Gestor bibliográfico Crisis y Salud

According to WHO, road traffic injuries are the eighth leading cause of death globally, and the leading cause of death among young people aged 15–29 years.1 Data from the European Road Safety Observatory in 2011 suggest that road traffic accidents in the member countries of the European Union (EU) annually claim around 34 000 lives and cause more than 1.1 million injuries, representing an estimated cost of 140 billion euros. Greece was second in the EU with 187 deaths/one million inhabitants in 2000, and kept its place with 129 deaths in 2009 (second only to Romania). Things, however, seem to have changed in the last three years. In light of the major financial crisis taking place in Greece since the final quarter of 2008, we sought to investigate the impact of this crisis on the incidence of road traffic accidents, injuries and deaths.