This lecture considers: the impact of transport policy on physical activity and obesity; the capacity for rising obesity levels to threaten the ability of the NHS to perform its services; the sheer scale of the road traffic injury burden; the necessity to remove public and political anxieties about effective injury prevention measures; and the role of open and explicit experimental trials of road safety interventions in guiding policy development in tricky situations. Increasing public awareness of the high risk of injury resulting from vehicle accidents and of interventions to reduce injuries is considered important. The rigorous testing of injury prevention interventions in a manner that is both explicit and open is recommended. It is considered that the widespread adoption of acceptable and effective road safety initiatives would substantially reduce the scale of human suffering from road traffic collisions. The full text may be found on the Internet at http://www.pacts.org.uk/research.php
Abstract