What are the causes of road traffic accident?

There are three causes of road traffic accident

1. Human factors

Human factors in vehicle collisions include all factors related to drivers and other road uses that may contribute to a collision. Examples include driver behavior, visual and auditory acuity, decision-making ability, and reaction speed.

A 1985 report based on British and American crash data found driver error, intoxication and other human factors contribute wholly or partly to about 93% of crashes.

Drivers distracted by mobile devices had nearly four times greater risk of crashing their cars than those who were not. Dialing a phone is the most dangerous distraction, increasing a driver's chance of crashing by 12 times, followed by reading or writing, which increased the risk by 10 times.

2. Road design

A 1985 US study showed that about 34% of serious crashes had contributing factors related to the roadway or its environment. Most of these crashes also involved a human factor. The road or environmental factor was either noted as making a significant contribution to the circumstances of the crash, or did not allow room to recover. In these circumstances it is frequently the drive who is blamed rather than the road; those reporting the accident have a tendency to overlook the human factors involved, such as the subtleties of design and maintenance that a driver could fail to observe or inadequately compensate for

Research has shown that careful design and maintenance, with well-designed intersections, road surfaces, visibility and traffic control devices, can result in significant improvements in accident rates.

Individual roads also have widely differing performance in the event of an impact. In Europe there are now EuroRAP tests that indicate how "self-explaining" and forgiving a particular road and it s roadside would be in the event of a major incident.

In the UK, research has shown that investment in a safe road infrastructure program could yield a 1/3 reduction in road deaths, saving as much as £6 billion per year. A consortium of 13 major road safety stakeholders have formed the Campaign for Safe Road Design, which is calling on the UK Government to make safe road design a national transport priority. 

3. Vehicle design and maintenance

Seat belts

Research has shown that, across all collision types, it is less likely that seat belts were worn in collisions involving death or serous injury, rather than light injury; wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of death by about 45 percent.

Seat belt use is controversial, with notable critics such as Professor John Adams suggesting that their use may lead to a net increase in road casualties due to a phenomenon known as risk compensation. However, actual observation of driver behaviors before and after seat belt law dose not support the risk compensation hypothesis. Several important driving behaviors were observed on the road before and after the belt use law was enforced Newfoundland, and in Nova Scotia during the same period without a law. Belt use increased from 16 percent to 77 percent in Newfoundland and remained virtually unchanged in Nova Scotia. Four driver behaviors (speed, stopping at intersections when the control light was amber, turning left in front of oncoming traffic, and gaps in following distance) were measured at various sites before and after the law. Changes in these behaviors in Newfoundland were similar to those in Nova Scotia, except that drivers in Newfoundland drive slower on expressways after the law, contrary to the risk compensation theory.

Maintenance

A well-designed and well-maintained vehicle, with good brakes, tires and well-adjusted suspension will be more controllable in an emergency and thus be better equipped to avoid collisions. Some mandatory vehicle inspection schemes include tests for some aspects of road worthiness, such as the UK's MOT test or German TUV conformance inspection.

The design of vehicles has also evolved to improve protection after collision, both for vehicle occupants and for those outside of the vehicle. Much of this work was led by automotive industry competition and technological innovation, leading to measures such as Saab's safety cage and reinforced roof pillars of 1946, Ford's 1956 Lifeguard safety package, and Saab and Volvo's introduction of standard fit seat belts in 1959. Other initiative were accelerated as a reaction to consumer pressure, after publications such as Ralph Nader's 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed accused motor manufacturers of indifference towards safety.

In the early 1970s British Leyland started an intensive program of vehicle safety research, producing a number of prototype experimental safety vehicles demonstrating various innovations for occupant and pedestrian protection such as air bags, anti-lock brakes, impact-absorbing side-panels, front and rear head restraints, run-flat tires, smooth and deformable front-ends, impact-absorbing bumpers, and retractable headlamps. Design has also been influenced by government legislation, such as the Euro NCAP impact test.

Common features designed to improve safety include thicker pillars, safety glass, interiors with no sharp edges, stronger bodies, other active or passive safety features, and smooth exteriors to reduce the consequences of an impact with pedestrians.

