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How Healthcare Providers Aid In Fog-Related Road Accidents?

In the states that are affected by fog, additional and special arrangements must be made to reduce fog-related road accidents.

Written by Tavishi Dogra | Published : January 27, 2023 4:38 PM IST

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Fog Kills

Among the causes of road traffic accidents include foggy and misty weather conditions. In 2021, fog-related road traffic accidents claimed over 13,000 lives - and over 25,000 were injured - half of them grievously. Mr Pranav Bajaj, Co-Founder of Medulance Healthcare, shares that fog, which is nothing but clouds at the surface level, is dangerous for road safety because it can reduce the visibility of the road to less than 1000 metres. It is a regional and seasonal phenomenon.

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Foggy Season

In India, the foggy season is most common during the winter in the north Indian states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (besides the Union Territory, Chandigarh), and east India’s Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Sikkim and West Bengal.  Also Read - Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears: Internal Brace Is The Future Of ACL Treatment

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Smog

What compounds the problem is smog from burning diesel, petrol, gas, coal, biomass, waste and re-suspended dust, which is present all year round in many Indian cities and further reduces the horizontal visibility of roads.

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Human Factors

Though there are many reasons for fog-related road accidents, paramount among them is unsafe road infrastructure and irresponsible driver behaviour. Roads that need more facilities for pedestrians, cyclists, or motorcyclists and adequate signs and markings are safe. Also Read - 7 Out Of Every 10 Urban Indians Experience Digestive Issues: Survey

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Driver Behaviour

The erratic driver behaviours involve rash driving, drunk driving, overspeeding, distracted driving (driving while using a mobile phone, for instance), hard, sudden braking or turning and failure to maintain a safe distance from other vehicles, fatigue, and inability to understand signs, among others. In addition, things like the negligence of people to check the roadworthiness of their cars - in terms of proper working of lights and brakes, is also to blame.

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Usual Victims

Data from the providers of ambulance services, emergency care services and hospitals show which group of road users are more vulnerable and at risk of meeting road accidents, especially during foggy seasons. A spike in ambulance and emergency care requests is observed for accidents involving cab drivers and delivery agents - from door delivery boys/girls of online shopping firms to courier staff.  Also Read - Irritable Bowel Syndrome And Mental Disorders: Studies Find A Connection

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Two Wheeler Risk

Equally at risk are cyclists and bike riders. Peak requests are registered usually during early morning and late evenings when dense fog is present. Most victims of accidents that occur late evenings are office goers returning from work, and those that occur early or late hours are pedestrians. Primarily, highways and expressways account for fog-triggered accidents.

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Fog-related Road Accidents

In the states that are affected by fog, additional and special arrangements must be made to reduce fog-related road accidents. Along with preventive measures, the focus must be on strengthening ambulance, emergency and trauma care services and improving the quality of prehospital care involving specialist training programmes for the public, police, road authorities and other stakeholders, besides emergency and healthcare service providers.

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Furthermore

All these stakeholders must work together to provide safer roads and timely, high-quality, affordable trauma care to road crash victims. With concerted efforts, it is possible to lift the veil of uncertainty in preventing fog-related accidents and sustainably save lives. Also Read - Impact Of H3N2 Influenza And Other Viral Infections On Male Fertility