ABSTRACT
Road traffic deaths are avoidable. A further Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030 has been proposed by the UN General Assembly with the aim of preventing 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries. The number of road traffic deaths remains high with 1.35 million people killed every year and 50 million people injured worldwide. The importance of traffic medicine cannot be underestimated. This Chapter provides an overview and discussion of traffic medicine, a medical discipline concerning the prevention of harm from motor vehicle collisions and making driving as safe as possible.
Drivers under the influence of alcohol and substances and those with specific underlying medical conditions cause substantial harm from motor vehicles. Although jurisdictional licensing regulations vary, underlying medical conditions and their treatments may impact on the ability to drive safely, assessing fitness to drive is a key preventative strategy used by traffic medicine specialists.
