Youth most common victims in road accidents: Study

With World Head Injury Awareness Day on March 20, a study published in the Medical Journal Armed Forces India on road accidents recently threw up some alarming figures.

It shows that two-wheelers are the commonest vehicles involved in road mishaps and most victims are in the age group of 20-30 years.

India leads in the number of head injury cases in the world and most are a result of road accidents.

In the study, road accident cases admitted to a tertiary care hospital between October 1, 2009, and February 28, 2011, were included. A total of 182 patients were studied.

The study concluded that though there are multiple factors associated with road accidents, lack of safety measures in the country is a primary one. It emphasised that it is the need of the hour to address this issue and formulate comprehensive, scientific and practical rules and regulations as well as evaluate their enforcement.

Agreeing with the study, the Neurological Society of India (NSI) said head injuries, especially because of road accidents, are perhaps the only "man-made disaster" which are preventable.

Dr Urvashi Shah, neuropsychologist at KEM Hospital who represented NSI, said, "With accessibility to treatment, deaths due to accidents can be reduced. However, the serious nature of injuries sustained in such accidents more or less remains the same."

More than 350 Mumbaikars were killed in road accidents between January and September last year. Around 1,500 people suffered serious brain injury in such accidents.

Doctors pointed out the importance of the golden hour in treating accident victims. Serious complications of head injuries are memory loss, paralysis, epilepsy, nerve damage, language disorders and emotional disturbances, which can have a lasting impact.

Pedestrians and motorcyclists are common victims and financial burden (on families) due to death of earning members because of head injury is estimated to be 3% of the national GDP. The NSI has been conducting various awareness programmes to prevent road accidents.

"We will promote road safety among the public and the importance of wearing helmets, which alone is a vital lifesaver for any victim," said Shah.