ITraffic Injury A Public Health Concern WorMwide

A “ nd as it came, it changed the face of America. Villages which had once prospered because they were ‘on the railroad’ languished with economic anemia; villages on Route 61 bloomed with garages, filling stations, hot-dog stands, chicken dinner restaurants, tearooms, tourists’ rests, camping sites, and affiuence. Slowly, but surely the age of steam was yielding to the gasoline age.’” That quote from Only Yesterday aptly describes the pervasive influence that the motor car has had on American society. Indeed, the story is similar in all countries as they move up the motorization ladder. Henry Ford’s assembly line and its permutations have facilitated the industrialization process, the growth of commerce, and independent mobility for millions of people. These enormous benefits must, however, also be considered in light of the adverse byproducts of motorization, such as traffic injuries. The world’s 24 million kilometers of paved roads serve an estimated 600 million cars, trucks, and buses, as well as another 100 million motorcycles. At a projected 8 percent annual growth over the next decade, the motorized vehicle population will reach 1.6 billion by the year 2000. To this must be added the nonmotorized vehicles—the estimated 500 million bicycles, as well as indige-