Road traffic injuries are a major cause of death and disability globally, with a disproportionate number occurring in developing countries. 1 2 Road traffic injuries are currently ranked ninth globally among the leading causes of disability adjusted life years lost, and the ranking is projected to rise to third by 2020.1 In 1998, developing countries accounted for more than 85% of all deaths due to road traffic crashes globally and for 96% of all children killed.2 Moreover, about 90% of the disability adjusted life years lost worldwide due to road traffic injuries occur in developing countries.1 The problem is increasing at a fast rate in developing countries due to rapid motorisation and other factors (fig 1).3 However, public policy responses to this epidemic have been muted at national and international levels. Policy makers need to recognise this growing problem as a public health crisis and design appropriate policy responses.

#### Summary points

Injury and deaths due to road traffic crashes are a major public health problem in developing countries

More than 85% of all deaths and 90% of disability adjusted life years lost from road traffic injuries occur in developing countries

Among children aged 0-4 and 5-14 years, the number of fatalities per 100 000 population in low income countries was about six times greater than in high income countries in 1998

The highest burden of injuries and fatalities is borne disproportionately by poor people in developing countries, as pedestrians, passengers of buses and minibuses, and cyclists



Fig 1 
Trends in fatalities due to road traffic injuries for different regions of the world, 1980-95. Data from Transport Research Laboratory3



Road traffic injuries in developing countries particularly affect the productive (working) age group (15-44 years) and children. (A developing country is defined as a country that has an annual per …

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/324/7346/1139.full.pdf

The neglected epidemic: road traffic injuries in developing countries

Towards a general theory of driver behaviour.

Risky behavior can be an expression of a normal, genetically influenced personality trait, sensation seeking. Its expression in risky behaviors such as extreme and risky sports, vocations, substance abuse, unsafe sex, and crime, among others, is the topic of this fascinating and accessible book. In "Sensation Seeking and Risky Behavior", Marvin Zuckerman offers a comprehensive view of the role of sensation seeking in a wide range of behaviors, from risky driving and sports through substance use, sex, and crime or other antisocial behaviors. How the personality trait sensation seeking relates to these risky behaviors is described and explained in terms of genetics, biology, attitudes, and expectancies. Insights into prevention and treatment of maladaptive forms of sensation seeking, like substance abuse and unsaf sexual activity, based on the published research, are offered.

Sensation Seeking And Risky Behavior

If previous research studied acceptability of partially or highly automated driving, few of them focused on fully automated driving (FAD), including the ability to master longitudinal control, lateral control and maneuvers. The present study analyzes a priori acceptability, attitudes, personality traits and intention to use a fully automated vehicle. 421 French drivers (153 males, M = 40.2 years, age range 19-73) answered an online questionnaire. 68.1% Of the sample a priori accepted FAD. Predictors of intention to use a fully automated car (R2 =.671) were mainly attitudes, contextual acceptability and interest in impaired driving (i.e. the two components of FAD acceptability), followed by driving related sensation seeking, finally gender. FAD preferred use cases were on highways, in traffic congestion and for automatic parking. Furthermore, some drivers reported interest in impaired driving misuses, despite awareness of their responsibility for both the vehicle and the driving. These results are discussed regarding previous knowledge about acceptability of advanced driving assistance systems and consequences for the use of fully automated cars.

https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01471792/document

Rachel Thiessen

Papers

Sensation seeking, risky driving and behavioral adaptation.

Front-line police officers' practices, perceptions and attitudes about the enforcement of impaired driving laws in Canada