ABSTRACT
Road traffic injuries (RTI) are the only public health problem where society and decision makers still accept death and disability on a large scale among young people. Most policymakers assume that increasing use of public transport can result in a reduction in RTIs because they only take into account the risks of bus or metro occupants and not of the access trips. Governments in high-income countries (HIC) have spent a great deal of effort in establishing road safety agencies and standards as well as some on research. A large proportion of the decrease in road traffic injuries and deaths in HICs is the result of the availability of cars that provide much greater safety to the occupants in crashes, and the result of a very significant reduction of the presence of pedestrians and cyclists on HIC streets.
