This introductory chapter discusses some of the themes of this book, and comments on its later chapters. They express in different ways the continuing extreme loss of life, and damage to people's lives, caused by cars and other motorised road traffic. Although road accidents have been steadily decreasing in Britain during recent decades, each year they still cause over 3500 fatalities, about 50,000 serious injuries, and over 200,000 other injuries. Road accident statistics, which have been collected in the UK since 1909, show the significant positive impacts of interventions such as better road engineering, the use of seat belts, and the very serious treatment of the problem of drunken driving. However, they do not reflect the lifelong effects on survivors and their families. The book presents a range of perspectives which contribute to thinking about the human consequences of road accidents in three interrelated domains: (1) the psychological and psychiatric effects on survivors; (2) the legal context, within which the physical and psychological damage caused by accidents is organised and judged; and (3) the attempted interventions to manage the emotional impact of accidents. Relevant statistical and epidemiological information is provided, as a background for understanding the main theoretical models.
Abstract