Road Traffic Accidents and Disability: A global health concern

Worldwide, Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) are the 8th leading cause of death, and leading killer of children and young adults. An additional 50 million people are seriously injured annually. We argue here that RTAs are also a leading - although rarely acknowledged - cause of preventable disability in low and middle-income countries. The Road Traffic Safety community pays little attention to people disabled in an RTA once they leave medical or rehabilitative care. Disability policy, advocacy and research groups rarely consider people disabled in RTAs as a discrete subgroup within the disability community. Furthermore, the costs and consequences of RTA-related disability are greatly underestimated. A scoping review and interviews with prominent road traffic safety and disability experts identified major conceptual gaps between the fields of Road Traffic Safety and Disability, including how people disabled in RTAs are identified, followed and provided with needed services and support. The current lack of 'joined up' thinking around those who survive an RTA with a disability represents a lost opportunity to more systemically address this major global health concern.