Road Traffic Accident on
the Decline in Addis By Daniel Tirune /ABN/
Road traffic accident (RTA) is an incident on a way or street open to public traffic, resulting in one or more persons being injured or killed and involving at least one moving vehicle. Road traffic accidents have become a huge global public health and development problem killing nearly 1.2 million people a year and injuring or disabling between 20-50 million people worldwide. RTAs are major public health problem in Ethiopia. The magnitude of trauma caused by RTA had been increased day to day. Urgent road traffic accident preventive measures and prompt treatment of the victims are warranted to reduce morbidity and mortality among the victims of the road traffic accident. Education on the proper use of sideways by pedestrians and periodic Vehicle examination should be given due emphasis by Government especially by transport minister and Federal police in collaboration. A very recent road traffic accident report has revealed that the number of accident fatality rate has gone down by 17% in the nation’s capital, Addis Ababa. ABN speaks to inspector Assefa Mezgebu who has served his nation as a traffic police, public relation officer, road safety teacher and related works for the past many years. He was famous for his regular reporting on road traffic accidents in the capital via FM 97.1 and 98.1 radio stations, and currently Assefa is running his own radio show, featuring road safety and related issues. Road traffic accident reporting in Ethiopia seems to have a very recent history. With the emergence of FM radio stations in the capital Addis Ababa in early 2000’s came reporting traffic accident on regular basis, encompassing number, types, magnitude, causes, places and timeof traffic accidents. Assefa is believed to be pioneer in reporting timely RTAs via different FM radio stations. Assefa said, “As compared to other African cities, traffic accidents in Addis Ababa where 60 to 70 percent of vehicles in the country are found, is insignificant. Also as per WHO measurement the fatality or 52
Abyssinia Business Nework // ABN
injury rate in the capital is found to be in a good state; however, more than 400 people in the city die due to car accident every year; there are still a long way to go to avoid such causalities.” Road traffic accidents not only adversely affect the livelihood of individuals but also their family members, as it can lead households into poverty via the enduring effects of the episodes: the costs of medical care, treatment and loss of family’s income generators.
in urban areas,”
“Speeding, drunk driving running red lights and stop signs, reckless driving and aggressive driving are among the major causes of road traffic accidents
Road traffic accidents are usually caused by flaws in three major components of road safety such as the human (the behavior of man), the environment, and the vehicle
Modernizing Transport April 2021
Road traffic accidents have also a gigantic impact on national economy by consuming the already inadequate resources, damaging invaluable property, and killing and disabling the productive age group of the community. In general, the severity of the problem is becoming horrific shockingly and reaching a catastrophic level showing that sufficient work has not been done to control and/or reduce alarming rate of the accident.
