Recommendations are presented for research into psycho-social results of traffic accidents. Severe accidents must be considered as shocking events - experiences of helplessness, disruption and uneasiness - which must be processed by the related persons. Frequently occurring reactions are fear, insecurity, irritation, guilt complex and psychosomatic complaints. An estimated amount of 20 percent of these persons get severe disorders, which are mentioned as post traumatic stress disorders. Up to the present time little attention has been paid to the consequences of severe accidents. The knowledge of the specific nature and magnitude of the psycho-social consequences for these traffic victims is insufficient. In post-crash research it is a necessity to make an accurate inventory of the psycho-social injury of traffic accidents. The first proposal for research is to develop an instrument in the diagnosis of the risk on severe injury. The second proposal considers the way in which the problems of traffic victims now are treated and how this can be changed.
Abstract