Road Transport and Traffic System, and Safety Problems in Ethiopia: the Two Decades Experiences

Background and Audience Relevance: According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2015, about thirty-five hundred people were killed, and four hundred thousand were injured in car crashes.

Every day, thousands of individuals fall victim to motor vehicle accidents and obtain serious injuries. But in regards to innovations such as seat belts and airbags, this number has decreased. Safety innovations have changed throughout history. In the 1930’s, individuals were required to wear safety glasses in their vehicles, in the late 1950’s, occupants were allowed to choose whether they wanted headrests on the front seats, which we know understand to be a crucial part of a car as it prevents whiplash. More recently there have been new innovations such as tire pressure monitors and traction control which further contributes to reducing the number of roadside accidents. However, it is clear that there is still a large area for improvement.

Laws that protect citizens on the street are known as traffic laws. Traffic laws have developed over time to help facilitate the orderly and timely flow of traffic safely. There are a number of reasons traffic laws are necessary such as safety, to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on the roads. According to the national safety council, an estimated 40,000 people died from motor vehicle crashes in 2016 a rise of 6% from 2015. The national safety council suggests that lower gas prices and increased motor mileage coupled with risky activities while driving such as texting, playing with the radio and speeding are responsible for the rise in fatalities and injuries. Most people recognize that driving and vehicles can be dangerous for everyone on the roads including passengers, pedestrians, cyclists; it is imperative that all drivers abide the traffic laws. Many people become careless drivers and become desensitized to

The dangers of riding in or operating a motor vehicle pose the consequences of accidents, various injuries and, unfortunately, fatalities. As this issue can affect any individual, driver or passenger, there is a need for continued public health involvement to ensure all individuals remain as safe as possible in the event of tragedy. According to the National Safety Council, nearly 40,000 individuals succumbed to injuries from motor vehicle crashes for 2016. This is a number that has shown a drastic rise since 2014 as well as being the most fatal year for motor vehicle accidents since 2007. Outside of fatalities, over 4 million individuals required medical care from vehicles injuries, resulting in a societal cost upwards of $432 billion (National Safety Council, 2017).

Every year around 1.2 billion people had been into accident in which half of accidents are bike related. Global Status Report on Road safety states that India is one of the leading countries in road accidents. This

The trend of increasing numbers of injuries is likely to continue as the number of motor vehicles rises. People in developing countries, which comprise 84% of the global population, currently own around 40% of the world's motor vehicles22. The higher number of people killed or injured per crash is a reason for the high number of road traffic injuries in developing countries. Another burden is poor enforcement of traffic safety regulations in low income countries due to inadequate resources and administrative problems. Corruption is a huge problem in some countries.

Road traffic accidents in Oman are approximately 10000 annually and in an average of 700 deaths and 8000 physical injuries (Al-Lamki, 2010).

Accidents are one of the most dreaded situations in one`s life, on an average atleast one vehicular accident occur everyday around the world. It has also been observed that the most number of people die as they do not get to the hospital in time after such road accidents in highways or remote locations such as rural villages. This causes unintended loss of life.

India contribute 6% of world Road accidents and 10% of world road death rate. More than the 1.41 lakh people die in road accidents and more than 1 million deadly road accident take place every year. They are mostly of pedestrians or cyclist. For them there is hardly devoted space on road (Jain, 2014).

According to the statistics of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 32,166 fatal crashes which resulted in the death of 35,092 lives only in 2015 in US and that is 10 times more than the September 11 attacks. Estimated 94 (±2.2) percent of these fatal accidents have resulted in driver-related critical reasons (Singh, 2015), and the number of death has not decreased much since 1994 (NHTSA). Moreover, globally 1.25 million lives were lost because of road accidents in 2013 (WHO, 2017). These statistics point out that the actual situation of road safety is extremely severe, yet governments seem not to place emphasis on it.

Danger figures influencing damage seriousness incorporate absence of in-vehicle crash protection, Non-use of crash helmets by two-wheeled vehicle clients ,Non-use of seat-belts and youngster restraints On engine vehicles and roadside Questions (1). For pakistan another worth specifying reason for street movement mishaps is that those requirement of movement laws once seat-belt Also cap wearing will be poor. (8) high pace from claiming vehicles Additionally help incredible amount from claiming street mishaps(9) guaranteeing intercessions or methodologies for example, seat sash Also cap use, enactment and requirement about seat cinch use, sidewalks, roadway barriers, chose traffic-calming outlines (e. G. , speed ramps/bumps), passerby crossing indications consolidated with unmistakably denoted crosswalks, Also government funded instruction and conduct adjustment focused on In motorists are the sum attainable Furthermore useable on keep Pole mishaps(2).

First, one way road construction causes accidents by failure to slow down when entering work zones. Work zones on the road put construction workers and drivers at risk. Neighborhood repaving, bridge repairs, and road repairs have the number of accidents on the rise. Motorist have to maneuver around construction workers, barrels, signs, and deal with lane changes. Keeping all these factors in mind, many

Road accidents occur mainly due to over confidence and carelessness, and at times road rage and competitive spirit. According to official statistics, 238, 562 total fatalities were reported in India during the year 2013. The country is one of the fast growing economies and personal transport is one of the booming industries in the country. The reasons behind these incredible numbers of fatalities on the road were reported to be road environment, driver skill, drug and alcohol consumption, operating speed and road design. These accidents lead to death, fatalities and financial loss to both individuals and families. The main causes for

Accidents are very common in big cities as there are many modes of transport and roads are narrow and crowded. Every day we come across news about such accidents that claim lives and cause casualties. Sadly, driver error remains the most common cause of road accidents; such as Speeding, Drink Driving, Seat Belt Wearing, Careless Driving, At-work, Inexperience, Failed to Look Properly, Loss of Control, Failed to Judge Other Person 's Path/Speed.  I was a witness to one.

Road Road Accidents Casualties 24,581 48,233 48,291 54,222 56,021 57,931 59,084 63,192 74,096 79,150 80,526 82,059 79,804 76,882 73,250 75,626 87,999 96,513 118,554 135,995 148,801 162,491 189,109 215,632 211,037 223,166 250,429 265,175 279,711 298,653 326,815 328,264 13,332* 19,440 19,327