DEATHS IN ROAD TRAFFIC – THE WORLD’S MOST UNDER-RECOGNIZED PROBLEM – HOW TO CHANGE THAT?

The International Traffic Medicine Association – ITMA will be holding its 26th World Congress in Curitiba, Brazil, from Tuesday, October 30 – to Thursday, November 1, 2018.

The organization was founded in 1960 mainly composed by physicians aiming to prevent crashes, and reduce deaths and injuries caused by traffic traumas. In more than 50 years of history, the association has been constantly working with the collaboration of experts from numerous fields and different parts of the world, counting even with the participation of the WHO and other organs of the UN.

The ITMA World Congress is another substantial opportunity to discuss matters of medicine, psychology or physiology with traffic medicine experts, engineers, designers, lawyers, manufacturers, policy makers, police officers and public administration involving traffic safety.

The congress will focus on issues such as the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), Support to safety driving for drivers with brain damage, Swedish Vision Zero program, what happened after 20 years, Proposed actions for the prevention of drunk drivers, New challenges to the prevention of traffic violence, as well as many other issues aiming to establish strategies for cultural and social changes in order to achieve a safer traffic for every person.

We are proud to invite you to share ideas and knowledge concerning traffic medicine in a multidisciplinary environment during 26th World Congress! Please visit the Congress website for more details (www.itma-congress-2018.com). See this announcement in Portuguese here.

ITMA’s Regional Director in North America, Dr. Donald Redelmeier recently published his work on BMJ to describe the relationship between the full moon and an increased risk of fatal motorcycle crashes. Although other potential confounders cannot be excluded from this relationship, it is worthy to be aware that motorcyclists are facing a higher risk of fatal crashes during a full moon. It is encouraged to ride with extra care under such a circumstance and appreciate the power of seemingly minor distractions at all times.

Click the image below or the following link to see the full-length paper: “The full moon and motorcycle related mortality: population based double control study“.

ITMA’s Regional Director in North America, Dr. Donald Redelmeier recently published his work on PLOS Medicine to describe how drunk driving could be prevented through efforts from different domains.

Following specific strategies were proposed for physicians to help their patients to prevent drunk driving.

• Alcohol screening and brief interventions for patients with alcohol problems
• Physician warnings for patients who sometimes drink and drive
• Treatment of patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence
• Counseling of patients not to ride with drunk drivers
• Supporting enforcement of laws against drunk driving
• Promoting sobriety checkpoints in local communities
• Lending voice to mass media campaigns against drunk driving
• Joining multicomponent interventions in coalitions of community group members

Click to see the full length paper: “Clinical Actions against Drunk Driving”.