The Public Health Ministry (SESPAS) yesterday launched a new campaign to prevent traffic accidents to realize the objectives of the National Plan for the Reduction of Deaths by Traffic Accidents (PLANREMAT). Public Health Minister Altagracia Guzmán Marcelino said that while the 1998 campaign managed to reduce traffic accidents by about 40%, much still needs to be done. She cited recent studies showing that the cost to the Dominican economy of traffic accidents is around RD$250 million per year, and that trauma victims from such cases represent about 20% of all emergency cases in the larger public hospitals. Projections are that in the year 2000 some 140,000 people are likely to be involved in traffic accidents in the DR, 16,000 of which are likely to require medical attention. Worrisome, said Dr. Guzmán, is that around 90% of those hurt in accidents do not go for treatment, and those that do go do so 12-48 hours after the accident, increasing the chances of death or serious complications. Among major causes of accidents, Dr. Guzmán cited poor driver education, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and truck drivers pushed by their employers to drive more than eight hours at a time. She announced that in 1999 her Ministry will send to Congress several legislative proposals to address these issues. She called on producers of alcoholic beverages to always include in their advertisements a warning not to drink and drive. She also called on companies with truck fleets to conduct tests of their drivers and to adopt measures to ensure that the drivers do not drive more than eight hours at a time.
