1000 free helmets distributed by BJD
Aim to encourage safe riding practices
Tweet-- Members of the Bone and Joint Decade (BJD) in association with Sancheti Hospital on Monday distributed 1000 helmets free of cost to two-wheeler riders on the city's busy roads for encouraging safe riding practices.
"In Pune approximately 65 people die every month due to head injuries. Many of those who die are sole bread earners of their families. This is a small effort towards preventing the families from getting destroyed due to accidents," Associate Professor & Medical Director Sanchati Institute for Orthopaedic & Rehabilitation said Dr. Parag Sancheti said.
The programme started from Shimla House signal and concluded at Sancheti Hospital during which 1000 helmets were given away to riders not wearing helmets. As an outreach programme, it is designed to create awareness of the importance of helmet-wearing and to stimulate behaviour change in road users.
"This message for safe riding practices is very important in a country where countless motorcyclists share the road with cars, trucks and buses in a chaotic traffic stream. They are constantly exposed to threat to life," said Dr Wahid Al-Kharusi, member of the United Nations Road Safety Commission and BJD ISC member.
Numerous studies have shown that the simple act of wearing a helmet lowers a motorcycle rider's risk of fatal injury by 30% and reduces the risk of traumatic brain injury by 70%.
The event is part of the 2008 BJD World Network Conference, organised in conjunction with the Indian Rheumatology Association annual meeting, and in line with the BJD's Trauma Reduction programme.
According to Dr Arvind Chopra, BJD India Coordinator and head of the Centre for Rheumatic Diseases in Pune, a key aim of the action is to open up dialogue with local political authorities on the importance of facilitating the use of helmets amongst road users through awareness campaigns, positive actions, helmet purchase, and the enforcement of helmet legislation.
A Matter of Life or Death
Wearing a helmet is a single most effective way of reducing head injuries and fatalities resulting from a crash (helmets can reduce the risk and severity of head injuries by 70%) while riding a motorcycle or mopeds, yet young road users are the least likely to wear helmets. A study in Malaysia found that only 54% used helmets properly, 21% used them improperly. And 25% did not wear them at all. "This is likely due to many reasons, including financial cost, availability of not safe and endorsed helmets and lack of knowledge of the importance of helmet wearing," said Dr Marcos Musafir Trauma Expert at the World Health Organization in Geneva.
Harsh Realities
1. In high-income countries, motorcycle fatalities typically comprise around 5%-15% of overall traffic fatalities. By contrast in low- and middle-income countries, percentage of traffic fatalities which involve motorcycle riders is nearly 30% in India, 60% in Malaysia and a shocking 70-90% in Thailand.
2. In China ownership of two-wheelers between1987 – 2001 grew from 23% to 63% with corresponding increase in the proportion of road fatalities sustained by motorcyclists rising from 7.5% to 19% over the same period.3. Head and neck injuries are the main cause of death, severe injury and disability among motorcycle users. The Simple Act of wearing a Safety Helmet…
Decreases the risk of sustaining a head injury and severity of injuries by around 72%,
reduces the likelihood of dying from a head injury by up to 39%
Decreases the cost of medical care by almost 50 per cent.
Road traffic injuries are a major global public health and developmental problem. Their magnitude is expected to rise considerably in the years ahead. They are preventable but we must all do our part. International cooperation is crucial to strengthening national road safety efforts.
Last month the Bone and Joint Decade published a report on the man-made disaster of Road Traffic Injury Around the World. The report is a call to arms, indicating the current state of the problem, as well as proven measures which governments can take to improve the situation in their countries.
This article can be downloaded from www.bjdonline.org. For more information on the Road Safety Initiative see the WHO website link - http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/en/ and the UN http://www.unece.org/trans/globalroadsafetyweek/rsun1rs.html
Notes to Editor
About the Bone and Joint Decade
Launched in January 2000, the Bone and Joint Decade is an NGO comprised of National Action Networks in 62 countries and with the support of more than 750 related organisations globally. Its mission is to advance understanding of musculoskeletal disorders worldwide through research and to improve the quality of life for those affected. The Bone and Joint Decade is initiative works closely with the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
Prof Lars Lidgren, Chairman of the Bone and Joint Decade, and Head of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Lund, said: "Trauma and musculoskeletal disorders are the leading cause of disability around the world, affecting one out of every four adults and accounting for 25% of the total cost of illness also in developing countries." The Decade aims to build awareness of the burden of musculoskeletal conditions by educating the public and driving research and legislation to improve prevention and treatment.
Some facts:
· Every 30 seconds someone dies in a road traffic accident, and in the same time frame three others are severely injured.
· Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of death and disability for people under age 45.
· Several hundred million people worldwide already suffer from joint diseases such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and this figure is set to increase exponentially due to the predicted doubling of the number of people over age 50 by the year 2020.
· One in every three women over age 50 will suffer a fracture caused by osteoporosis.
· Up to 80% of people will suffer from back pain during their lives.
· Back pain is the second leading cause of work-place sick leave.
· For more information, please see www.bjdonline.org http://www.bjdonline.org/