Road Traffic Injuries in Poland: Magnitude and Risk Factors
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European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery (2019) 45:815–820 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-019-01093-6 REVIEW ARTICLE Road traffic injuries in Poland: magnitude and risk factors Witold Pawłowski1 · Krzysztof Goniewicz2 · David C. Schwebel3 · Jiabin Shen4 · Mariusz Goniewicz5 Received: 23 December 2018 / Accepted: 7 February 2019 / Published online: 12 February 2019 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Introduction The article presents the epidemiology of road traffic injuries and fatalities in Poland in the years 2004–2014. In Poland, every fourth death caused by external reasons is the result of a road traffic crash and Poland has one of the highest road fatality rates in relation to vehicle ownership in Europe, with an average 23 deaths per million residents. This rate is two times higher than most other European Union countries. Materials and methods The research is based on a secondary analysis of data contained in multiple Polish governmental reports, including those of the Prevention and Analysis Office of Road Traffic Headquarters of Police, National Road Safety Program—GAMBIT 2005, National Road Safety Program 2013 to 2020, and Strategy for Efficient State in 2020, plus pre- vious publications describing road safety in Poland. Data were analysed in two steps. First, the data were described using means and frequencies, and tabulated according to variables. Second, we considered the time frame (day, month, and year of the occurrence), the place and the circumstances of fatal road crashes, the kind of event, and types of road crashes. Results Between 2004 and 2014, there were 475,591 traffic crashes on Polish roads. 52,217 people were killed and 597,191 people were injured. Traffic-related injuries represent the leading cause of death for Polish men up to 44 years of age. The most common cause of road crashes in Poland was failure to comply with the rules of the road traffic, such as through excessive speeding. We also found drivers poorly assessed road situations, faced a lack of adequate road infrastructure, and maintained many vehicles in poor condition. Discussion Despite the variety of measures undertaken to improve safety on Polish roads, including modifications of the law as well as improving road quality, the number of fatalities and injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes is still consider- able, and the losses incurred by Polish society are still substantial. Conclusions The number of fatalities and injuries as a result of road crashes in Poland remains very high. Multifaceted action to improve safety on the roads in Poland should continue. Keywords Road traffic safety · Mortality rates · Injury rates · Vehicle speeding · Traffic violations Introduction Road traffic injuries are a significant public health and social problem globally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.3 million people are killed annu- Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https ://doi.org/10.1007/s0006 8-019-01093 -6) contains ally on the roads worldwide, and 20–50 million people supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Krzysztof Goniewicz 3 Department of Psychology, University of Alabama [email protected] at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA Witold Pawłowski 4 Center for Injury Research and Policy, Research Institute [email protected] at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, USA 5 Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University 1 Department of Disaster Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland 2 Department of Security Studies, Polish Air Force Academy, Dywizjonu 303 street, no 35, Dęblin 08-521, Poland Vol.:(0123456789)1 3 816 W. Pawłowski et al. suffer severe injuries that require long-term and expensive Materials and methods treatment. Without efforts to improve road safety, the num- ber of people killed and injured as a result of motor vehicle Sources of data crashes (MVC) will increase by about 65% over the next 20 years. In fact, WHO projects that by 2030, MVC will This study was conducted in Poland, an Eastern European become the fifth leading cause of death, causing 3.6% of country with 38 479 k inhabitants in 2014. To conduct our all deaths worldwide [1, 2]. research, we merged secondary data and information from Poland has one of the highest road fatality rates in rela- the following five sources, all of which were prepared by tion to vehicle ownership in Europe, with an average 23 official government sources. The first two sources provided deaths per million residents, a rate two times higher than raw data and the last three provided tables, information, the rate in most other European Union (EU) countries [3]. and ideas relevant to our research: Road traffic crashes are the fourth leading cause of death in Poland, presenting a major public health problem in terms 1. Annual reports from