Traffic accidents continue to place a huge burden in the country’s health budget. Millions of dollars are spent annually to treat persons involved in vehicular accidents, Dr Karen Cummings said, as she called for more stringent measures to be taken to effectively address the increase in road incidents.
Dr Cummings, who sits on the opposition side of the National Assembly as an APNU parliamentarian, said that in her practice she has seen a range of incidents and presentation of injuries owing to accidents. These range from cerebral concussions to spinal injuries that have rendered persons disabled.
“Owing to persons… partaking in the injudicious use of alcohol, I have managed such persons who were diagnosed with gastrointestinal bleeding to alcohol encephalopathy,” Dr Cummings told this newspaper during an interview.
The Guyana Police Force revealed recently that there had been a whopping 30% increase in road fatalities, with some 146 people losing their lives at the end of December 2014, compared with 112 in 2013.
“Speeding continues to be a major contributing factor to fatal accidents and was the cause of 87 of the 135 fatal accidents recorded at the end of December 2014,” a statement from the police force said earlier this month.
Dr Cummings said that as a politician and a public health practitioner she is concerned about the steep increase in road deaths and injuries due to vehicular accidents, while pointing out that accidents have been a hindrance to development and a huge public health concern. She indicated that it was against this backdrop that the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the period from 2011 to 2020 the Decade of Action for Road Safety. She pointed out that despite the graphic scenes in the traditional media and via the internet there has been no respite in the numbers of lives lost throughout the world as a result of road accidents.
“The statistics from the traffic section of the police force [2014] have shown that the productive sector and the young to a lesser extent have been the hardest hit,” Dr Cummings said.
She said a World Health Organisation study in 2013 found that road traffic injuries have cost countries between 1% and 2% of their gross national product, amounting to US$518 billion annually. Whereas in Guyana, the range has been $100 million to $200 million.
Further, the indirect cost of suffering would also consider the families, friends and the communities of the victim of a crash, who from time to time must cope with the physical, psychological and economic consequences of the death, injury or disability of the family member. According to Dr Cummings the long-term consequences of vehicular accidents would include disability and rehabilitation and poverty.
The effect of vehicular accidents on the work force, Dr Cummings pointed out, is revealed in absenteeism, more sick days and prolonged hospitalisations all of which result in decreased labour productivity and an increased burden on the social security system. The resources of the police, fire, emergency medical and hospitals are also stretched and used up attending to the victims of accidents.
“The lack of pavements, the state of the roads, the distractions, and the injudicious use of alcohol have contributed to the mayhem on the roads,” she said.
Globally, she pointed out, there are six common risk factors as regards accidents and these are: speeding, drinking alcohol and driving, lack of helmets for cyclists and motorcyclists, non-use of seat belts, non-use of child restraint mechanisms and distractions.
Comprehensive approach
Meantime, Dr Cummings suggested that in addition to the police administering breathalyzer tests to suspected drunk drivers, there should be a more comprehensive approach for the detection and screening of drivers.
“They could check for gait, speech, and do a finger-to-nose test. Look for vigilance, speed and braking, judgment problems, and do post-stop cues. They could visit bars, restaurants and karaoke hangouts to raise awareness about the public health scourge,” she suggested.
And the government could consider supporting and recommending detox programmes for drivers who have been found guilty of drunk driving by the third offence or their licences should be suspended. Dr Cummings believes that this could have the effect of compelling drivers to take responsibility for their dangerous behaviour.
She also posited that there should be the commencement of a massive anti-drunk driving programme, through rebranding safety and through education. This could mean the use of billboards, text messaging, television and radio ads, and to come up with catchy taglines which could send “subliminal messages about sage driving.” One such tagline, according to the doctor, could be ‘I not driving when drinking, my friend and family will do it for me.’
As for the ‘name and shame’ campaign by the police which sees the force releasing the names and photographs of those found driving under the influence as a form of deterrent, Dr Cummings said that this could work to an extent but public health practitioners prefer the use of the 3Es. These are: Education, Enforcement and Engineering approaches as attention would be turned to the host – the person who initiates or sustains the injury; the agent – the motor vehicle, and the environment approach – road conditions, weather, and social circumstances before, during or after the event.
However, Dr Cummings stated that everyone should be involved in spreading awareness to curb and stop vehicular accidents and as such every school teacher, religious leader, politician, and family must become a part pf the campaign to stop road accidents.
Importantly, too, road construction must consider the volume of vehicles in the country as there have been sharp curves and turns and as such better signs must be prepared and the road safety committee should play a more proactive role.
Should APNU win the next elections, Dr Cummings said, she will be determined to make every effort to address this issue while pointing out that the country has laws for these risk factors but enforcement has appeared ineffective.
“I believe if a caring government would invest in this process, our people would do the right thing,” she said.