The UK Department for Transport publish road casualty statistics for each type of collision and vehicle through its Road Casualties Great Britain report. These statistics show a ten to one ratio of in-vehicle fatalities between types of car. In most cars, occupants have a 2-8% chance of death in a two car collision .

Read More

Traffic Collision

A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision among others, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction, such as a tree or utility pole. Traffic collisions may result in injury, death and property damage.

A number of factors contribute to the risk of collision, including vehicle design, speed of operation, road design, road environment, and driver skill, impairment due to alcohol or drugs, and behavior, notably speeding and street racing. Worldwide, motor vehicle collisions lead to death and disability as well as financial cots to both society and the individuals involved.

Road injures occurred in about 54 million people in 2013. This resulted in 1.4 million deaths in 2013, up from 1.1 million deaths in 1990. About 68,000 of these occurred in children less than five years old. Almost all high-income countries have decreasing death rates, while the majority of low-income countries have increasing death rates due to traffic collisions. Middle-income countries have the highest rate with 20 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, 80% of all road fatalities by only 52% of all vehicles. While the death rate in Africa is the highest (24.1 per 100,000 inhabitants), the lowest rate is to be found in Europe(10.3).

Terminology

Traffic collisions can be classified by general type. Types of collision include head-on, road departure, rear-end, side collisions, and rollovers.

Many different terms are commonly used to describe vehicle collisions. The World Health Organization use the term road traffic injury, while the U.S. Census Bureau uses the term motor vehicle accidents, and Transport Canada uses the term "motor vehicle traffic collision". Other common terms include auto accident, car accident, car crash, car smash, car wreck, motor vehicle collision, personal injury collision, road accident, road traffic accident, road traffic collision, road traffic incident, road traffic accident and later road traffic collision, as well as more unofficial terms including smash-up, pile-up, and fender bender.

Some organizations have begun to avoid the term "accident". Although auto collisions are rare in terms of the number of vehicles on the road and the distance they travel, addressing the contributing factors can reduce their likelihood. For example, proper signage can decrease driver error and thereby reduce crash frequency by a third or more. That is why these organizations prefer the term "collision" to "accident". In the UK the term "incident" is displacing "accident" in official and quasi-official use.

Historically in the United States, use of terms other than "accidents" had been criticized for holding back safety improvements, based on the idea that a culture of blame may discourage the involved parties from fully disclosing the facts, and thus frustrate attempts to address the real root causes.

Health effects

Psychological
Following some collisions long lasting psychological problems may occur. These issues may make those who have been in a crash afraid to drive again. In some cases, the psychological trauma may affect individual's ability to work and take on family responsibilities.

Physical
A number of physical injuries can commonly result from the blunt force trauma caused by an accident, ranging from bruising and contusions to catastrophic physical injury (e.g., paralysis) or death.

Read More

Training Your School Traffic Safety Team

Your police community officer is responsible for training school traffic safety team members and adult supervisors to ensure that patrols and wardens carry out their duties professionally and competently.

They also implement procedures specific to particular crossings to ensure that patrol members and crossing students stay safe. They could include establishing special reference points or 'marks', making changes to operating procedures owing to heavy traffic flows, or using third members as leaders.

1. Timing your training programme

Most school traffic safety teams are trained in term 4 so they're ready to start their duties in term 1 the following year. Refresher training is normally provided during the first few weeks of the first term to ensure patrol members are competent to carry out their duties.

However, some schools prefer to have their patrols trained during term 3 then starting their duties in term 4, continuing through to the end of the third term the following year. Your police school community officer will be able to advise on the best option for your school.

When you're ready to schedule training for your school traffic safety team, contact your school community officer. They'll work with you to choose a date that suits you, your supervisors and your students.

Before training starts, please photocopy the 'School patrol training sheet' on page 30. Your school community officer will use it as part of the training programme.

2. Training for school patrols and school wardens 

You'll need to set aside a day for this training-and all students and supervisors need to attend. Note: the training includes viewing a DVD, so you'll need to make sure you have the appropriated equipment.

The training day covers essential information such as:

• participants' roles and responsibilities
• correct procedures for operating the patrol
• the need for teamwork and reliability
• what to do if someone doesn't turn up or for some reason can't do the job on the day
• uniforms and how to wear and look after them
• other equipment they need to do the job.

participants will also get practical training, learning about things like reference points or marks that they can use to identify safe gaps in traffic and determine traffic speeds and volume. Supervisors will also learn how to record cases of unsafe and illegal behavior.

