Today's News

Sunday, February 25, 1996

Academy expands traffic safety campaign

The Academy's public education campaign on traffic safety has been expanded, said John Tongue, MD. The Academy and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have joined forces to investigate new ways to get the message out that traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for people under 25 and are a top cause of death for people of all ages.

Dr. Tongue noted that "traffic accident" is a misnomer, because 90 percent of crashes are avoidable. Despite the public awareness campaigns promoting seat belts, one-third of Americans do not use them. About one-half of all crashes result in orthopaedic injuries; and most crash-related injuries result in long-term medical problems. Crashes cost the American public $137 billion each year in total societal costs. Fewer than 15 percent of the medical costs are paid for by the injured; the rest are eventually passed on to the public at large.