BACKGROUND

Road traffic injuries contribute significantly to the burden of disease and mortality throughout the world but particularly in developing countries. Currently Road traffic injuries are ranked ninth globally among the leading causes of disability adjusted life years lost. It has been predicted that by 2020, they will rank as high as third among causes of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) lost. The Global status Report on Road Safety 2015, reflecting information from 180 countries indicates that worldwide the total number of road traffic deaths has plateaued at 1.25 million deaths per year with the highest road traffic fatality rates in low income countries. The road traffic injury mortality rate is highest in Africa (28.3 per 100,000 populations) when corrected for under-reporting, compared with 11.0 per 100,000 in Europe. Also the number of vehicles per inhabitant is still low in Africa: less than one licensed vehicle per 100 inhabitants in low-income Africa versus one licensed vehicle per 60 in high-income countries.