TY - JOUR
T1 - Economic evaluation of interventions to reduce road traffic injuries - A review of the literature with applications to low and middle-income countries
AU - Waters, H. R.
AU - Hyder, A. A.
AU - Phillips, T. L.
PY - 2004
Y1 - 2004
N2 - Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) kill over one million people worldwide annually. This article takes the perspective of economic costs and benefits to review the impact of available road safety interventions in industrialized countries - and the potential effect of these interventions in low and middle-income countries, where RTIs pose an increasingly large public health problem. A comprehensive review of the literature on cost-benefits and cost-effectiveness studies related to road traffic injuries internationally, with comparisons of costs adjusted for inflation and exchange differentials was conducted. In the United States (US), motor vehicle inspection laws resulted in annual savings of US $1.7 to $2.3 billion. The installation of seatbelts results in net savings of $162 per vehicle; with benefits outweighing costs by a factor ranging from 240 to 1,727. Other cost effective interventions include mandatory seatbelt use, lowering speed limits, motorcycle helmet laws, and traffic calming devices such as speed bumps and road deviations. The dearth of similar economic evaluations of interventions for road traffic injuries in low and middle-income countries represents a serious research gap and hinders the implementation of effective strategies in those countries.
AB - Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) kill over one million people worldwide annually. This article takes the perspective of economic costs and benefits to review the impact of available road safety interventions in industrialized countries - and the potential effect of these interventions in low and middle-income countries, where RTIs pose an increasingly large public health problem. A comprehensive review of the literature on cost-benefits and cost-effectiveness studies related to road traffic injuries internationally, with comparisons of costs adjusted for inflation and exchange differentials was conducted. In the United States (US), motor vehicle inspection laws resulted in annual savings of US $1.7 to $2.3 billion. The installation of seatbelts results in net savings of $162 per vehicle; with benefits outweighing costs by a factor ranging from 240 to 1,727. Other cost effective interventions include mandatory seatbelt use, lowering speed limits, motorcycle helmet laws, and traffic calming devices such as speed bumps and road deviations. The dearth of similar economic evaluations of interventions for road traffic injuries in low and middle-income countries represents a serious research gap and hinders the implementation of effective strategies in those countries.
KW - Cost-benefit analysis
KW - Cost-effectiveness analysis
KW - Economic evaluation
KW - Injury interventions
KW - Road traffic injuries
KW - Road traffic interventions
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M3 - Article
C2 - 18839864
AN - SCOPUS:4043161554
SN - 1010-5395
VL - 16
SP - 23
EP - 31
JO - Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health
JF - Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health
IS - 1
ER -