China’s drive for better road safety is starting to pay dividends but it still has a way to go
Kamilia Lahrichi praises Beijing’s efforts to introduce laws covering drink-driving, speeding, seat belt and helmet use, but says better planning and coordination are needed to cut the 250,000 road deaths per year
Following the end of the second global conference on road safety in Brazil this week, China deserves praise for progress in cutting its death toll since 2001. However, it still has a way to go.
Although Beijing has passed most of the critical legislation – covering drink-driving, motorcycle helmets and seat belts – to foster a culture of safety, the world’s biggest auto market still counts over 250,000 road deaths a year (nearly 25 per cent of all such fatalities worldwide), according to the “Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015” released by the World Health Organisation this month.
Another simple measure to cut accidents is to install speed bumps near schools
The reality is that road injuries are not an incurable ill; government inaction, however, may be.
Car accidents remain the major cause of death for Chinese under 45, according to the WHO. In other words, those aged under 45 are more likely to die in a car accident than from suicide, HIV or malaria.
This global public health issue can only be solved domestically. There needs to be better coordination between different sectors of government, such as the health and transport ministries.