When the training is complete, include the new recruits in the roster for the rest of the year. It's a great opportunity to give them practical experience with your established patrol members.

2.1 Refreshing training

Early in the new school year, your school community officer will contact you to arrange refresher training at crossings and check that you've set up your rosters. They might also meet the supervisors to make sure they're aware of their roles and responsibilities.

This is also an ideal time to show newcomers to your school how your school patrol or warden operation works.

3. Training for bus wardens

While your school will normally ensure that students travelling on buses understand basic safety procedures, the school community officer can provide more specialist training, such as emergency procedures.

In preparation for your training day, make sure that:

• the bus operator can provide a bus for the day, the school community officer will check that it's roadworthy and that unloading sites are correct and signposted.
• a first-aider can attend such as a staff member or a St John or Red Cross representative.
• your school's bus controller will attend.

The training day covers topics such as:

• bus wardens' roles and responsibilities
• the need for trust, teamwork and reliability
• what to do if someone doesn't turn up or for some reason can't do the job on the day 
• emergency procedures
• describing and reporting student misbehaviour

Read More

Bus wardens

If students regularly travel to and from your school by bus, you might like to establish a team of bus wardens. These are senior students who work with the school's bus controller, bus drivers and the supervising teacher to monitor and super vise children's behaviour on and around the school bus, to ensure they make their journeys safely.

Your police school community officer can provide you with more information - and you'll need to discuss the idea with potential bus operators and the children's parents or caregivers. 

1. Setting up a bus warden team

If your school decides to set up a bus warden team, you need to:

• choose your bus wardens: responsible and reliable senior students who take their role seriously and will turn up on time 
• get signed permission from their parents or caregivers
• contact your school community officer to arrange training for the wardens
• choose a supervising teacher to whom the bus wardens will report
• establish your bus warden rosters according to the bus timetable and the students' personal commitments, such as after-school sports
• consider first aid training for bus wardens.

The number of wardens on each bus will depend on the bus's capacity. You might need just one warden for a small bus, and two for larger vehicles.

Note: bus wardens don't need to wear a uniform.

2. Bus warden duties

Bus wardens sit near the back of the bus so they have a clear view of all the children. If there are two wardens, the second warden sits close to the front door.

When on duty, bus wardens are responsible for ensuring that:

• children get on and off the bus in an orderly way
• all children stay seated while the bus is moving or, if there are not enough seats, stand well behind the driver or the appropriate marks on the bus floor
• the children stow all school bags and other items either under their seats or on their laps
• aisles are kept clear unless children have to stand
• they note any misbehavior and report it to the supervising teacher

Wardens on after-school buses also need to:

• work with the school bus controller to ensure that students assemble in the agreed area
• take a headcount to check whether any children are missing
• checking that the bus driver has been told of any passenger changes.

3. Emergency preparedness 

Bus wardens also need to be prepared to respond to an emergency on the bus. That means:

• knowing the locations of the emergency exits, fire extinguisher and first-aid kits
• calling for help if a cellphone is available
• understanding what to do in an emergency and, if one happens, helping the driver by:
• protecting the scene:sending older children 100-200 metres from the bus to warn approaching vehicles of the danger ahead
• taking uninjured children to a safe area and asking an older student to supervise them 
• establish whether anyone has been injured and whether emergency services aer needed
• sending two children to find a phone from which they can call emergency services and the school 
• administering first aid if they can.

Read More

School Wardens in Action

School wardens don't use any equipment to mange children waiting to cross a road. They simply raise one or both arms, barrier arms, to indicate to children that they should wait, and give clear instructions on when to cross.

Some schools also provide flags for small children to hold up while crossing the road. Talk with your school community officer if you're thinking about doing this.

1. School wardens at pedestrian and uncontrolled crossings

At a pedestrian or uncontrolled crossing, wardens:

• stand facing each other on opposite sides of the road
• use barrier arms to keep children well back from the kerb.