the Prevention and Analysis Office of morbidity, disability and associated health care costs of the Road Traffic Headquarters of Police, 2004–2014 [4]. Road safety measures currently in place are ineffec- (http://www.polic ja.pl). These reports outline the prob- tive [3, 5]. Specifically, the Polish government has taken lems related to road safety in Poland. They list general measures to improve safety on Polish roads, including data on MVC in Poland, including risk factors, and the attempts to educate road users about safety, enforce and rate of road crashes in particular months of the year, punish drivers for breaking laws of the road, implement days of the week, times of the day and the types of areas new regulations concerning the technical condition of where crashes took place (urban or non-urban). Crashes vehicles, and update the roads for safety [6]. Despite this, were included if they were handled by police in any Pol- the number of injuries and fatalities, and casualties that ish jurisdiction. occur as a result of MVC in Poland remains considerable. 2. Data from the Central Statistical Office of Poland The most comprehensive published reports on motor (http://www.stat.gov.pl) These data came from hospitals vehicle crashes in Poland are from two sources, three of nationwide and were used to corroborate and supple- them published in Polish [6, 7] and the other, more recent ment reports from the Police reports. All injuries severe report, published in both Polish and English in a minor enough to require inpatient treatment (hospitalization) Polish journal [8]. Between 1980 and 2014, the number of in a Polish hospital were included in the database. Some road crashes in Poland has oscillated substantially. Notable injuries that were severe but did not require hospitaliza- changes occurred at a few time points. Between 1988 and tion (e.g., were treated on an outpatient basis) were also 1991, a period of significant political change in Poland, included. crash rates grew substantially. In 1990, the number of 3. National Road Safety Program—GAMBIT 2005 (http:// crashes exceeded 50,000 for the first time, reaching a 1991 www.krbrd .gov.pl), which includes lists of safety solu- peak of 54,000 [7]. After a slight decline, a second peak tions that were implemented in Poland and those that occurred in 1997, when the rate exceeded 66,000. From need to be implemented, solutions that succeeded and 1998 to 2015, crash rates decreased (with a slight retreat solutions that failed, plus offers advice on how to over- in 2007 and 2008), likely a result of Poland’s admittance come failures. European requirements are enumerated in into the European Union and the policies put in place as a the document and address the situation on Polish road- result of that membership. ways. Road traffic injuries also pose significant financial- bur 4. National Road Safety Program 2013–2020 (http://www. dens to Polish society. World Bank experts estimate that krbrd .gov.pl), which focuses on the general diagnosis the annual cost of fatal traffic crashes in Poland is nearly of road safety on Polish roads. This document consid- 11 billion Polish zloty ($3 billion US dollars) and that ers international perspectives and offers data on safety the cost of all the consequences of motor vehicle crashes limitations present on Polish roadways. in Poland crashes is between 27 and 34 billion zloty 5. Strategy for Efficient State in 2020 (http://www.admin ($7.3–9.2 billion US dollars). istra cja.mswia .gov.pl), which includes data and infor- The present paper presents a situational analysis of the mation concerning how to increase the efficiency of problem and highlights some impediments to intervention. transport to facilitate traffic efficiency in urban areas. The aim of this study was to analyse patterns in recorded According to the document, the system of fund manage- fatalities from MVC over the period from 2004 to 2014, as ment for transport in Poland is in need of modification; well as factors within the Polish traffic context connected the document offers data on potential modifications to to the environment that may lead to crashes. 1 3 817 Road traffic injuries in Poland: magnitude and risk factors the funding system and how those modifications might Table 1 Road crashes and their consequences in Poland in the years improve the Polish transportation infrastructure. 2004–2014 Year Crashes Deaths Injuries Fatali- Fatali- We used the five data sources in conjunction with each ties/100 ties/100 other for two reasons. First, the data did not overlap entirely, crashes injuries so we merged data sources to obtain the most complete 2004 51,069 5712 64,661 15 11 data possible about traffic crashes, injuries and mortalities 2005 48,100 5444 61,191 14 11 in Poland. Second, the information was released at differ- 2006 46,876 5243 59,123 14 11 ent time points by different agencies and we used the first 2007 49,536 5583 63,224 15 11 (or sometimes only) available data to answer our questions 2008 49,054 5437 62,097 14 11 of interest.