Young adults constitute the largest chunk of road accidents: AIIMS study

A report by AIIMS Trauma Centre (ATC) has revealed that young adults constitute the largest chunk of victims of road accidents in Delhi, The Times of India (ToI) has reported. Although, the mortality rate appears low at 2-3 per cent, but the cases of permanent disability are almost 50 per cent in such road accidents.

For the first seven months of the ongoing calendar year, 3,780 road accidents have been reported that involved victims aged between 21-30 years. These accidents involved 9,875 victims, among them, 474 were women, the ToI report said citing ATC data.

The report quoted doctors as saying that young adults are often caught in road accidents because of the lack of maturity in their driving habits. The doctors said that young drivers are often overenthusiastic and excited on roads. Since they indulge in rash driving more than other drivers of other age groups, the chances of road crashes increase, the report cited doctors as saying.

Head of ATC, Professor Kamran Farooque told ToI that even though the survival rate at the trauma centre was high, almost 50 per cent of the victims were rendered temporarily or permanently disabled. 5-10 per cent of these victims are unable to return to their pre-injury functional status.

Most victims were riding two-wheelers

Of the 3,885 vehicles involved in road crashes till July, 73.8 per cent were two-wheelers. In some cases, the limbs had to be amputated due to the severity of the injury, while in other cases, the victims needed several months to recover from their injuries. Other common injuries included damage to the head, chest, and face.

WHO data on road accidents

WHO data says that road accidents are the eighth leading cause of death with more than 1.3 million deaths and 50 million serious injuries being reported every year. It is a leading cause of death among the young and kids aged five to 29 years, the ToI report added citing WHO data.