Preventing Road Deaths—Time for Data 英文参考文献.docVIP

Editorial PreventingRoadDeaths—TimeforData ThePLoSMedicineEditors* ThisweekinPLoSMedicinewepublisha Policy Forum article by Lagarde and Constant on the prevention of injuries and deaths in vulnerable road users (VRUs) [1] and a research article by Shankuan Zhu and colleagues examining whether body mass index (BMI) is a risk factorforinjuriessustainedinroadtraffic crashes [2]. Following the recent refocus- ing ofthejournal’sscope [3] wearenow keen toprioritize studies that examine all factors—whetherenvironmental,econom- ic,political,orbiological—thatcontribute substantially to morbidity and mortality worldwide. This includes studies of road injuriesanddeaths. ‘‘clear deficiencies in data collection,’’ meaning that we don’t really have an accuratepictureofhowmanycyclistsand pedestrians are dying orinjured onroads around the world. In many countries a substantialnumberofroadcrashesarenot even reported to the police, or, if police are involved, there seems to be no obligation to record injuries to VRUs [1]. The level of under-reporting varies considerablyfromcountrytocountry,but studies have consistently demonstrated grossunder-reporting ofparticularly non- fatalroadtrafficinjuries.Forinstance,ina cross-sectionalsurveyofmorethan10,000 people carried out in urban India, even fatal road traffic injuries were under- cohort-based study [8]. To what extent do speed reductions, educational tools, reduction of traffic volumes, and promo- tion of alternatives to vehicular transport avert injuries and deaths on the roads, especially in resource-limited settings? This isalso aripe area formultidisciplin- ary research: for example, innovative analyses can reveal where pedestrian injury and death hotspots are and link them to the quality of the built environ- ment, enabling city planners to focus on those areas where countermeasures needs tobeputinplaceinasystematicfashionto improve safety for all pedestrians [9]. Clearly, medical journals have a duty to publishst