Use of Technology to Promote Road Safety: Public Health Perspective

ABSTRACT

Road safety has been acknowledged as a public health concern of global significance owing to its direct association with human lives and their well-being. Road safety is a much broader concept than measures that are aimed to just prevent accidents, but it extends to improving the quality of life of members of the community, safeguarding environmental health, and improving the economy of the nation. With the passage of time, several technologies in road safety have surfaced, and their collective employment can aid in the establishment of a smart, safe, and efficient transportation system in nations. In fact, these technologies will account for a significant reduction in the number of accidents, better management of traffic, and improved road safety. In conclusion, ensuring road safety can save lives, promote responsible behavior, and create secure transportation system. There is an immense need to create awareness, engage the community, and embrace technology to minimize the possibility of road accidents and ensure safe journeys for all.

INTRODUCTION

Road safety has been acknowledged as a public health concern of global significance owing to its direct association with human lives and their well-being.[1] The available global estimates suggest that on an annual basis, more than 1.3 million people succumb to road traffic injuries, with pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists accounting for more than 50% of the reported deaths.[1] Furthermore, the management of road traffic injuries in most of the nations accounts for expenditure of three percent of their gross domestic product.[1] Road safety measures play a defining role in minimizing the incidence of accidents and the number of serious injuries that can result in long-term impact on patients and their family members.[2] Moreover, these measures augment the overall quality of life of the general population as people can live without any feeling of constant fear and lead a stress-free life.[3] We must not undermine the social well-being resulting because of people adhering to traffic rules and thus tend to have mutual respect on roads.[4] Furthermore, there is an improvement in environment health because accidents often lead to fuel spillage and other environmental hazards.[1] Finally, road safety can also reduce the financial burden on the victim, family members, community, and the healthcare delivery system.[1,2,3,4]

ROAD SAFETY: DOMAINS TO BE FOCUSED

Road safety is a much broader concept than measures that are aimed to just prevent accidents, but it extends to improving the quality of life of members of the community, safeguarding environmental health, and improving the economy of the nation.[5] Road safety begins with creating awareness about rules and regulations pertaining to traffic, and this has to be executed with the help of comprehensive educational campaigns directed toward road users using different modes of communication, including social media, and that too in different institutions (such as schools and workplace).[6,7] In continuation, we have to take specific measures (such as liaison with local leaders and neighborhood watch initiatives—local residents monitor and report unsafe activities in their dwelling areas) to promote safe driving habits—responsible driving.[4] The next area that needs immediate attention is strict enforcement of the existing traffic rules and imposing heavy penalty-cum-punishment for people who violate these laws to encourage compliance.[8]

In low- and middle-income nations, considering that pedestrians are extremely vulnerable, there is a significant need to design pedestrian-friendly (viz. crosswalks and pedestrian signals) infrastructure to minimize the risk of accidents involving pedestrians.[9] We must not forget about driver training and licensing standards because many accidents can be prevented by exposing them to driver education programs, including making them aware of the consequences of distracted driving, and training them to handle poor weather conditions or heavy traffic.[2,4] There is an immense need to strengthen the process of data collection on road safety incidents by expanding surveillance activities because it will provide policymakers with the data to ascertain trends, measure the effectiveness of interventions, and accordingly plan interventions to improve road safety in the future.[10] Furthermore, we have to implement strict safety standards in public transport vehicles (viz. periodic assessment of the vehicle quality and driver training) and related infrastructure (such as making designated stops and lanes for public transport vehicles) to minimize interference with other road users.[1,2]

As delay in emergency response time can become the difference between life and death, there is an indispensable need to strengthen infrastructure for emergency response, organize capacity building programs for healthcare professionals, and augment networking between law enforcement, emergency services, and health establishments to optimize the overall response process.[4,5,11] Moreover, we must take measures to use technologies for road safety because these measures can remarkably improve real-time monitoring, regulate traffic flow, and issue alerts to road users about potential hazards.[12] At this juncture, we must realize that road safety can be significantly improved by adopting best practices worldwide; nevertheless, this will essentially depend on better networking and collaboration between international leaders who are concerned with road safety.[13] The national government should explore the opportunity to involve private sector and nongovernmental agencies in all the above initiatives to expand the reach of these facilities.[14] In essence, by giving attention to the above areas, policymakers and public health authorities can establish a robust and effective road safety framework in all nations and thereby make it safe for all road users.[1,5,11]

IMPROVING ROAD SAFETY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

With the passage of time, several technologies in road safety have surfaced, and their collective employment can aid in the establishment of a smart, safe, and efficient transportation system in nations.[12,13,14] In fact, these technologies will account for a significant reduction in the number of accidents, better management of traffic, and improved road safety.[13,14] Car manufacturing companies have designed smart cars with sensors and cameras to avoid crashes by providing timely alerts to drivers with the help of real-time monitoring.[15] In addition, vehicle communication systems can transmit information pertaining to traffic conditions in real time, and thus, there is an improvement in road safety.[12] Furthermore, artificial intelligence has also found its feet in this industry, resulting in the production of autonomous vehicles that work in the absence of human inputs, and hence, we can eliminate human errors.[16] In addition, mobile applications have also been developed to provide information about traffic conditions to the drivers.[17]

In continuation, some of the car manufacturing companies have also introduced features of lane change warning, adaptive cruise control, and automatic emergency braking, which altogether can minimize the likelihood of accidents that can result because of human errors.[18] The inclusion of machine learning has aided in predicting potential accidents, and thus, it encourages users to take proactive measures to prevent accidents.[19] To improve visibility and give alert to the vehicles that are coming from behind, the emergency electronic system will automatically activate brake lights and reduce the risk of rear-end collisions.[20] Technology has also been used to monitor and manage traffic flow and provide information about traffic congestion in real time.[20] On a similar note, even augmented reality has been used to provide information about road conditions and directions to the drivers and thus reduces the possibility of missing turns. Technology has developed so much that it can monitor the physiological parameters of drivers and alert them whenever signs of fatigue or distractions are identified, encouraging them to drive safely.[21] Furthermore, systems have been developed that can reduce the speed of vehicles based on speed limits and road conditions.[22]

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, ensuring road safety can save lives, promote responsible behavior, and create secure transportation system. There is an immense need to create awareness, engage the community, and embrace technology to minimize the possibility of road accidents and ensure safe journeys for all.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.