SafetyCube progress of activities concerning serious road injuries – April 2017

The EU project SafetyCube is developing a Decision Support System (DSS) that is to provide insight in the causes of road traffic crashes and support in the identification of the most cost-effective measures for the most important road safety problems.

One aspect of SafetyCube is dedicated to serious road injuries, their health impacts and their costs. A recently published report (Deliverable 7.1) shows that current practices for the estimation of the number of MAIS3+ casualties differ between countries and that the estimated number of MAIS3+ casualties is highly influenced by the method applied. This report also provides practical guidelines for the estimation of the number of serious road injuries, which are summarized in a 4-page leaflet (link is external).

The guidelines were presented to CARE experts, at the IRTAD meeting, at the TRB meeting and at the 12th World Conference of injury prevention and safety promotion. An additional report (Deliverable 7.2) shows that (serious) road traffic injuries have substantial health impacts, both at the individual level as for society as a whole.

The next report – to be published soon – discusses costs related to serious road injuries. Moreover, reported effects of various post-impact care measures will be examined. Finally, the identification of risk factors related to serious road injuries and their health impacts will also be discussed.