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Effect of Road Safety Laws on Deaths and Injuries from Road Traffic Collisions in Colombia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2020

Killiam Argote-Aramendiz Open the ORCID record for Killiam Argote-Aramendiz [Opens in a new window] ,
Michael S. Molloy Open the ORCID record for Michael S. Molloy [Opens in a new window] ,
Alexander Hart Open the ORCID record for Alexander Hart [Opens in a new window] ,
Amalia Voskayan ,
Ritu Sarin  and
Gregory R. Ciottone
Killiam Argote-Aramendiz*
Affiliation:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Fellowship in Disaster Medicine, Boston, MassachusettsUSA International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, Switzerland
Michael S. Molloy
Affiliation:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Fellowship in Disaster Medicine, Boston, MassachusettsUSA Emergency Medicine, University College Dublin, Ireland Wexford General Hospital, Wexford, Ireland
Alexander Hart
Affiliation:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Fellowship in Disaster Medicine, Boston, MassachusettsUSA Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsUSA
Amalia Voskayan
Affiliation:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Fellowship in Disaster Medicine, Boston, MassachusettsUSA
Ritu Sarin
Affiliation:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Fellowship in Disaster Medicine, Boston, MassachusettsUSA Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsUSA
Gregory R. Ciottone
Affiliation:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Fellowship in Disaster Medicine, Boston, MassachusettsUSA Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsUSA
*
Killiam Argote-Aramendiz, MD Disaster Medicine Specialist Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Fellowship in Disaster Medicine 330 Brookline Ave Boston, Massachusetts02215USA E-mail: killiamargote@gmail.com
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Abstract

Introduction:

Colombia is the fourth largest country in South America. It is an upper middle-income country with an estimated population of 49.2 million people, and road traffic collisions (RTCs) are the second most common cause of traumatic death. The United Nations (UN) proclaimed 2011 to 2020 as the “Decade of Action for Road Safety.” In this context, the government of Colombia established the National Road Safety Plan (PNSV) for the period 2011-2021, aiming to reduce RTC-related deaths by 26%. Some road safety laws (RSLs) were implemented before the PNSV, but their impact on deaths and injuries is still not known.

Study Objective:

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether these RSLs have had a long-term effect on road safety in the country.

Methods:

Data on RTC casualties, deaths, and injuries from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2017 were collated from official Colombian governmental publications. Three different periods were considered for analysis: 2001-2010 to evaluate the Transit Code; 2011-2017 to evaluate the PNSV; and 2001-2017 to evaluate a composite of the full study period. Analyses of trends in deaths and injuries were related to dates of new RSLs.

Results:

A total of 102,723 deaths (12.7%) and 707,778 injuries (87.3%) were reported from 2001 through 2017. The Transit Code period (2001-2010) showed a 10.1% decline in deaths, 16.6% decline in injuries, and rates per 100,000 inhabitants and per 10,000 registered vehicles also declined. During the period of the PNSV (2011-2017), there was an increase in the number of deaths by 16.6%, injuries decreased by 1.7%, and death rates per 100,000 inhabitants also increased. During the total study period, a 12.4% reduction in the total number of casualties was achieved, and death and injury rates per 100,000 inhabitants decreased by 12.4% and 27.5%, respectively.

Discussion:

Despite the introduction of the PNSV, RTCs remain the second most common cause of preventable death in Colombia. Overall, while the absolute number of RTCs and deaths has been increasing, the rate of RTCs per 10,000 registered vehicles has been decreasing. This suggests that although the goals of the PNSV may not be realized, some of the laws emanating from it may be having a beneficial effect. Further study is required over a protracted period to determine the longer-term impact of these initiatives.

Keywords

Colombiamortalitypublic healthroad safety lawsroad traffic collisions
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , August 2020 , pp. 397 - 405
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2020

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