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Div. of Media Relations
1600 Clifton Road
MS D-14
Atlanta, GA 30333
(404) 639-3286
Fax (404) 639-7394 |
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Press Release
REVISED VERSION
Embargoed until noon
April 1, 2004 |
Contact: CDC Injury Center
Media Relations
Gail Hayes, 770-488-4902
CDC NIOSH Media Relations
Fred Blosser, 202-401-3749 |
Motor Vehicle Crashes Claim More than a
Million Lives Worldwide
CDC Joins World Health Organization for World Health
Day,
April 7th, 2004
"Family Road Safety: Protect the Ones You Love"
Throughout the world, more than a million people die each year because of
transportation-related crashes. To highlight this problem that crosses
national boundaries and threatens the safety and health of people worldwide,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is joining forces with
the World Health Organization (WHO), other U.S. federal agencies, and public
health and transportation partners for World Health Day 2004 on April 7th.
In the United States, nearly 44,000 people die each year from
transportation-related crashes and the price society pays is considerable.
For the United States in 2000, motor vehicle-related medical costs exceeded
$21 billion, accounting for almost 20 percent of all medical costs
attributed to injuries. While there have been great strides to confront the
public health problems of road traffic safety and injuries, there needs to
be increased awareness that there are ways to prevent these deaths and
injuries.
“America is a very mobile society, but we pay a price. Every hour almost
five people die in the United States because of vehicle crashes,” said CDC
Director Dr. Julie Gerberding. “Let us re-energize our efforts on World
Health Day and encourage people to choose health and safety – as they drive
to school and work, as they run errands or drive on the job, and as they
pursue leisure activities – by wearing seat belts, honoring speed limits,
and not drinking and driving.”
Each year, the WHO designates a critical public health issue as the focus
of World Health Day. This year marks the first time in WHO’s history that
world-wide road safety and prevention efforts will be highlighted. The CDC
public health theme for this year’s event is “Family Road Safety: Protect
the Ones You Love.” Key public health and transportation partners will be
among hundreds of organizations working to raise awareness that these types
of traffic related injuries and deaths can be prevented.
Here are several public health highlights for “Family Road Safety:
Protect the Ones You Love.”
- WHO rolls out its “World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention” on
April 7th in Paris. CDC scientists and researchers took part in developing
this report.
- This week’s CDC MMWR features two studies highlighting the critical
issue of road traffic safety.
- The first study examined safety belt use in the United States and
found that belt use averaged 85 percent in states with primary
enforcement safety belt laws compared with 74 percent in states with
secondary laws. Primary laws allow police officers to ticket motorists
solely for being unbelted. Secondary laws permit ticketing for failure
to use a seat belt only if a motorist is stopped for another traffic
violation. Safety belts are the best protection against serious injury
or death in a crash. CDC recommends primary enforcement safety belt laws
as an effective strategy to increase belt use. Currently, 20 states and
Washington, DC have primary laws in place.
- The second study found that at work, more people die in motor
vehicle crashes than from any other cause of injury. CDC recommends that
employers establish and enforce workplace driver safety policies as a
key step in preventing such fatalities. Occupational safety and health
professionals also can help promote awareness of occupational driving
issues, and effective strategies for reducing motor-vehicle related
crash injuries in the general public can also reduce work-related crash
injuries. Between 1992 and 2001, 13,337 people in the civilian work
force died from injuries in work-related motor vehicle crashes. The
highest number and rate of fatal work-related crashes occurred in the
transportation, communications, and public utilities industry (4,358
fatalities, 4.64 deaths per 100,000 employees).
- CDC injury prevention researchers collaborated with the University of
North Carolina in conducting public health grand rounds to reach out to
state public health and injury prevention partners on March 26th.
Entitled, “On the Road Again: Promoting Safe Travel and the Public’s
Health,” the session is now available on the web at:
http://www.publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu/pastprograms.htm
__________________________________________
Editors Note: For more information, please contact:
WHO:
www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/en/
Ms Sabine van Tuyll
Telephone: +41 (22) 791 3342 Email:
vantuylls@who.int
Pan-American World Health Organization (Regional Office for the
Americas of the WHO and also the health organization of the Inter-American
System):
www.paho.org/English/DD/PIN/whd04_main.htm
Mr. Daniel Epstein
Telephone: (202) 974-3459 Email:
epsteind@paho.org
Department of Health and Human Services: Media Office:
202-690-6343
www.hhs.gov
CDC Injury Center Media Relations: 770-488-4902
www.cdc.gov/ncipc/whd2004/
CDC National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Media
Relations: 202-401-3749
www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html
Department of Transportation Media Relations: 202-366-5571
www.dot.gov
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Media Relations:
(202) 366-9550
www.nhtsa.dot.gov
# # #
CDC protects people's health and safety by preventing and
controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing
credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living
through strong partnerships with local, national, and international
organizations.
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