ABSTRACT
Deaths and injuries on the road primarily are construed as medical-legal phenomena, and so are embedded within medical and legal discourses. This chapter focuses on the work of the police in relation to road accidents has been included, the work of the Fire Service and the Ambulance Service are obvious and regrettable omissions. The social and psychological consequences of road accidents, and the fact that the incidence and seriousness of these consequences are often underestimated, makes this an extremely important area for critical examination by psychologists. In Britain, road traffic bulletins are broadcast every morning which provide information about accidents on the main roadways, along with other information about major road repairs and other impediments on the road. The chapter presents the diversity of ways in which psychological theory and perspectives can inform an understanding of the potentially traumatic experience of a road accident, and its legal and medical sequelae.
