Conditions experienced in casualty departments of hospital services, especially over weekends, are described. It is emphasised that a reduction in road accident patients do not normally lead to a pro rata decrease in the total running costs of a hospital. The decrease in the amount of these patients is replaced by other patients, who would probably have been placed on a waiting list and who can now receive treatment so much sooner. To form a concept of the treatment costs of specifically road accident victims, calculations based on statistics have been made with regard to three theoretical twelve-month periods. The following results were obtained: (1) 12 months before the introduction of fuel-saving measures - 1 427 736,00r (2) 12 months during which the first speed limits were in effect - 626 334,00r (3) 12 months during which the latest speed limits were in effect - 1 009 080,00r. This paper was presented at the 1974 symposium on "the impact of fuel saving laws on road safety," held in pretoria, south africa. The covering abstract for the symposium is IRRD abstract no. 213021.
Abstract