Citation

Nicholson AJ, Jadaan KS. J. Traffic Med. 1989; 17(3-4): 13-22.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, International Association for Accident and Traffic Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper describes the economic impact of road accidents in developed and developing countries, and the difficulties associated with obtaining precise estimates of the costs of accidents. It is argued that a comprehensive strategy for accident reduction and prevention is required in order to have a substantial effect on the large social costs of accidents. After describing the essential ingredients of such a strategy, the attention shifts to three major issues confronting those involved in accident reduction and prevention work; how to identify the most appropriate type of accident reduction and prevention plan, how to identify unduly hazardous locations, and how to estimate the effectiveness of treatment. In particular, indices of accident clustering, regression-to-the-mean, accident migration and risk compensation are discussed.