonment await the serious offender. It may well become necessary to institute periodic tests for all drivers — if this happened, one suspects, many people would be put straight off the road. Insurance companies already put up their premiums after serious accidents and may refuse to reinsure ‘bad risks,’ after which ti is unlikely that any other company will take them on. Drunken driving – especially in Britain — is severely punished nowadays; ‘breathalyzers’ may become legal evidence after the government has laid down the maximum quantity of liquor a person who is driving may consume in a given period.

Roads, of course, must be widened, improved, and modernized as fast as possible — and preferably made two ways. it is rather a grievance among motorists that little of the revenue they pay in road-tax is actually spent on road improvement.

Vehicles should be subjected to a five-year check, at least, and old commercial vehicles to spot checks. This would put many of them off the road.