Photo of a typical everyday accident scene in Vijayawada, India. If they were travelling any faster or on a busier road, imagine what would have happened to that child - or even all three.
Ninety per cent of road related injuries occur in the developing world.
India has had the dubious distinction of high rates and a steady increase in road fatalities over the past three decades. The poor and the vulnerable (pedestrians and cyclists) bear the brunt. The majority of the victims are men aged between 15 and 40 and economically active.
Road accident injuries often overwhelm emergency and casualty departments of most hospitals, which result in their coping poorly with the patient load. A significant proportion of non-fatal injuries results in traumatic brain damage and substantial disability. Deaths of breadwinners often push families into poverty. The social and economic costs are massive and often difficult to quantify.