Where one warden is used:

• identify suitable gaps in the traffic, then lower their arms and call 'Cross now' to the waiting children
• raise their barrier arms and call 'Wait' to prevent latecomers running onto the road 
• encourage the children to walk quickly so they don't hold up the traffic.

Where two wardens are used:

• the leader calls 'Check'
• the second member calls 'Clear' after checking it is clear to the marks
• the leader calls 'Cross now'.

Note: wardens do not cross the road with pedestrians or stand on the road.

2. School wardens at traffic-light crossings

At a crossing controlled by traffic signals, the warden:

• presses the button, raises their barrier arm and waits for the 'green person' to show 
• checks for turning traffic if appropriate
• when it's safe, lowers their arm and calls 'Cross now'
• raise their barrier arm when the signal turns red or starts flashing and calls 'Wait' to any latecomers

Read More

Your school warden team

Usually, school wardens operate in teams of two, as this enables them to keep a good eye on the road and the children. However, they can operate alone if there's good visibility and little traffic on the road.

If you're concerned about visibility problems-perhaps because the crossing is near a corner-discuss the options with your school community officer or road controlling authority. It may be better to move the crossing or establish a school patrol or, in exceptional circumstances, have a third warden join the team.

1. The school warden leader

Each school warden team includes a leader. Your school community officer often confirm leaders during training, choosing only the most capable students for the role.

The leader:

• should have the best overall view of the road in both directions
• controls the operation

2. The warden supervisor

The warden supervisor is an adult, usually a teacher or parent, who is responsible for:

• checking that the wardens do their jobs correctly
• observing and formally recording details of any incidents involving unsafe or illegal driver behavior, such as driving through occupied pedestrian crossings or failing to give way to children crossing legally at traffic lights. If these lead to prosecutions, the supervisor may need to appear and give evidence in court.

Supervisors should always carry a notebook and pen to record details of unsafe or illegal driver behavior. 

3. School warden uniform

School wardens wear the same uniform as school patrol members: a summer safety jacket for dry weather, and a waterproof safety jacket for wet weather and in low-visibility conditions. Wardens can only wear one type of uniform or the other.

Please check that the wardens look after their uniforms and keep them clean. Store them in a convenient and secure place-and if they're damaged, lost or stolen, contact your school community officer for repairs or replacements.

Read More

School Wardens

Unlike school patrols, school wardens, sometimes called traffic wardens, don't step into the road, stop or control traffic. However, they provide a valuable safety check for school children-most commonly at unmarked crossing points, but also at pedestrian crossings where no school patrols are operating and at traffic-light crossings.

School wardens wear the same uniforms as school patrols, but use their arms, as 'barrier arms', to stop pedestrians crossing the road until it's clear of approaching traffic. School wardens don't use STOP signs. 

School wardens usually work in pairs, with one designated the leader, with a supervising adult.

All wardens and supervisors must be trained in their roles by your police school community officer.

1. Getting ready for your school warden operation

As a first step, your school board of trustees must advise the road controlling authority that you'd like to set up a school warden crossing.

Working together, your school, your school community officer and the road controlling authority will decide whether you need a school traffic safety team and, if so, where to locate your crossing points. This means taking into account:

• where pedestrians usually choose to cross
• the places likely to be most convenient for children and other pedestrians to ensure the children use it.
• the need for good visibility for both school wardens and approaching drivers. This might involve restricting parking close to the crossing point.

The next step is to choose up to 15 students. Just like school patrol members, they should:

• be willing and physically able to do the job
• be reliable and punctual
• be comfortable about, and confident in, making decisions
• have good judgement
• find it easy to concentrate 
• take their responsibilities seriously
• turn up for duty on time, every time

You also need to:

• get signed permission from the children's parents or caregivers
• contact your school community officer to arrange training for your school wardens and supervisors.

1.1 Developing rosters

When developing your rosters, try to give each warden a regular turn. Give them copies of their rosters to take home, so that their parents or caregivers can help to ensure they turn up on time. Supervisor should also have copies of these rosters.

1.2 Establishing warden start and finish time

The best start and finish times for your school wardens will depend on when children arrive and leave. Ideally, they should be on duty 30 minutes before school starts and at least five minutes before school finishes.

You need to have a system for ensuring a replacement person is available if a school warden unexpectedly fails to turn up on time.

Read More