Trends in road traffic crashes and associated injury and fatality in the People’s Republic of China, 1951–1999

Abstract

The burden of road traffic injuries in the People's Republic of China is increasing as evidenced by trends since 1951. Data from the National Statistical Office, Ministry of Communications and the Traffic Administration Bureau were analyzed. Absolute numbers of crashes, fatalities, and injuries, as well as fatalities per 100,000 population and motorization (number of vehicles per 1000 population) were used as indices to measure trends. Regional variations in trends and the characteristics of people injured or killed were also analyzed. Road traffic crashes increased 68-fold, from around 6000 in 1951 to 413,000 in 1999. Excessive speed was the main reported cause of the crashes. The injuries increased 56-fold--from around 5000 to 286,000--and fatalities 97-fold--from 852 to around 84,000--over the same period. The crash, fatality and injury rates also increased after 1985, due to increased motorization spurred by rapid economic growth. The number of four-wheel motor vehicles increased from 60,000 in 1951 to just under a million four-wheel motor vehicles in 1975 and to 10 million in 1987. The number of four-wheel motor vehicles then rose to 50 million in 1999, with an additional 30 million motorcycles. The increase in motorization and fatalities affected all the provinces. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for populations up to the age of 45 years and the leading cause of working-life years lost in China.

Road Traffic Injury in China: A Review of National Data Sources

“…We identified 8 articles published in English that focused on general RTI mortality in China (Dong et al 2010;Hu et al 2011;Hu, Bakar, et al 2008;Jiang et al 2011;Li and Baker 1991;Wang et al 2003Wang et al , 2008Zhang et al 2010). None of them used DSP data.…”

Community-based programs to promote car seat restraints in children 0–16 years – a systematic review

“…Transport related injury remains the leading cause of death and disability in children in most countries of the world (Anderson, 2001;Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2002;Bernard and Matthews, 2003;Wang et al, 2003;World Health Organisation, 2002). There can be few more convincingly effective interventions for the prevention of transport related injury in children than car seat restraints (Porter and Zhao, 1998;Zaza et al, 2001) yet in many countries, these restraints are not mandatory and use of these devices is rare (World Health Organisation, 2002).…”

Comparing road traffic mortality rates from police-reported data and death registration data in China

“…According to a review by Wang et al, deaths from vehicle collisions increased 97-fold between 1951 and 1999, and road traffic injuries have become the leading cause of death among persons 45 years of age and younger. 1 To counteract the increasing threat to life from road traffic collisions, during the late 1990s and early 2000s China revised its road traffic laws and adopted many preventive measures that had proved effective in high-income countries. Notably, the road traffic death rate in China began to fall after 2002, as documented in the Global status report on road safety 2 issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2009.…”